He Was Worth The Wait.

He was worth the wait.. I woke up at 1:45am to find a random golfer at Bethpage Black, one of the hardest public golf courses in America and a U.S. Open venue. We got there at 3:17am, where golfers were camping overnight in their cars and tents just for a shot at a tee time. I spent hours walking the driving range asking for a scratch golfer or single-digit handicap to play me one v one, straight up, for $100 a hole, and no one said yes. I spent $280 on the round and $180 on a caddie, spilled coffee all over my outfit, and was on my last try with seven minutes until my tee time when I spotted a kid in purple with an NYU golf bag and the best swing on the range. His name is Steven, he plays for NYU, and he's a +3 handicap, so better than me on paper. Steven is a sophomore at NYU studying business technology and entrepreneurship, with plans to go into investment banking, and he's been playing golf for 13 years. He moved from Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, when his family came for a winter holiday in 2020 and stayed after Covid hit. We found out we'd played the same junior golf tournaments for years without ever meeting, and he'd even seen me play before. With no warm-up on a course I'd never played, in brutal wind and thick rough, I went 2 down after two holes, and Steven was calm on every shot. Then I clawed back to all square with three holes to play, then went 1 up with two to play. I had a putt on 8 to win the match and left it short, and on 9 he drained a clutch putt to push it to a playoff. Along the way, I got him to ask his crush out on camera, and he admitted what he really thought of my game after the first few holes. With our flight on the line, we went to extra holes. We halved the first playoff hole after trading long putts, and on the second I flew the green into the back bunker. Steven stepped up to an 8-foot downhill slider to win the match. It was the toughest random golfer match I've ever played on the channel, and one of my favorites. Comment ❤️ if you were rooting for me or 😎 if you were Team Steven, and subscribe to Gabby Golf Girl for more random golfer challenges, golf matches, and golf content every week!