DAY 3: WORLD AMATEUR HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP

After two rounds in the low-80s, and a spot atop the leaderboard, Day 3 of the World Amateur Handicap Championship at TPC Myrtle Beach was full speed ahead for me...in reverse! Basically, the golf gods giveth and the golf gods taketh away. Today was a taketh away day.

I felt good going in, had a nice warm up, and felt ready to shoot another nice round. That is, until we got to the opening hole, the 138-yard par-3 17th. If this were the third or fourth hole, rather than the opener, it would still have presented some visual challenges, but I suspect our group would have handled it better.

As it was, two of the players in the foursome that started on the same hole, but just in front of us, found the water,

 one on his first shot and the other on his second when his chip rolled through the green. The second shot of another member of that foursome saw his chip flirt with the wet stuff, but it hung on.

Our foursome, Norman Bolen, Ron Colville, and Kevin Ashe (5th, 35th, and 47th respectively after 36 holes), watched the carnage, and it did nothing good for our first-shot jitters. 

The lighting practice greens didn't help at all either.

Kevin was the only one to find the green, with Ron taking a dunk, and Norm and I bailing to the left. 

Had I not seen one ball find the water and another hanging on the edge, it might have been a routine up and down...at worse a bogey from where my ball sat. But I had seen the fate of the first foursome, and I chipped away from the hole. 

Fear of fast greens dominated me as I approached my downhill 30-footer, and I just waved my putter at the ball and yelled for it to go. It didn't go, and I missed the subsequent 15-footer. 

After just one double bogey in two rounds (not counting my two-shot penalty for absent brain matter yesterday), I had started the day with a double.

I vowed to shake that off, and off we went to the par-5 18th, the fourth hardest on the course (yeah, right!). Looking at this hole was no picnic after you were just shell-shocked on your opening hole (the 6th hardest). 

I'll skip most of the gory details and just tell you that I moved to the third hole (TPC No.1), a virtual walk in the park in comparison, with my second double bogey already on my card. Great way to start when you're atop the leaderboard, no? 

In any event, I got my first par on the third hole, and that was merely a brief respite before I carded a triple bogey 8 on the par-5 second. 

Par 5 No.2

Can you feel my pain yet? Believe me, I was feeling it! To put it in perspective, the first two days I was 9 over par (minus yesterday's penalty) for 18 holes. Today, I was 10 over after 8. 

Was there anything positive about the day? Well, yes. Norm, who, as I mentioned was fifth coming in, had picked up his game after his triple-triple start. Having pretty much shot myself in the foot as far as leading the flight was concerned, I had to find another goal. I decided that if I could stay ahead of Norm and post the best score of my foursome, it would be a moral victory.

How could I miss that!

Despite my struggles, my front-nine score was one shot better than Norms (44 to 45 respectively), and I knew I had had a two shot edge on the back from our first two holes (12 for me, 14 for him!). When Norm posted three pars on holes 10 - 12 (our 12th, 13th, and 14th holes), and I went bogey, bogey, double bogey, even that goal wasn't looking too good. Norm had taken a one-shot lead with four to play.

Pretty good form

Norm held that lead with three to play, but although I botched a very makeable birdie attempt on the par-5 14th and came away with par, Norm missed his short par-putt to even things up with two to play. I finished the lat two holes, bogey, par, and Norm doubled both. And that moral victory, my friends, is all I have to show for 5 1/2 hours in the sun.

At the 19th Hole

Today I just didn't hit enough good shots, and when I did hit good shots, I failed to capitalize on the greens. Basically, on the way to "Fantasy Land" I took a detour in "Realityville." I shot a 90, which dropped me to second place, three shots behind the leader going into the final day of flight play. 

And this is what we wake up to

But how bad can it be? I have the most beautiful photographer in the world with me, our anniversary is tomorrow, and I still have a shot to win my flight. 

Just a note about the play at TPC today. Other than getting beat up by the terrific course itself, what I will take away was the "thock" of golf balls bouncing off trees on almost every hole! At least my pain was shared. "Play it as it lies"... T. A.