Big Break X: Michigan

[alf174]

.... These people are supposed to be scratch golfers....

I haven't seen any claims on any of the BB shows that indicate that the contestants are scratch. I do like the fact that these golf "professionals", like me, have bad shots too.

[Elvisliveson]

I haven't seen any claims on any of the BB shows that indicate that the contestants are scratch. I do like the fact that these golf "professionals", like me, have bad shots too.

Silly me, here I am thinking professional golfers should be scratch or better. And I was referring to their bad swings, not shots.

[jambalaya]

Silly me, here I am thinking professional golfers should be scratch or better. And I was referring to their bad swings, not shots.

There are no bad swings, there are only bad shots.

[Elvisliveson]

There are no bad swings, there are only bad shots.

Bad shots are the symptom and bad swings are the cause.

[paqnheat]

Does anyone hit an 8 iron 185yrds? It seems like several of the guys are hitting the ball a long way with a short club.

[Awsi Dooger]

David did not plan that shot, that would require him thinking about someone other than himself. I've had the pleasure of being around guys like him, no matter what happens, they planned it that way and they provide you some illogical, convoluted, nonsenseical explaination to back up their actions. You have a chance to put away your competition and you'd rather hit bad shot in order to teach your partner a lesson?

Here's how Sally summarized Dave's tactics in this week's interview with Golfgal: "He'll say whatever he thinks he needs to say to make himself look good at that moment." Exactly. And you can backfit that to understand Dave's comment a couple of episodes back, when he missed a crucial putt and immediately started emphasizing to Sally that the read was wrong, after she had read the putt outside the right edge. Robby was shown in the confessional summarizing Dave's remark to Sally, "That was a bad read, BY YOU." Dave tried to squirm out of that in his interview with Golfgal. Nonsense. Robby had it correct. I mentioned that at the time. It absolutely fits with Dave's personality, as described by Sally this week. *** However, I agree with one of Dave's comments in this week's interview with Gayle. He thought Sally played the subsequent shot far too conservatively, after the one he claimed to hit into the rough on purpose. I couldn't believe where Sally aimed, apparently giving ground to the hole and requiring Dave to hit close to a full wedge. From the camera angle there was plenty of room to the right of the tree. It looked like Sally could have punched one close to the green. She might have had to cut off her follow through to avoid the club hitting the tree, otherwise no blockage. Competitors of this caliber need to be as close as possible. It's hardly equivalent of top touring pros who may be better off on a bunker or slightly further away. At this level and with pressure they are unaccustomed to, they can screw up anything and the further the distance the more opportunity for that. I can almost guarantee Dave and Sally would have bettered an 8 if the third shot had been much closer to the green.

[Awsi Dooger]

Hugo Leon and James Vargas of Big Break Michigan are in need of a good round tomorrow in the second stage of PGA qualifying school. Both had similar fate today, felled by a triple bogey and double bogey on par 4s within the same round.

Hugo is +3 and James is +2, playing in different sectionals.

James' triple bogey 7 came very early in his round. Hugo has to be particularly frustrated. He was -2 at the turn then slumped to +5 on the back nine, including a triple bogey 7 on the 18th hole.

You can navigate to second stage results via this link: http://www.pgatour.com/2008/qschool/...ce/index.html#

[Awsi Dooger]

Scattered thoughts on this week's episode:

* Elimination challenges should require holing out. It's pathetic when competitors can hide a putting weakness in an all-or-nothing situation like that. I don't mind the immunity challenges avoiding putting. At Ka'anapali it was obvious Lori's putter was shaky but she did a great job staying out of the elimination challenges. But in this case, last week's episode and this week's featured very creative challenges then they more or less crammed in a weak one-dimensional elimination challenge in the final 15 minutes. David and Sally had just 4-putted to lose their immunity challenge, then never had to worry about that stick again.

* That episode was very tough to decipher who had been eliminated. Excellent job by the editors in that regard. I would have made David and Sally the favorite all week, but I wasn't convinced because it seemed too obvious. Then there was a huge hint they would be safe, when Sally appeared in the confessional saying she and David required separate interviews. That was filmed after the elimination. An eliminated team would have sucked it up and gone through the dual confessional, to save a bit of reputation and realizing they could immediately go their separate ways. Only if they were still alive and feuding would distance be required.

* I never thought Micheal and Sherri would go this early, partially because Michael was so proud of the show he recently got a prominent Big Break Michigan tattoo on his forearm. That was highlighted on Golfgal's blog, including a picture. It was probably a weak conclusion that it meant they had advanced deep into the program, but that's the way I took it. Not until the final minutes did I realize they were headed out. If you catch the replay, watch Michael's facial expression when Sherri is describing switching from a 4 hybrid to a 5 wood during the final elimination distance. Michael looks downward and has a dejected expression. At that instant I said, "Oh my god, they're gone." Sherri's tone was another giveaway, defensively describing that the move from one club to the next was too much of an adjustment. She seemed to under club throughout the show. When she opened that distance challenge by saying, "I hit a 4 hybrid 175 yards," my thought was, no you don't.

Regardless, they were a classy and fun team. Sally described Michael well in this week's interview with Golfgal, saying he was "playing Switzerland," in regard to David, while everyone else was turned off by him. It will be interesting to see how David's attitude changes, if at all, with Switzerland gone.

* Now I would guess David and Sally are around a while. There were indications of that in Golfgal's interviews. Sally said it will be nice to relax and not to be the center of attention next week. She referenced, "...the next couple of episodes," at one point. The promos feature a brief audio clip of Hugo saying something about a team being very strong if they get their act together, an obvious reference to David and Sally, who are shown when Hugo says that. And Haymes seemed to slip a bit, saying in his Golfgal interview that we are, "going to see..." improvement from David and Sally in coming episodes. He caught it immediately and changed to past tense reference, indicating David and Sally's improvement during the elimination challenge effort, and further tried to qualify it by saying he was making a comment based on past tendencies from the series, nothing more. But it seemed like a scramble job.

* In his audio interview with Golfgal this week, Micheal indicates his students have tried to handicap results using a creative variable, one I've tried to use during Ka'anapali and Michigan, wardrobe that has yet to appear. Brief Big Break clips often show highlights from episodes that haven't been seen. If you notice an outfit the competitor has not worn yet, it's indicative of further advancement. One problem: They played at least one practice round so the clip could be from that day.

* Amber told Gayle she has completely revamped her swing since Big Break, and particularly in the past month, more upright and on plane.

* Very weak strategy by Casey on the second immunity hole to gamble out of the trees while leading 3-2. That was essentially a 2-for-1 hole since the total strokes of the two holes was the criteria for the final point. Consequently a big mistake and high number was magnified. I like that team but hated to see a strategic screw up not be penalized.

[jmoc]

However, I agree with one of Dave's comments in this week's interview with Gayle. He thought Sally played the subsequent shot far too conservatively, after the one he claimed to hit into the rough on purpose.

I thought so, too. It did seem she had a legitimate shot toward the hole. I just assumed she was ticked at Dave for putting her there (on purpose) and did it on purpose right back at him. .... jmoc

[Awsi Dooger]

Hugo Leon gave himself a chance to advance today. He rebounded with a 67 to move from T67 to T28. Hugo bogeyed his first hole then responded with 6 birdies, including a 3 on the 481 yard #18, where he took a 7 yesterday.

The Top 20 move to Q School finals. Hugo is -2. Right now 19 players are -4 or better, including Erik Compton who is -4:

http://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/p...eaderboard.htm

James Vargas continues to struggle, T63 in a different sectional. He is 8 shots back of the qualifying number after two rounds. James is +5, plagued by two double bogeys again today, after a double and triple in the first round.

[Awsi Dooger]

Hugo Leon followed with another superb round, this time a 66. He's T9 heading into Saturday's final round and in very good shape to advance, but it will probably take another subpar round, considering the scoring in that sectional. Hugo is -8, which is 3 shots clear of the current cutoff of Top 20 and ties.

Hugo is obviously playing with a ton of confidence, based on all his subpar holes. Today he had six birdies and an eagle, sandwiched between an early bogey and a bogey 5 on #18. Hugo has yet to par that hole -- 7, 3, 5.

James Vargas needs a miracle final round in his sectional. He shot even par today to sit +5, 9 shots off the qualifying pace. James continues to be plagued by big numbers, with another triple bogey today, this time on a par 3.

[worst_shot_ever]

Disappointing final round for Hugo, who I've really come to like. All he needed was a 73 (+1 "all he needed," ha ha). The cut line was -7. However, 6 bogies and only two back put him at T-33. Bummer. Does T-33 in 2nd stage get you any status on the Nationwide?

[Awsi Dooger]

Disappointing final round for Hugo, who I've really come to like. All he needed was a 73 (+1 "all he needed," ha ha). The cut line was -7. However, 6 bogies and only two back put him at T-33. Bummer. Does T-33 in 2nd stage get you any status on the Nationwide?

I have no idea about Nationwide status. Good question. Hugo has been playing the Gateway Tour. This was a perfect opportunity to advance his career.

I really like Hugo also, especially after watching the Common Room Chats on the Golf Channel website. Plus his mechanics look sound, slightly open stance with a draw preference but ability to hold a cut if he needs to, like the iron into the grid in the so-called "driving challenge." His putting looks good also. The only thing I've noticed in comparison to touring pros is he stands a bit further away from the ball than typical. Regardless, I'm not particularly surprised. I checked the scores 20 minutes ago, scrolling from the bottom, and Hugo's name showed up far too soon. It reminded me of Kim Welch in the second round of the Navistar, plummeting from T20 to missing the cut. Or Adrienne-Gautreaux McDonald shooting 78 in the last round of the Palm Springs qualifier to fail by 1. Players of that caliber have ability but the vulnerabilities are always there. Hugo was the only player to drop severely, from T9 to T33. As you said, a 73 would have been plenty so he's got to be kicking himself. Erik Compton missed by 1 in the same sectional, with a final round 73. In the Northern Florida sectional, James Vargas had another even par round to finish +5, 10 shots from the qualifying number.

[Awsi Dooger]

I checked a couple of sources and it looks like Hugo's poor round today probably thwarts an opportunity to play the Nationwide Tour in 2009. This from Wikipedia:

"The main ways of having status for the Nationwide Tour are to finish in a group of the top 50 golfers at qualifying school after the top 25 and ties, those who finished between 26th and 65th on the previous year's money list, and those who were formally fully exempt on the PGA Tour in the recent past. Around 14 open qualifying spots are given during the Monday of tournament week, and those who finished in the top 25 of a Nationwide event are automatically exempt into the next tournament. Past PGA Tour winners aged 48 and 49 can play on the Nationwide Tour on an increased basis to prepare themselves for the Champions Tour."

Another source more or less mirrors that, along with saying that the players who advance to PGA Q School finals, but finish outside the top 50 players after the top 25 and ties, are given conditional Nationwide status the following year. There's no indication that status is provided for players who fail to advance out of the second stage of PGA Q School.

[Awsi Dooger]

I took a look at Hugo's scorecards in comparison to each other and one aspect stood out: He was atypically poor on the par 3s on Saturday.

In rounds 1-3, Hugo was remarkably consistent on the par 3s, 11 pars and one birdie. In the final round he had 3 bogeys and one par. If he had played the par 3s in even on Saturday, he would have advanced on the number.

Strangely, 5 of Hugo's 6 bogeys on Saturday were on holes he had not made worse than par in any of the first three days.

[Guest]

Scattered thoughts on this week's episode:

As a point of clarification Casey did not choose which shot to hit, David and Sally made that call. Once out of the woods I believe they got down in three from the ladies tee. They would make it much easier on themselves it they could straighten out their tee ball.

[Awsi Dooger]

As a point of clarification Casey did not choose which shot to hit, David and Sally made that call. Once out of the woods I believe they got down in three from the ladies tee. They would make it much easier on themselves it they could straighten out their tee ball.

That's correct. In my previous post I didn't specify very well. The mistake, IMO, was Casey attempting such a risky second shot out of the woods instead of punching out. Since it was basically a 2-for-1 hole, he put a big number in play.

BTW, one very interesting sidelight to that hole, revealed in one of Golfgal's interviews last week. I believe it was from David. He said Casey's tee shot was out of bounds. David and Sally could have chosen for that team to hit 3 off the tee, but instead picked Rachel's tee shot in the woods, thinking it provided more potential for a subsequent mistake and high number. Turned out that was astute, given Casey's second shot across the fairway and out of bounds. According to those interviews on Gayle's blog, there was also confusion regarding who hit next. In other words, if a player hits out of bounds, do they play the next shot in alternate shot since technically they never put a ball in play, or does the other player hit? The later was correct, and Rachel hit next after Casey put the second shot out of bounds. Everyone in the interviews agreed the hole indeed took about an hour and a half to play. Initially, Rachel hit a provisional shot off the tee, thinking the tee shot was lost or out of bounds, but then her original tee ball was found, and in play.

[worst_shot_ever]

I thought for sure the aspect on Camila's face in the interviews signified that she and Hugo were goners. Guess I was wrong. Good. I love it when she picks grass out of Hugo's hair over in the BMW zone. They're just that sort of couple.

So the Shot Makers Shoot-out looks fun. Chance to see how the pros handle some BB style action. Something tells me they'll do OK.

Holy crap. I did not think Amber had that putt in her. Huge pressure after an incredible drive.