Chapter 8

8A - Make It Count

It's 7:45 AM on July 31, 2003: the fourth and final day of the Cheep Cheep Falls Open. Mario got up earlier than normal because the course owner, Mr. Morris, suggested that he come to his office as soon as he arrived at Cheep Cheep Falls.

Before Mario left out the door, he whisked Rocco into the Mushroom World yet again and drove off to the course, wasting no time at all.

"Do you think they fixed the greens up, Rocco?" Mario asked.

"I hope so. But it would be hard work if they decided to," Rocco answered.

Mario and Rocco arrived at the course at 8:40 AM, which is an hour and 20 minutes before Mario's tee time at exactly 10 AM. They then made their way to Mr. Morris's office, which opened at 8:30.

Mario knocked on the open door, prompting Mr. Morris to say, "Come on in, Mario. Good morning to you."

"Thank you," Mario said as he sat in front of the desk. "You got any updates?"

"Not just an update; it's a huge and IMPORTANT update," Mr. Morris started. "The camera crew stayed here past their closing time to review every single camera that captured yesterday's games. By the way, I paid them overtime before they officially left. Anyway, remember when I told you about the red light that appeared on some of the greens?"

Mario nodded in agreement.

"It turned out that there were automatic magnets situated inside the soil that captured the balls and drug them towards the pins. We also carefully dug up powerful vacuums that were embedded in the ground; they apparently sucked in parts of the greens and made the resultant steep slopes."

"How long ago did this happen?" Mario asked.

"It may have been between the second and third days," Mr. Morris replied. "Can I tell you who was behind all that bull?"

"Sure."

"It was you and Luigi's rivals, Wario and Waluigi." Mario pumped his arms up with victory.

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT WAS THEM!" Mario exclaimed.

"We actually left them a voicemail last evening and told them about what they did and how that was an unfair advantage over all the other players," Mr. Morris went on. "As a result, we disqualified them for the rest of the open, which means you are now in third place with Luigi on top with 210 and Yoshi in second with 218. It's going to be a close game today, but all of our staff as well as me know you're going to make it."

Mario teared up a bit during Mr. Morris's explanation. "You... You're sick... You know that, right...?"

"Thank you, Mario," Mr. Morris replied. "I've always been an excellent guy my whole life and I told myself never to play unfair."

After a few seconds of silence, Mario asked, "Were the greens fixed up?"

"Unfortunately, no. Even if we started earlier this morning, it would take at least two weeks to do all that. You're gonna have to try really hard to overcome those slopes and misplaced pins."

"Thanks again, Mr. Morris," Mario said as he stood back up. "It really means a lot."

"Don't mention it, Mario," Mr. Morris responded. "All I ask is that you make it count. I wish you the best of luck."

Mario let out a sigh of relief after closing the office door. "I guess I should go to the range now. Rocco, leave me by myself and I'll come back at around 9:30."

After Rocco dropped Mario off at the driving range, the spectators began pouring into the course. As it was the last day, a total of at least 45,000 people were expected to attend.

While practicing on the range, Mario said to himself, "I think I don't need the strategies Rocco taught me today. I should do this on my own even though he's gonna be watching me."

At 9:35 AM, Mario finished up his practice swings and took his clubs back to the golf cart parking area; Rocco was waiting patiently all this time.

"Are you sure you want to drive to the tee box this early?" Rocco questioned. "We can have some coffee if you want."

"No, thanks," Mario replied. "I had a protein shake and an orange before I picked you up."

Without hesitation, Mario and Rocco boarded the same golf cart they used to drive to the driving range and took off to Hole 1 for the last time. Once at the tee box, they stayed in the cart and talked with other until Mario's fellow players arrived. For today, Luigi and Red Yoshi were scheduled to play alongside Mario.

About a minute before the announcer called up Mario's name, Red Yoshi pulled Mario aside and said, "I know you've been told 'Good luck on this final round,' but I want you to know that it doesn't matter if you happen to end up in last place. You'll win something that's most important of all: the love and respect of every single member of this audience." She gave Mario a quick hug.

"Thank you, Red Yoshi," Mario thanked Red Yoshi before he collected his driver and one of his balls. He promptly teed up his ball upon the announcer calling his name.

Again, due to the wind coming in from behind, Mario's first drive went out farther than normal, stopping at 220 yards downrange. After Luigi and Red Yoshi drove their balls, which ended up approximately five to six yards further than Mario's ball, Mario made sure to align himself in a straight line between him and the pin and applied a slightly more than adequate amount of power on his swing.

Even though it was partly cloudy, the sun's glare made it hard for Mario to track his ball, so all he could do was pray silently that it was a great shot. The audience woahed in anticipation and cheered loudly seconds later because Mario's ball landed on the hill of one of the green's slopes and slid up the other hill before sinking in the cup. Mario had made another eagle. He decided not to celebrate now because he was just getting started.

Throughout the next four holes, it was clear that Mario completely corrected his mistakes as he made four consecutive birdies. In addition, it was pure luck that his ball wasn't stopped by the greens' slopes. Prior to Hole 6, Mario met up with Luigi.

"What an effort so far, bro," Luigi said while patting Mario's shoulder. "I'm getting prouder by the second."

"It's just luck, Luigi," Mario responded. "I never studied every hole and determined the correct way to the pin."

"I understand. Just keep it up."

Because Hole 6's fairway curved to the right, Mario positioned himself slightly off-center before taking his swing. The audience on the right side stood back a small bit as Mario drove his ball over the trees and landed on the green before stopping short of a mound where the pin was situated within. Mario placed his hand on his heart in shock, as he knew it was the first time on a Par 4 hole that he made it on the green in one shot.

Even though he was shaking prior to his eagle putt, he managed to putt in a straight line and sink his ball with no deviations. On Hole 9, Mario was in for even better luck because the front-blowing wind allowed his first drive to soar 230 yards out and the second shot landed on the fringe before bouncing into the cup.

The audience cheered louder than before, given that it was Mario's first-ever double eagle. He sat next to the scoreboard after the hole was over and cried due to feeling mixed emotions. Luigi approached Mario and asked what was wrong.

"I... I'm f-feeling s-sad a-and happy a-at the sa-ame t-time..." Mario wept. "I-I know w-why I'm h-happy... B-But... But I-I don't kn-know why the h-heck I'm s-sad... I'm j-just feeling th-that w-way..."

"I understand, Mario. I know there are three reasons why people cry and you're going through the third reason, which is not that common," Luigi said. "But just take it easy for the next 50 minutes, okay?" Mario nodded before Luigi walked off.