Well, a disappointing day on Monday in the 36-hole US Publinks Qualifier. Thanks to Derek for an excellent job of caddieing (and believe me, he really didn't have any help from the other caddies in the group. One was an 18-year old girl, the neighbor of the golfer's brother; the other was a college buddy of the golfer, who seemed to be there to crack jokes.)
It started off OK, with two pars on two kind of easy holes; after bogeys on 3 and 4, I went to the 5th tee, a severe dogleg left of 400 yds, downhills. You can't miss left because there are trees all down the left side. I get on the tee, decide to get a bit greedy. I pull the ball left dead into the trees.
The trees were a hazard, so I got to drop in the rough with a fairly favorable angle down the fairway. "OK, just draw this 5 wood around; you can get it down there to about 60 yards; maybe you can get out with a 5!" Well, I pulled it again into the woods. Another penality.
Another drop, a pitchout, a wedge, 2 putts for an 8... and my tournament is over on the 5th holes of 36. Really - being +6 after 5 in a tourney where you need to shoot +2 or +3 over 36 is not good.
So after a couple holes to calm down and accept that, I lightened up and started to make fun of this guy in our group. His scorecard, through 9 holes:
Par 445 345 434 - 36
His score 656 659 846 - 55
Oh my. And yes, we were setting lines on whether he was going to quit after 9 or 18; I then hit a punch shot (that had to stay low under some branches) from 120 yards; I tried too hard to keep it low and topped it into the water. Yes, the gooch lives.
I ended up shooting 85 in the morning - 46-39. Idiot playing partner shot 98. Yes, a NINETY EIGHT! Wow. After his 7th 3-(or more) putt on 16, he went up to the hole, bent down, and from a foot away, flipped off the hole. I think I let out a little giggle at that point.
In the afternoon, I hit the ball a little better - but I missed three greens with 9-irons or less. I did avoid the big number, and shot 77 with three birdies.
Derek set the over-under for the idiot's afternoon round at 91; there is a little controversy surrounding that bet. The scorer for the idiot (me) had him making a 6 on the 9th hole; he said he made 5. We discussed this in the scoring tent at the end. I gave in since it really didn't F*N matter.
The scary thing is, if he truly made 6 on the hole, that would have gave him a total of....91 for the round. Wow, Derek, you should apply for a job in Vegas solely on this story alone.
He really got on my case inthe afternoon. He was constantly lining up his putts, backing away, looking at the line, and then adjusting (and re-adjusting) the line on the ball while it was on the green. I mean, this is ok once, but if this is your 3rd putt for a triple on the 31st hole of a tournament where you are +28, IT DOESN'T MATTER.
(you think I exaggerate, but I am not.)
The third guy in our group was a schoolteacher and a great golfer; he shot 76 in the morning and hit the ball superb in the afternoon; however, he missed at least 7 putts of under 15' and ended up shooting 73. He missed qualifying by 2 strokes.
Stats from the round:
Rd 1 Rd 2
Score 85 77
Fwy 5 7
GIR 8 8
Putts 34 29
Up & Down 4/8 4/11 (!?)
Others 2 1
Wow. It's clear I really need improvement on the irons. Went to the range to figure it out today. The 4/11 up and down rate in round 2 shocked me. I didn't think it was nearly that bad.
Oh well. My 85-77=162 lost to Don's 80-81=161. Full results and photos (Don and I are on page 2; I am the last 2 pictures of that page; the "idiot" I mention above is right next to me in fashionable cargo shorts) are found here.Don has some good stories from his group; I'll let him tell them in the comments section. Two of the subjects:
- "68 and change"
- how NOT to drop a ball in a tournament.
Next tournament: next week, the Cincinnati city championship. 36 holes (over 2 days) to qualify for a 64-person field for matchplay. Results to be found at gcga.org . Don will be playing as well.
3 comments:
I'm not even going to comment about hole number 5. You didn't pull the ball, you tried to hook it around the bend, which was idiotic. I would of thrown a hissy fit if I knew that was what you were going to do. What happened when you just drove the ball the second time you played that hole? Well, you hit it through the fairway, but got on and two putt for par. Much better than an 8, but I'm sure you knew this.
And as far as our little college buddy, you should of said something to him, or at least allowed me to mouth off to him. Oooooooh that would of made my trip.
The stories are so excellent.
Playing partner #1, we'll call him Mr. Pitt (he had a Steelers cap on). 3rd hole, walking down the fairway, idle chatter ... I shot a 68 and change yesterday during a practice round. The "and change" part must have been 17 strokes 'cause he didn't break 85 in either round on Monday. 4th hole he announces that he likes to play fast and hopes it doesn't bother us. Really? Thats odd. Then why are you constantly 20 yards behind everybody? 15th hole he duck hooks it (I would have yelled pull had I known it was coming) into the hazard. He is about to re-tee it when the group behind us informs him that he hit into a hazard (note, neither I or our other partner mention this fact). So he walks up 300 yards and asks, I was about on the this line, right? Um dude, you duck hooked it, go back at least 100 yards. He drops illegaly, snaps that into the hazard, his caddie pulls out a ball, throws in on the ground and he hits it. Thats got to be at least 3 rules violations. My head is spinning.
Palying Partner #2, we'll call him Mr. Gimp. Why you ask? He pulled several tendons in one leg and limps around the 2nd 18. When he bends over to get the ball out of the cup, he balances on one leg 'cause the other hurts too much. (also note, Mr. Pitt, who likes to play fast, can't keep up with Mr. Gimp who has one good leg). but Mr. Gimp can hit the snot out of a ball. green high (but in the weeds right) in 2 on an up hill 596 yard hole. hit the driver off the deck. Also claims he consistently shoots 75 at his home course. Good for him, now learn to play a 2nd course.
Thats enough for one day.
Um, well, I hit it through the fairway on the 2nd day, was partially blocked by some trees and made bogey. But yes, as Jon Lovitz would say, 5 is better than 8 - "that would be less, wouldn't it?"
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