2015 WORLD AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP- FINAL DAY

The final day of competition for me at the 32^nd 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

hose same five inches are the reason I’m only now getting to the report of the final day. I needed some time to debrief and decompress after Thursday’s final round. Finishing the chronicle of the tournament has been as difficult for me as finishing my rounds at the World Am, but here it is.

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 31^st after having been in a tie for 11^th after that first round. Bob posted a 95 on the final day, which was his worst round of the event, and left him in 35^th place for the event. Mike shot a 90, his worst of the tournament to end in a tie for 29^th.

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.

#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.

#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.

#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!

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.

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."

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!!!

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.

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.

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 22^nd in my flight, which is exactly middle of the pack, and finished tied for 4^th among the eight players who played in my foursomes.

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 11^th 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 32^nd 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.

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. 

2015 WORLD AMATEUR HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP- DAY 3

Note: Please forgive typos, and other errors. I'm well past bedtime if I'm to reach my goal tomorrow. Thanks Steph! Wish you were here.

Tradition Golf Club

The early morning haze had pretty much burned off by the time I pulled into Tradition Golf Club on Pawley’s Island, SC this morning for the third day (only 2nd round) of the 33^rd World Amateur Handicap Championship of Golf.

As usual bodies buzzed on the practice green, and balls crisscrossed the smooth terrain of the putting surface. Ah, Golf, you too are one of a kind. How can one guy be so fortunate as to have two ones of a kind…or should that be one-of-a-kinds? Whatever…

Our foursome

I had another good group of guys to play with today, even though they were a bit more serious than yesterday’s group. No surprise, since Steve McNamara was tied for 3^rd coming into today’s round. When

Steve rolling one in from 10 feet

you’re in contention, you tend to be a bit more serious than when you aren’t. A tough day deposited Steve in a tie for 5^th, after following yesterday’s 83 with an 85 today.

Tim dropping one of many

Tim Fessler, who was tied for 31^st after yesterday’s round of 92, bounced back seven shots better with an 85 today, tying Steve for the lead in our group, and jumping 13 spots into a tie for 18^th. Tim had so many well-struck putts burn the edges, that his round could have been four or five strokes lower with a little luck. And I don't think Tim had his "A" game today. It wouldn't surprise me to see Tim climb the ladder tomorrow and end up in the top ten. 

Kevin's unique swing

Unfortunately, somebody had to ride with me and suffer the consequences of the “Niles Curse,” and that duty fell to Kevin Satterfield today.Kevin, a flight winner last year, but battling a bad back this year, notched an 88 yesterday, and posted a 93 today. Todays struggles dropped him from 20^th to 29^th on the leaderboard. Kevin can take away “Shot of the Day” honors though. I’m not sure that makes up for the Niles Curse, but it’s something.

I believe it was the par-5 fourteenth hole, where Kevin hit his second shot to about 50 yards from the flag, right of the fairway and rough, but left of the cart path.

His ball lay on hard-packed, cart-path dirt, with trees and a sand trap in his line to the green. Kevin fired a wedge off that dirt, through the trees, over the bunker and onto the putting surface within 10 feet of the cup. It may not sound like much to you as I write it, but I was there as he was hitting that shot, and that may just be the best shot I will see all tourney.

So how about what I did today? Well, I went out this morning relaxed and looking forward to another day of joyous self-challenge in a “naturally” picturesque landscape. Golf courses are naturally picturesque to me even when the fairways aren’t very fair, and the greens are more like browns. But I digress…

Birdie putt on par-5 10th

Well, the first six holes I’m cruising along according to plan, hitting the first five fairways, and getting a par and birdie on the first two par-5s we faced. Ah, but then that ADHD kicks in, the focus drifts a bit, and next thing I know I’m carding a 7! The concentration tried to make an early exit today, and I was fighting it from the fifth hole on. I wonder if a diagnosis and prescription would help my golf? Gotta check into that.

I bogeyed #11, our fifth hole played, which wasn’t bad considering that it is the longest par-4 on the course (415 yards from our tees). Interestingly enough both Steve and Tim posted triples on that hole, while Kevin and I bogeyed it. Weird. But anyway, I could feel myself in scramble mode, and noticed that I had to fight to stay focused.

On #12, a 147-yard par-3, I posted par, but that was a “par-amble” (a par due to scrambling) after a poor tee shot fell short, and my attempt at a “Martin Kaymer” (or an “Oliver Stenger” if you prefer) failed miserably (both Germans putt from well off the green with far more success). I had about a 12-footer remaining for par…and I drained it. 

Add caption

After those first six holes (No. 7 – 12) I was 2-over par, including a par on the par-5 ninth, and a birdie on the par-5 tenth. Huh? I’m the guy who’s usually struggling on the par-5s. Today I played the four par-5s in even par. Still looking for the positive…In any event, I must have been basking in my relief at converting that par on #12, because my tee shot on #13 missed the fairway to the left (1^st missed fairway of the day).  

Not to worry, I had a shot at the green and hit a nice hybrid to just short of it. I had a good 10 feet of fringe, another 30 feet of green to work with, and the hole was uphill.  Soooooo… I thought I’d try my new technique of chipping with a pitching wedge. Had the brain been functioning properly, I would have realized that it was not the shot to try with the ball lying in a bit of a depression. I hit it thin, all the way to the back fringe, some 30 feet past the flag. For the life of me I can’t remember what I did from there to card the 7, since I only recorded two putts??? But 7 it was. Am I in shock, or what?!

Obviously I’m not a happy camper at this point, but I’m working to keep it together and doing a pretty decent job of it too. Of course, next up is the par-5 fourteenth hole…and you know how I feel about par-5s…So I proceed to par that hole and the next. I bogey the next two. We’ve played 11 holes at this point, and Kevin is 13-over par, Tim is 9-over, Steve is 7-over and I am 6-over. I didn’t know that at the time, but I’m looking at the scorecards now. You know what that means?

Look what we found next to the practice green

That means there are seven holes to go, and I  am leading Kevin by seven strokes, Tim by three, and Steve by one. Kevin plays the last seven holes in 8-over par. Steve does it in 6-over and Tim closes the last seven holes in just 4-over. Me? How does 10-over grab ya? It niggles at me even now as I think of it. Curious, I just took a look at yesterday’s last seven holes. Pick a number, any number! Yep, 10-over. Am I snake bit? I’m just sayin’…..

Nice little 6-iron to about 3 feet 

Oh where has our bright side optimist gone? No worries, still here. On the bright side, I parred three of the four par-3s, and played the four par-5s in even-par. After a disaster hole I bounced back with two pars, one of them a par-5. I did hit an all-world flop shot that almost went in the hole for birdie. For 11 holes I played the best golf of our foursome. The course was in terrific shape (all things considered), greens rolled beautifully, the guys were pleasant, and IT WAS GOLF! Even brighter yet is that there is more golf to be played tomorrow!

Yet, it is goal revision time. One must always be prepared to revise one’s goals, no? In any event, I started the day in a tie for 21^st on the leaderboard (click here for yesterday’s post). Today I stand in a tie for 22^nd with Anthony Johnson, one of my playing partners from yesterday. The top ten is looking like an unrealistic goal at this point, so tomorrow’s goal (probably today’s by the time you read this) will be….you guessed it: Finish the final seven holes in fewer than 10 strokes over par! I’ll consider 5-over acceptable. Let’s see how that goes.

Until then, thanks for coming along for the ride and we’ll see you tomorrow.

T. A. & Steph

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2015 WORLD AMATEUR HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP: DAY 2

Entrance to Long Bay Country Club

Spooky on arrival at Long Bay

Day 2 of the World Amateur Championship (our first day of play) at the Long Bay Golf Club in Longs, SC began in a haze and ended in a haze. The former was external- nature at work or play; the latter internal- a reflection of my state of being by the time our 5 1/2-hour round had ended.

It did look like this at 8:30am Tuesday

Ah, but why jump from beginning to end as though that’s all that matters? What about all the delicious drama in the middle? It won’t take you long to figure out why I would rather focus on the middle. Ahem.

T. A. with Jim Gropp, Garry Owens, & Anthony Johnson

Before I get too far along, I should introduce my playing partners. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson of Virginia, the closer of our foursome, shot 85 and tied for 11th; Jim Gropp of Florida, “The Big Easy” of our group, whose putter worked better than Ernie Els’ today, posted 84 and tied for 8th); and Garry Owens, my uninformed cart partner from North Carolina took a hard 99 and tied for 44^th. We began on Hole #3 and ended on #2.

Garry in one of his least favorite spots...until
later in his round

These guys were cool! We enjoyed our time in the sweltering sunshine (Thanks Steph, Sandi :-)!), we hit quite a few shots that drew swaggering smiles and compliments, and a few too many that drew frowns or a sardonic smiles of imperfection. I forgot to warn Garry about the “T.A.-cart-partner-curse.” I didn’t want to tell him that riding next to me spelled a tough day ahead. Hey, why ruin his round any earlier than necessary? Garry hung tough though, bouncing back from some high numbers to post a series of pars coming home.

Jim teeing off on #5

Jim’s silky smooth swing was reminiscent of Ernie Els, and he dropped some clutch putts out there. Both of his birdies were from at least 10’, and I know he made multiple pars with clutch medium-range putts. Jim started our round off with a birdie on Hole #3, dropping an uphill 20-footer in the cup with a rattle. He struggled the rest of the front-9, failing to notch par on any of the six, but he played the following seven holes in 2-over par, including his birdie on #13. I think Jim was running out of gas near the end, but he didn’t give up anything more than a bogey.

Anthony closing out an impressive par on #18

Anthony got off to a rocky start as well, and was 9-over by the time we had played nine. A couple misses on short putts early cost Anthony a few strokes and spots on the leaderboard. Ah, but the way he finished added leverage to those who believe that it’s not how you start but how you finish that matters most. Despite bogeying four of his next five holes on his final nine, Anthony finished just 4-over on that nine. He closed with four pars on some difficult holes.

Yours truly boosted the credibility of those who maintain that “you can’t win the tournament on the first day, but you can surely lose it.” But let me dwell on something pleasant before we get to the less than thrilling.  After opening with a bogey and three consecutive doubles (I'm getting to the good stuff), I played the par-5, seventh hole (the fifth we played) in five (usually par-5s are my nemesis), and made an all-world par on the par-3 eighth.

Anthony putting on #8

Why was that par 0n #8 “all world?” Number 8 is a relatively short par-3 (147 yards), but there is a yawning bunker left of the green and water left of the bunker. There's another bunker to the right, and, beyond the right bunker, mounds and moguls of rough, about five feet higher than the green surface. Can you guess where I ended up?

#8 Green

Considering the facing breeze, and thinking I’d rather be long than short, I pulled my 6-iron and promptly pushed the ball out to the right, right into that rough on the side of one of the highest mounds above the green. We got a chuckle out of my predicament with the ball ridiculously above my feet, in rough that had given us fits all day, a green sloping away just past the bunker that was directly to my left, with another bunker on the other side of the green, and water beyond that. Oh yeah, I got this.

On the hill at #8

The guys were jeering at me, “Oh yeah, we know you got this (chuckle, chuckle).” Dang right I got this. "I showed Phil how to hit this shot” (more chuckles). I step to my ball, envision a spot on the fringe, and swing the 62-degree wedge Chris had given me. I looked up in time to see the ball hit the spot and trickle to about eight feet past the hole. Ah, now the applause... That might have been the best par I have ever made. But then, I have a short memory. Oh, I did, obviously, make the putt.

#13 Green

Those two pars started a nice run, allowing me to play nine holes in just 2-over. Among those was my other shining moment: the birdie on #13. The 13^th is a 125-yard, island green, par-3. There is a potential bailout to the left, but there isn’t a ton of room there.

Close but no cigar. Someone else hit it to 4 inches

Anthony put his ball in the bailout area, Tim floated his to about 12 feet left of the flag. I thought my 9-iron might not get me there with wind in the face, so I hit my 8-iron…a smidge thin, and I’m feeling a touch of concern... The ball comes to rest and two or three feet from the flag. Phew!

View from 13th Tee

Jim nails his 12-foot putt dead center cut for birdie, Anthony gets up and down for his 3, and I step up. The guys are going, “Yeah, go ahead and put it in,” as though there is any doubt. I calmly drilled it. My first…and only (so far)…birdie of the World Am.

Par-5 #15 

There were other good things, like my par on the par-5 15^th (our 13^th of the day), but I could tell my focus was beginning to wane. I scratched out bogeys on the next two holes, but the wheels came off the 18^th hole (our 16^th). 

2nd shot on 18

I placed a nice drive in the middle of the fairway, made the wrong club choice, and a few bad shots later (including three putts), I posted an unsightly 8 on the card. Ouch! I think I finished the next two holes in a state of shock, and added another three strokes above par to my tally.

Chris Capps

But ya know, I must be playing too much golf with Chris Capps, because I’m turning into an optimist. Yikes! I’m more familiar with myself as a realist, with a slightly pessimistic twist. In any event, I think my penchant for the positive today allowed me to make it through posting plus-nine strokes in the last five holes. Had I just played bogey golf over that stretch, I would have turned in a respectable score. I know, I know, "So what did you shoot?"

Despite my “yo-yonic” round and a 90 on the card, I’m still middle of the pack. On the bright side, since I am leaning toward that positive thinking thing, I’m tied for 21^st and am ahead of 18 players with lower handicaps, there are only five players ahead of me with a handicap equal to or higher than mine, and, most importantly, there are still two days of tournament golf to play!

Another look at #18, my derailer

I can’t go just hog wild on this positive thing now. Realistically speaking, there are 20 guys ahead of me and I am 11 shots behind the leader, who shot a 78, which, by the way, is a number I have never shot! My objective, my second objective, now, is to make it into the top ten. My first priority is to play as well as possible and enjoy the experience. I’m sure I enjoyed about five of the 5 ½ hours we played today.

I may have shot myself out of the tournament, but I haven’t shot the tournament out of me. I’ll be right back at it tomorrow, trying to eliminate those snowmen in September, in South Carolina, no less (temps at 90˚ and index that had to be over 100).  I've gotta wish Jim and Anthony good luck as they are still within reach of the lead. Garry, I'm hoping we can climb the leaderboard to a place of respectability. 

Just so you know, in addition to not having a part of me here really impacts what I produce. Wish you were here Babe! To those reading this, I bet you miss Steph's photos. I know I do! Thanks for sharing the journey!

T. A. & Steph
Always with me in spirit!