Week 7 Recap

[Fairway_CY]

The simple version is that everything went REALLY, REALLY well for me until the 16th hole. The not so simple version follows.

My matchup this week was with a guy who was sporting a really low handicap (6.8 I believe at the time of the match). Unfortunately, he's going through some issues with his game and has been struggling so his handicap SHOULD be in the 12-15 range, in my opinion. It was a big match for me, but not as big as my Week 8 matchup is. Either way, I needed a win to keep pace with the leader. As far as doubles is concerned, it didn't really matter to me. I knew that the chances of me being able to find a partner for the remainder of the season were slim at best. Still... my doubles record (4-1-1) was right near the top of the standings and I was hoping to keep it there on the off chance that someone DID find a partner for me. On to the round.

Wind, wind and more wind. That's what we dealt with all day long. Sadly, the wind swirled, so holes that we were HOPING were going to be with the wind turned out to be into a crosswind and holes that we were hoping would only be a crosswind turned out to be dead into the wind. All day long, only 3 holes played with the wind. It started right as we teed off and I'm not sure it's stopped yet.

Hole 1 - A 395 yard par 4 playing into the wind. Driver was dead center but S-H-O-R-T! Left me with about 210 to the pin. A low 18 degree hybrid was pushed a little and found the greenside trap. Sand wedge to 6 feet and I made the putt for par. (1 Up)

Hole 2 - The longest par 5 we've played all year at 581 yards but it was with the wind. Driver was crushed to the middle of the fairway. 18 degree hybrid left me 90 yards. Gap wedge to the back of the green. 3 putts from 38 feet for bogey. (2 Up)

Hole 3 - Another long par 4 playing 424 again dead into the wind. Driver found the center again, but short... again. My 3 wood from about 210 out was pure. It stayed low and wasn't bothered by the wind. Finished 19 feet away. 2 putts for par. (3 Up)

Hole 4 - Finally, a short par 4. 3 wood was again in the middle of the fairway (4 for 4 to that point). My 8 iron was thin and right. Landed in a trap. Sand wedge went too far and off the green. Chipped to 4 feet and made the bogey putt. (4 Up)

Hole 5 - A 180 yard par 3 that was playing into a right-to-left crosswind. I started my ball off the right side of the green. The wind brought it back and stuck it 14 feet away. Left the birdie putt 4 feet short but made the par. (4 Up)

Hole 6 - My first hiccup of the day. Driver was topped and left me a long way to go. Hacked a 5 iron out of the rough short of an environmental area. Chunked a sand wedge from the fairway then played a great flop to 9 feet and took 2 putts for double. (3 Up)

Hole 7 - A short 146 yard par 3 that played more like 175 because of the wind. My 7 iron came up WELL short and left. Again, chunked a chip then hit a goof flop shot to 7 feet. The bogey putt hung on the lip so I tapped in for a second consecutive double. (2 Up)

Hole 8 - This hole was played with NO wind for some reason. Driver was pulled. I popped up a 3 wood from the rough that landed in a hazard. 5 iron from there left me 35 yards or so. My pitch hit the pin and rolled to 25 feet away. I made that for bogey. (1 Up)

Hole 9 - Another hole with a big crosswind. Driver was short and left but my 21 degree hybrid found the green. I took 3 putts from 36 feet because I missed a 10 footer for par when the wind blew my ball offline. Tapped in for bogey from 3 feet. (2 Up)

Notes - My first few holes, I received strokes from my opponent AND he had a rough go at the beginning. That's how I jumped out to such a quick lead. My front side 44 was good, but could have been better. After starting 4 for 4 in finding the fairways... I cooled off and missed on the next 3 holes.

Hole 10 - A 545 yard par 5 that played with the wind. My drive was perfect and GPS measured at 285 (wind aided) and left me about 235 to the hole. My 3 wood was sliced badly and put me under a pine tree. I tried to flip over a 5 iron and play left handed but whiffed. Then I punched the ball out left handed with the BACK of my club. Flop shot to 12 feet and I 2 putted for double. (1 Up)

Hole 11 - A very short (308 yards) par 4 with the wind at our backs. My driver was pushed a little and found the rough 35 yards short of the pin. Another good flop shot that hit 10 feet short of the pin but ran to 24 feet by. 2 putts for par. (2 Up)

Hole 12 - The wind was kind of into us and from the left on this short par 3. My 6 iron came up a lot shorter than I thought but found the green and left me with 54 feet to the hole. My lag putt finished 3 feet away and I tapped in for par. (2 Up)

Hole 13 - The wind was crossing from our right on the 514 yard par 5. Driver was creamed... 21 degree hybrid carried the enviornmental area and lef me a gap wedge that ended up 26 feet away. 2 putts for my third straight par. (3 up)

Hole 14 - I screwed up this hole, but so did my opponent. Topped a drive 50 yards into the rough. 3 wood from there left me 120 or so. My 9 iron looked good but finished just off the green. Chunked the chip. Putted from the fringe to 4 feet and made double. (4 Up)

Hole 15 - This par 3 was playing 199 yards downhill into a strong wind that was also coming from our right. My 18 degree hybrid LOOKED perfect but was hot and ended up in the greenside trap. Blasted out but got caught in the fringe. Putted from there to a foot and tapped in for bogey. (Match Over 4 & 3)

Hole 16 - This is where I threw my shot at low net away. I hit a good drive, but the wind was REALLY strong here and pushed my ball from the left edge of the fairway over into some fescue. My provisional did the same but landed in a fairway bunker. I couldn't find my original so I played the provisional. 9 iron from the bunker ran into a hazard. Dropped in the drop area and hit a pitching wedge short and right into a trap. Blasted out to 28 feet and 3 putted for a double-par 10. Ouch.

Hole 17 - I kind of picked myself back up here. A 6 iron into the 158 yard par 3 was right on line but came up 35 feet short. A few feet forward would have won me the closest-to-the-pin on that hole as the winner posted more than 29 feet. I took 2 putts from there for a par.

Hole 18 - If I hurt my chances on 16... I completely obliterated them on 18. My drive was pulled left by the wind and left me with a bad lie. Again, for the second time, I popped up my 3 wood from the rough and it found a hazard. Luckily, I could play it from there. I punched a 9 iron out then hit a 5 iron from the rough right back IN to the hazard. A drop, an 8 iron and a putt from the fringe left me 6 feet, which I made for another double-par... this time an 8.

Notes - I'm lucky I closed out the match when I did because if I hadn't, there's a very good chance I could have ended up with a draw instead of a win. My opponent had a few tough holes on the back which enabled me to close him out despite posting a 50 for myself.

At the end of the day, my gross 94 netted down to a 73 and placed me 6th for the tournament. This earned me another 50 Ryder Cup points and kept me in the 4th spot on that list. I also improved my singles record to 6-1-0 (the leader sits at 6-0-1). In doubles, I've improved to 5-1-1 (the leaders are tied at 5-0-2). Next week is a huge round for me. If I win... I could end the chances for my opponent AND I could keep myself in the hunt. I'm guaranteed a loss at our outing at the end of June because I won't be there... so, back-to-back losses would also severely hurt my chances.

I'll have my Week 8 Preview posted on Friday evening.

'Til then...

CY