6C - Playing Catch-up

It's the next day at 9:05 AM. Rocco and Mario have just arrived at Cheep Cheep Falls for Day 2 of the open. For this day, only about 25,000 people came to watch because the larger audience count was a result of the tournament's beginning.

"I knew this was gonna happen," Mario remarked upon parking his kart. "They only pile up for the first and last days."

"I know," Rocco replied as he looked around the parking lot. "Happens at almost every golf tournament unless it's the high school type." Rocco checked his watch. "Is it 10:10 again?"

"Close. My tee time is 10:20," Mario said while collecting his golfing set.

"May I come and watch you practice?"

"No, thanks. I'd prefer to be alone."

After Mario began practicing his drives and pitches again, he questioned himself, "Am I gonna blow it again? How can I change today?"

For the next ten minutes, Mario let those questions replay in his head all while hitting balls. Eventually, he started to tear up because he felt like he would let the performances of other players beat him up unexpectedly.

Mario put down his clubs and laid his hand on his brow. "I don't... I d-don't know i-if..." he whimpered.

Suddenly, Mario heard a familiar meek voice say, "Don't cry, Mario. It's okay."

Mario looked up ahead because he thought that was where the voice was coming from; it was Leah standing in front of him.

"L-Leah...?" Mario asked with confusion.

"You can do it, Mario. Me and my little brother are counting on you," Leah said. "Believe in yourself."

Mario slowly smiled with a couple tears rolling down his cheeks. "Thank you... I'll do what I can..."

Before Leah could say anything else, she disappeared instantly, saddening Mario a bit.

"No... L-little princess... C-come b-back..." Mario trembled. He was hallucinating all this time, but it still gave him some motivation to try harder.

Fast forwarding 55 minutes, Mario met up with Rocco again. Mario's eyes were a little red from crying.

"You okay, Mario?" Rocco asked.

"I saw her," Mario replied.

"Saw who?"

"Leah. She was standing in front of my tee box," Mario explained.

"Leah's not with us. You must have been daydreaming," Rocco said.

"No. It was real," Mario protested calmly. "I literally heard her tell me to believe in myself, but she disappeared..."

"Are you sure you want to play today?" Rocco asked with concern. "You might be losing it."

"I'm not crazy, Rocco. I can do it. Your kids are counting on me." Rocco thought it over for a few seconds.

"You know what? I actually agree with you," Rocco realized. "It's not just me who wants you to do your best. Alex and Leah want you to win too."

"I know. And that's why I'm going to get to the top of the scoreboard," Mario stated.

"Great," Rocco responded with a smile. "Before you go off to Hole 1, I want you to know that I have all the faith in you. Even your brother and your other friends have faith in you."

"That's true." Mario proceeded to board one of the clubhouse's carts and drive off to Hole 1. For today, Mario was playing alongside Daisy and Luigi; both have nearly equal drive distances (about 210 yards).

Just as the announcer called up Mario's name, Luigi said to him, "Try to have some fun, bro. It's not that stressful."

Mario nodded in agreement before teeing up his ball and taking his stance. Mario's initial drive was a bit better than yesterday because the wind from behind pushed the ball several yards further out, making the total distance 219 yards.

After Luigi and Daisy made their tee shots, Mario was to hit his ball next because the other tee shots went out as much as 225 yards thanks to the wind. Mario decided to pretend he was by himself during this short timeframe. To Mario's surprise, he also visualized the graphics from the "Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour" game complete with the power bar, wind indicator, and the ball's trajectory.

Immediately after his second shot, Mario leaned forward a bit to try and track his ball, but it was hard for him to see it because of the sun's glare. A few seconds after he lost sight of the ball, the spectators started cheering loudly, confusing Mario briefly.

"You did it, Mario! You made an eagle!" Daisy exclaimed from behind.

"I... I did...?" Mario asked with disbelief.

"We all saw it! Great job!" Daisy high-fived Mario before Luigi did the same. Even though Mario was perplexed at his eagle, he thanked Luigi and Daisy anyway. After the first hole was out of the way, Mario looked at a small TV screen between Holes 1 and 2 that showed a replay of his eagle shot; he was stunned even more than when he made the shot earlier.

"What...the heck...?" Mario muttered. "On the first hole?" He decided to shake it off for now and continue onward. For the next two holes, Mario made a good improvement by scoring a birdie and a par respectively. Rocco visited Mario briefly before the fourth hole.

"I'm so proud of you so far!" Rocco said. "Keep doing what you're doing!"

"Thank you. When you get the chance, please call Leah and tell her I said thanks for cheering me on," Mario requested.

"Sure. I'll do it later today."

By the end of the front nine, Mario stood at 31, Luigi had a 35, and Daisy had a 40. In addition, Mario was in 3rd place with Wario on top with 27.

"I'm coming back at you, Wario. Just wait," Mario said to himself. On Hole 11, Mario hit his ball as if he was making a normal pitch shot. It landed a couple inches from the hole and slowly rolled into the cup, causing Mario to lay his hand on his heart in shock. Everyone applauded louder than when Mario made the eagle on Hole 1.

"I... I did not...just hit a...hole-in-one..." Mario hesitated.

Before Luigi went up to the tee, he saw Mario in his stunned mood and questioned, "Why aren't you jumping for joy and all that? Are you feeling excited?"

"I'm kinda happy, but..." Mario started to explain.

"But what?"

"I... I'm just taking this seriously."

"All right-y. No worries."

At the time Mario reached Hole 18, he stood at 60 with Luigi at 63 and Daisy at 66 respectively.

"Okay. Last hole of the day," Mario told himself. "At least make another birdie." Again, Mario tried blocking all the noise around him prior to his tee shot, which worked perfectly because of his improving score and Leah's ghost's motivation. Mario's ball landed 214 yards down the fairway after hooking to the left a small bit, but it didn't bother him this time.

On his third shot, which occurred from the semi-rough left of the green, Mario chipped onto the green and his ball rolled until it was half an inch from the hole, shocking Mario for a moment. Suddenly, the ball managed to sink itself in the cup because it was halfway over the rim. Mario buried his face in his hands and cried tears of joy as everyone gave him a standing ovation. His final score of the day was 63 and it put him at 2nd place below Red Yoshi's score of 60.

"Great job, Mario!" Red Yoshi congratulated Mario while high-fiving him. "I still can't believe you made a hole-in-one on #11!"

"Thanks, Red Yoshi. I didn't know I was gonna do it," Mario replied. "I thought it was just gonna be another birdie."

"Well, not this time. I'll see you tomorrow morning," Red Yoshi bid Mario goodbye before she joined Yoshi at the clubhouse's backyard.

"I saw you were crying after that last chip-in," Rocco pointed out after meeting up with Mario at the front entrance. "You must've been so happy."

"Yeah. No shack I was," Mario responded.

"I was just thinking, Mario: how about I treat you and Luigi to dinner later tonight?" Rocco offered.

"That sounds great!" Mario said. "Where are we eating at?"

"I don't know yet, but I'll think of something. Let's just go home first."

By the time Mario and Rocco drove into the pad's driveway, it was 3:45 PM.

"I promise I'll wear something nicer than this outfit," Mario told Rocco as they walked into the basement.

"You don't have to promise me, Mario," Rocco reassured Mario. "But have at it if you want."

After starting up the Faraway Warp Zone, Mario asked, "What time do you want us to meet you?"

"I'd say between 6:50 and 7:00 tonight."

"Deal. See you then."

Within a few minutes, Mario sent Rocco on his way back to his world and went upstairs to get ready for the dinner in a couple hours.