The final day of competition for me at the 32nd
World Amateur Championship of Golf at River Oaks Plantation was perhaps the
most challenging. The higher degree of challenge was not because of the River
Oaks course itself, but because of the course that’s five inches between the
ears as golf legend Bobby Jones suggested.
T
My first rendition of this post included far too much
information about the entire round, and I realized that while it might have
been cathartic for me to write it, you probably wouldn’t be interested in so
much detail. So hopefully this abridged version will be easier to swallow.
On the final day of competition I played with Anthony Johnson,
Michael James and Robert Schneider. I’m pretty sure that none of my playing
partners played the way they envisioned or wanted, because my 88 was the best
score of the day. I was engaged in too much of a struggle to pay much attention
to the struggles of my playing partners, but I really felt for Anthony and Bob
who set themselves up with excellent shots into the greens, and then struggled
with the putters from close range.
Anthony, who had shot an 85 the first day of competition,
shot a 93, dropping him to a tie for 31st after having been in a tie
for 11th after that first round. Bob posted a 95 on the final day,
which was his worst round of the event, and left him in 35th place for
the event. Mike shot a 90, his worst of the tournament to end in a tie for 29th.
On to my escapades, most golf courses have what they call “signature
holes,” essentially the hole or holes that distinguish the course from other
courses. I, too, have a signature hole for the tournament, one that sums up my
2015 World Am experience. That hole is Rover Oaks #14, the eleventh hole of the
day for our foursome.
My score wasn’t great when we got to #14, but it wasn’t horrible
either. I was 7-over with four pars, five bogeys and one double bogey. Fairly
acceptable with eight holes to play. There was plenty of time to do some good
things to post a good score. However, the fairly decent scorecard included a
number of missed opportunities, and quite a few “Where did that come from”
shots. No, I was not a happy camper regardless of what the scorecard said.
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| #13 from the tee |
The par I scored on the par-4 thirteenth hole might suggest
that I had righted the ship after a double and two bogeys on holes 10 – 12, but
I really had not. After another good tee shot on #13, I pushed a pitching to
the right fringe of the green from 113 yards, and only a terrific chip to two
feet helped me save that par.
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| #14 from the tee |
The new optimistic me would be patting himself on the back
for a good save there, right? Nah, I’m ticked about missing that short iron
into the green, and all the other missed opportunities to that point in the
round. That is the frame of mind I carried when I arrived at my Titanic of a
hole, #14, a straight forward 340-yard par-4.
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| #14 from the fairway |
As I had for most of the round, I hit a solid 3-wood off the
tee to the middle of the fairway and I had a mere 140 yards to the flag. Given the
uphill and the wind, I figured a smooth 7-iron should get me past the front
bunker, but keep me short of the back bunker. There were bunkers left and right
as well, but a decent shot should have avoided them as well.
Again! A total lack of focus, club control, etc. and I hit a
low liner into the right bunker. Unbelievable! At this point I am incensed! I’m
past ready to hit some golf shots already! Here’s yet another squandered opportunity! in tennis, it’s like hitting a good serve, getting a weak return, moving in for the easy
shot and hitting it into the net or out...multiple times!
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| My lie on #14 was much better than Bob's was on #8, and he got up and down in two fewer shots than I did! |
So I’m in the sand trap, about six feet below the putting
surface and about 30 feet from the pin. Not the easiest shot in the world, but
not the hardest either. This shot I hit way over the green, just short of the creek
running behind it. I suppose I should have felt fortunate that it didn’t go
into the creek, but uh-uh.
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| View from bridge as we went to opening holes |
The frustration and disgust is now well past the red line
as I tromp up the hill to the green and then down to my ball. Now I’m hitting
my fourth shot on this relatively short par-4 hole from about 10 feet below the
putting surface and about 20 yards away. "All right man, pull it together and
hit a good shot and you can salvage a double."
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| View of 3rd shot on #7 |
I envision getting it up high and having it land softly on
the green so it doesn’t run all the way down to the front of the green. I get
it up high all right, but it doesn’t reach the green surface, and I’m up on the
fringe looking down at the green sloping away from me as I get ready to hit my
fifth shot.
To be honest, I don’t remember very clearly what happened on the
next couple of shots, but I think I tried to chip one gently onto the green,
and have it ease down the hill to the hole, and came up short; hit a putt too
long for my sixth shot, and then hit a miserably short putt coming back up the
hill for my seventh.
I was now about three or four feet beneath the hole for my
eighth shot, and there was a marker from one of my playing partners directly in
my line. I walked up, told him not to worry about it, hit his marker, missed the
putt, and got exactly what I deserved for the poor attitude I had been carrying
all day: a 9!!! Five shots over par on one hole!!!
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| Contoured greens were the norm |
So now my round is pretty much kaput, and the steam is
coming not just from my ears when we get to the par-5 fifteenth. I’m still in a state of shock at this point, so I'm guessing I
was trying to hit the ball too hard when I sent my tee shot off to the right
rough (the only fairway missed to the right all day). I pull it together to hit
a good second shot, and a so-so third to put me on the fringe in three shots.
Not bad on a par-5. A little chip and putt and we’re back in business, but a pathetic chip and a couple sad putts later, I’m writing a 7 on the scorecard.
I've just gone 7-over on two holes, after being 7-over on the previous 10! I may as well just phone the rest of this thing in, right? Well, uh, not so fast. I did write in my blog post the
night before the round that I wanted to finish the final seven holes in
fewer than 10 strokes over par, and that I’d consider 5-over acceptable. There was still something to shoot for, even
though I had started the final seven holes with a double bogey on the first of
those seven. Six holes to play, and somehow, I've got to try to pull this
thing together.
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| View of 2nd shot on #9 |
I’ll spare you most of the details, but I finished the final
six holes with four pars and two bogeys, posting par on the last hole to meet
at least one of my revised goals. I had finished the final seven holes in six
shots fewer than I had the previous two days.
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| Tee box view of #10 where I hit 2 horrendous 3-woods to start the hole. 1st double of the day |
Yet, that 9 I had posted on #14 ensured that I wouldn’t improve my
position on the leaderboard this final day, and that I would finish the
tournament mired in the mediocrity I’d cultivated from Day 1. I finished the event tied with Kevin Satterfield (one of my playing partners from Day 2) for 22nd in my flight, which is exactly middle of the pack, and finished tied for 4th
among the eight players who played in my foursomes.
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| This bridge between 9s reflected my play |
No, I am not happy with mediocrity (despite what my former mentor Michael says), but in light of my new "look at the bright side" mentality, there are some positives that I can take away from the
event:
- Despite the extreme disappointment in my performance and the emotional meltdown on the 11th hole of the final round, I managed to pull it together and I finished pretty well all things considered;
- I posted the best score of my foursome for the first time in the tournament on that final day;
- Over the three days, I scored most consistently on the final day, posting bogey or better on 15 holes, compared to 13 and 14 holes respectively the first and second days;
- All of the courses that we played were excellent tests of golf in very different ways, and considering all the rain, they were in excellent shape;
- If possible, my appreciation for the game of golf continues to deepen and intensify.
So ends my story of the 32nd World Amateur
Championship of Golf. I really, really appreciate those of you who offered me
your support! I think I avoided a complete meltdown because I knew I’d have to
report it to you. Thanks to my playing partners who were integral elements of the
experience, and to the people who got those courses in condition for play.
Chris, sorry I didn’t represent very well partner, but I’ll keep at it.
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| Steph & T. A. after golf at Colliers Reserve |
Most of all, thanks to Steph, my partner in life, for all of
her love and support. I can tolerate being less than I want to be on and off the course, perhaps only
because I know she’ll be there for me regardless. I'll be teeing it up in competition right here at home in the Southwest Florida Men's Amateur at our own Eastwood Golf Course and Fort Myers Country Club on October 24th and 25th respectively. I'll be looking for a better performance from myself. Until next….
T. A.
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