Eaton Calls His Shot

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

“The Call that Lost the Cup” Created Dissention for Team 98 in 2007

EATON CALLS FOR A ‘LOSE AND RETIRE’ SCENARIO

April 14, 2009
For a player only two years removed from costing his team the Phi Alpha Cup (see “The Call That Lost the Cup”) due to his furious texting with his wife during his pivotal Singles match, Jeff Eaton sure isn’t showing any lingering signs of defeat. Team 98’s former #4 player is entering the 2009 edition of the PAC full of confidence and guarantees. And while the rest of Team 98 has tried to manage public expectations following the suspension of their #2 player Stirling Bomar, Eaton has instead guaranteed victory against whomever he is paired against in 2009’s Singles Matches – even vowing to retire from the annual event if he loses.

“I proved in 2008 I am a superior golfer than (Team 97’ers) Steve Burr and Chandler Willett, so obviously I’m not worried about losing or having to retire from the Cup,” Eaton said during a recent Verizon Wireless phone interview. “But did my texting and phone calls to my wife between shots cost my team the Cup back in ’07? Perhaps. LOL.”

In past interviews, Eaton has been quick to recognize the historical significance of “The Call that Lost the Cup” event – an episode that is perhaps second only to the infamous 2005 scoring scandal (see story) in notoriety. It’s a fact that could explain why Eaton has been so brash with his victory-guaranteeing comments in recent weeks – simply an attempt to distract people’s memories from the humiliating events of 2007.

Case in point: In a mobile text message to Steve Burr in March of this year Eaton said, “I’ve moved up two seeds while you’ve remained at the bottom, thus making each of my victories more difficult and rewarding. OMG you guys are toast.”

On the heels of that statement, only two weeks ago, Eaton told Chandler Willett through mobile chat, “U would be lucky 4 for our match 2 get to the back 9. That’s how gr8 I am right now.”

And while it remains to be seen whether the 2008 Jeff Eaton shows up to the 2009 Cup or he ‘phones it in’ ala 2007, Eaton doesn’t seem to have any doubts about what the ultimate outcome will be in his matches.

“Put it this way,” Eaton blogged earlier this week on his Facebook page, “my golfing skills are exceeded only by my proficiency on text. Whether I draw Burr, Willett, Sands or Parker in 2009 Singles, it doesn’t matter. I’ll be booking my PAC flights for 2010 and beyond.”

“Guaranteed ; ) “