Can You Spot the Winning Line? By Phillip Alder

There are some golfers who play on the regular tour and on the senior tour. Now we have a few bridge players who are doing the same thing. Eddie Kantar has been swinging a club in the Senior Swiss Teams. On this deal, he hit his approach shot
straight into the hole. How would you have done?

Dlr: South S 6 4
Vul: Both H 8 7 2
D Q 7 6 3
C A 10 5 3

S A 10 3
H K 10 9 5 4
D J
C K J 8 2
West North East South
1Ht
Pass 1NT Pass 2Cl
Pass 2Ht All Pass

After winning trick one with his opening lead of the DiK, West switches to the HtQ: two,ace, four. Back comes the Ht6: king, three, seven. How do you continue?
.



Winning Line answer by Phillip Alder

The actual full deal was something like this:

S 6 4
H 8 7 2
D Q 7 6 3
C A 10 5 3
S Q 9 8 2 S K J 7 5
H Q J 3 H A 2
D A K 5 4 D T 9 8 2
Cl 7 6 C Q 9 4
S A 10 3
H K 10 9 5 4
D J
C K J 8 2

It looks tempting to duck a spade. But it is clear that West will win, cash the HtJ and return another spade. Then you will have to guess the location of the ClQ. I gave a subtle hint in the title. The contract is actually laydown because you hold a critical spot: the Cl2. After winning with the HtK, run the ClJ. It loses to East's queen and a spade comes back, but you win with the ace, play the Cl8 to dummy's ten and ruff a diamond in hand. As the clubs are 3-2, you lead the ClK to dummy's ace (it cannot help West to trump in) and ruff a second diamond. Finally, you lead the Cl2 to dummy's three and ruff a third diamond. Your eight tricks are one spade, one heart, three clubs and three diamond ruffs in hand. A pretty dummy reversal.
I cannot think of the golf equivalent to a dummy reversal. Perhaps when you drive off the tee and either the wind blows the ball back behind you or, more realistically, you hit a neighboring tree and the balls roars back in the wrong direction.