Monday morning payback was tough for two-time Champion Raymond Shinkle and his partner Patrick Lyons. After casually dismissing the skills of Alabama Al and El Chupacabra Garcia for several months preceding the Shootout, Ray Shinkle is stuck eating something that he is unaccustomed….CROW!
Garcia/Waites posted an impressive -2 score that was even more remarkable considering that Alabama Al had arrived in his pick up truck just 1/2 hour before the start of the Shootout after driving through the night from Talledega Springs, Alabama. Al said that for the first nine he was still wired from drinking a six pack of Diet Mountain Dew during the lengthy drive.
The Diet Dew buzz eventually wore off for Alabama Al on the back nine, but that is where Garcia came alive. El Chupacabra Garcia, like the mythical blood sucking beast, has a penchant for devouring his prey. Garcia never missed a fairway on the back nine and he and Waites hung tough to post a solid sub-par round for this pair that had never played golf together until the 2011 Shootout.
Indeed, little did Shinkle and Lyons know that they never stood a chance against this focused twosome. Equally alarming, is that Shinkle and Lyons continue to struggle ever since the Shootout moved to this tough southside track. While walking off the final green, Shinkle mumbled that, “this course has my number.”