Defeat from the jaws of victory

I'm adding this thread thinking it will be more of a Matchplay flavour.

Where have you lost when you were on course to win?

My worst is 3 up with 6 to play and ended up on the 18th tee one down. Won the 18th and lost the 19th to a birdie 2.

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, my worst case of this was being 4 up with 5 to play in a club match lost on the 18th....

My worst was in Club Champ QF where I was 2 up with three to play and lost to a Birdie-Par-Birdie finish. Disgusted, went home and beasted myself on a run, quickest 5k ever and was nearly sick afterwards.

Without sounding big headed I can't honestly recall a defeat when I was in a good winning position.
I did have two close shaves though. Bounce game at Muirfield when I was six up at the turn and holed a 5 footer to win on 18th.
And a couple of years ago when I won my club KO. In an early round I was 4 up on the 15th tee and won on the 19th.

4 up 5 to play, finished par, par, bogey, par, par to lose on the last to birdie, birdie, par, birdie, birdie.

It was an interclub county knockout comp, fortunately the team scraped through otherwise I'd never have been able to hold my head up in the clubhouse again

Not exactly from a matchplay angle here but my verison of defeat from the jaws of victory.

A few months back i was playing a little 9 hole public course that i play regularly with a friend who isn't a member anywhere. Now i've played this course since i was a kid when i played very infrequently right up to still playing it now.
This particular day i got to the 9th tee level par. I've never played any course level par. Hadn't 3 putted all day and had in fact chipped and one putted the last two holes for up and down pars. The 9th is a par 3, about an 8 iron, and i said to my mate if i could get it on the green i'd fancy my chances for a record breaking level par round. Stuck the tee shot to about 10 feet and 3 putted for bogey. 1 over for the round.

Now that's stealing defeat from the jaws of victory!!

Many years ago playing in the semi finals of one of the clubs matchplay comps, having beat most of our good golfers to get there(at that time I was playing of 8) and was drawn against a 23 handicapper, who I had to give 15 shots to.

After he parred the first 6 holes and I was 6 down, I thought this guy is a right bandit, managed to halve the next, but lost 9 and 8 now that's a drubbing.
He apparently, left the club at the end of the year after being cut several times complaining his handicap was to low, think he had been cut to 9

Not a defeat but nearly. Inter club match, 3 Rivers away to Stock Brook Manor.

I was playing terrible but somehow managed to have a good lead. The match in front had already finished so there was a group of 6-8 people watching us play the par 3 13th. Awful tee shot, left, into a ditch, took a drop, missed the green and then chipped in for bogey to halve the hole. He was in good shape too, probably thinking he was going to win that one. Took the applause and gave update on match, me 4 up with 5 to play.

Match makes it to the last hole where I 3 putt to loss the hole and halve the match. Luckily for me I holed a nasty curling 15 footer or so for a half on 15 otherwise I had probably would have lost.

The rest of the team got absolutely pasted and the result was posted as a record 8-1 defeat. They assumed I had won so were congratulating me for keeping the 3 Rivers flag flying. Have to feel sorry for my opposition number as he probably got dropped for letting the side down.

I think one of the Stock Brook guys closed out his match with an ace, talk about rubbing it in....

Mercurio wrote:My worst is 3 up with 6 to play and ended up on the 18th tee one down. Won the 18th and lost the 19th to a birdie 2.

I lost again today from 3 up with 6 to play, but it was worse than the first time as I lost it on the 18th.

FFS

On the other side, I was 7 down at the turn in an interclub scratch foursomes match which we completely turned round on the back 9 to win on the 18th

The Scotland World Cup rugby team('')

club matchplay fourball competition- myself off 6and playing partner playing off 8, 2 up with 2 to play and no more shots to give to out opponents (who had 9/10 shots on us). all we had to do for one of us to par (or as it turned out bogey!!) one of the last two holes, both dunked it in the water short of par 3 17th and our opponents won hole with 4, hit 2 good drives up 18 both 100 yards to green from fairway, i putt it over the back duffed 1st chip and made 6, partner put it in the bunker short, left it in 1st time and made 6, losing the hole to a bogey 5, then lost the 19th to a par where they had a shot. Dreadful two holes where we just lost total concentration and didn't play clever shots.