Another US Mid Am thread

[Shooting29]

After the popularity of Kyle's thread, I thought I would post my qualifier results for your viewing pleasure. 

I am a 2.7 trending to a 2.5, the course was a rating of 72.7 and a slope of 147. Par was 36-37. It is an older course with oak lined fairways and small undulating greens. There were 10 participants in the qualifier. I don't know why we don't get more but it was still a strong field with a WV Amateur champion and a WV Mid Am Champion.

I was very nervous on the first tee as this was my first US qualifier in a long time. I felt I could shoot around par and in the past, par has won the qualifier in my area.

#1 419 par 4 I hit a poor drive, a little heel cut into the right rough. 192 for my second and hit 5i in the center of the green and two putted for par.

#2 197 par 3 I fanned at a 4h and ended up hole high right. chipped to about 8' then read the putt perfect and yanked it. tap in bogey.

#3 526 par 5 you need to hit a draw on this hole and I cut my driver so I opted to hit 5w. Killed it and had 266 to the hole. left is dead on the approach. hit 5w again and pushed it. Caught a limb up by the green and I chipped on and two putted for par. 

#4 409 par 4 I hit driver and killed it but it didn't cut. Landed in the left side of the fairway and kicked left. I had 82 yards but was blocked by an oak. punched and 8i on the green and two putted for par. 

#5 457 par 4. Hit driver down the middle and had 195 into the wind. I flighted a 5i trying to bounce it on and it just hit and stuck. chipped to 5' misread the putt tap in bogey. 

#6 505 par 5 with ob about 10 steps from the right edge of the fairway. Double crossed my drive and hit it into 3 fairway. Hit 5w to just short of the green chipped on and made the putt. First birdie 

#7 335 par 4 quirky hole with a bunker at the outside corner, a creek crossing the fairway at 225 a pond down the left and ob down the right. I hit 7i off the tee just a touch heavy but down the middle. rolled into a divot. had 142 and hit pw didn't catch it good out of the divot. chip on 2 putt bogey.

#8 431 par 4 ob down the right creek down the left. hit a good drive down the left center. 183  for approach hit 7i to 30' 2 putt par.

#9 161 par 3 stupid green looks like an oversized Volkswagen beetle was buried in the center. the left third all balls roll off severe slope. hit 9i on the front center two putt par.

#10 539 par 5 hit a poor drive in the right trees punched a 5w to the center and had 162 into a stiff wind. hit a little sawed off 7i to 15' was one of the best shots I hit all day. hit it exactly like I wanted to.  ended up being a tough putt downhill left to right and I missed my mark just a tick and lipped out on the high side tap in par.

#11 175 par 3 tried to replicate the previous 7i and it was good just not quite as good and a lip out bird again for a tap in par. 

#12 393 par 4 hazard down the left ob right downhill tee shot to an uphill approach. hit driver down the left center 136 left and hit a terrible shot. yanked it bad and had 30' hole high. rolled it down to a couple feet and made par. 

#13 609 par 5 hazard the entire length left and ob right. heeled a driver into the right center. smoked a 5w into the center and hit AW from 115 to 5' and rolled it in. 

#14 413 par 4 dead into the teeth of  2 club wind. hit my worst drive of the day. a high weak heel fade into the right rough. had 198 and hit a head scratcher of a 5i. green dot in the center of the club face and my divot was right at my target which was right center of the green as there was trouble left. Ball started left and kicked in the pond. Drop chip on and two putted for double.  Only thing I can figure is the ball was below my feet and i hit heel first and just shut the face.

#15 178 par 3 hit 7i heavy came up short in a collection area. had no option for going up so i putted my hybrid up the slope and left myself a testy 3 footer but poured it in dead center. 

#16 501 par 5 hit driver down the left center and had 239 left. really should have hit 5w but there was hazard on the right and my miss all day had been a push cut. I chose hybrid because I couldn't reach the hazard with it. came up just short in the chipping area hit a mediocre pitch and left my putt hanging on the lip. 

#17 149 par 3 hit 9i but yanked it and had 30' from the wrong side so I had to putt over a ridge and hit a good lag about 2' past then made the par.

#18 515 par 5 hit driver high on the face almost but not quite a pop up. had 269 hit 5w just short of the green. chipped to 3' and finished with a birdie. 

shot 38-37 for a +2 75. My friend who has played in multiple USGA events won. He shot -3 70 1st alternate shot -1 72 and 2nd alternate shot 73. My 75 was 4th. After I talked to my friend and he hit it left on 14 also but his hit soft and he got up and down. That's how close it is. His kicks left and mine hits soft that could be a 4 shot difference where he shoots 72 and I shoot 73. 

Overall that shot is the only "mistake" I made. I am going to try and continue to improve and qualify for a USGA event some day. My biggest obstacle is length off the tee. My friend is 30 yards longer than me. 

[Pendragon]

It sounds to me like you played really well. I applaud your efforts. I also applaud the fact that you didn't go out of your way to call attention to yourself as you tried to qualify for this event. Congratulations on your performance, and best of luck in the future.

And if you think your biggest obstacle now is length off the tee, just wait until you get to be my age! 

[Hardspoon]

8 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

I also applaud the fact that you didn't go out of your way to call attention to yourself as you tried to qualify for this event.

Perfect.  I was actually trying to figure out from your posts in the other thread whether you were mildly confrontational and technical...or just being an a**hat.  Thanks for clearing things up! 

@Shooting29 - sorry for the digression.    Was it weird playing in a tournament with only 10 people?  I feel like it'd be even more nerve-inducing than a larger field...

 

[saevel25]

5 minutes ago, Hardspoon said:

Perfect.  I was actually trying to figure out from your posts in the other thread whether you were mildly confrontational and technical...or just being an a**hat.  Thanks for clearing things up! 

yep 100% a**hat. 

 

[Shooting29]

9 minutes ago, Hardspoon said:

 

@Shooting29 - sorry for the digression.    Was it weird playing in a tournament with only 10 people?  I feel like it'd be even more nerve-inducing than a larger field...

 

It wasn't to me. I've played in small qualifiers before. I was nervous though because I really felt good about my game and knew I had a chance. there was 2 twosomes then two threesomes. the first twosome ran away from the next group but that's probably because they played well. The first group held the qualifier and 2nd alternate. My marker wasn't going to break 90 and withdrew on #12. Our 3rd was a NS so we waited every shot. 

[David in FL]

3 hours ago, Shooting29 said:

After the popularity of Kyle's thread, I thought I would post my qualifier results for your viewing pleasure. 

I am a 2.7 trending to a 2.5, the course was a rating of 72.7 and a slope of 147. Par was 36-37. It is an older course with oak lined fairways and small undulating greens. There were 10 participants in the qualifier. I don't know why we don't get more but it was still a strong field with a WV Amateur champion and a WV Mid Am Champion.

I was very nervous on the first tee as this was my first US qualifier in a long time. I felt I could shoot around par and in the past, par has won the qualifier in my area.

#1 419 par 4 I hit a poor drive, a little heel cut into the right rough. 192 for my second and hit 5i in the center of the green and two putted for par.

#2 197 par 3 I fanned at a 4h and ended up hole high right. chipped to about 8' then read the putt perfect and yanked it. tap in bogey.

#3 526 par 5 you need to hit a draw on this hole and I cut my driver so I opted to hit 5w. Killed it and had 266 to the hole. left is dead on the approach. hit 5w again and pushed it. Caught a limb up by the green and I chipped on and two putted for par. 

#4 409 par 4 I hit driver and killed it but it didn't cut. Landed in the left side of the fairway and kicked left. I had 82 yards but was blocked by an oak. punched and 8i on the green and two putted for par. 

#5 457 par 4. Hit driver down the middle and had 195 into the wind. I flighted a 5i trying to bounce it on and it just hit and stuck. chipped to 5' misread the putt tap in bogey. 

#6 505 par 5 with ob about 10 steps from the right edge of the fairway. Double crossed my drive and hit it into 3 fairway. Hit 5w to just short of the green chipped on and made the putt. First birdie 

#7 335 par 4 quirky hole with a bunker at the outside corner, a creek crossing the fairway at 225 a pond down the left and ob down the right. I hit 7i off the tee just a touch heavy but down the middle. rolled into a divot. had 142 and hit pw didn't catch it good out of the divot. chip on 2 putt bogey.

#8 431 par 4 ob down the right creek down the left. hit a good drive down the left center. 183  for approach hit 7i to 30' 2 putt par.

#9 161 par 3 stupid green looks like an oversized Volkswagen beetle was buried in the center. the left third all balls roll off severe slope. hit 9i on the front center two putt par.

#10 539 par 5 hit a poor drive in the right trees punched a 5w to the center and had 162 into a stiff wind. hit a little sawed off 7i to 15' was one of the best shots I hit all day. hit it exactly like I wanted to.  ended up being a tough putt downhill left to right and I missed my mark just a tick and lipped out on the high side tap in par.

#11 175 par 3 tried to replicate the previous 7i and it was good just not quite as good and a lip out bird again for a tap in par. 

#12 393 par 4 hazard down the left ob right downhill tee shot to an uphill approach. hit driver down the left center 136 left and hit a terrible shot. yanked it bad and had 30' hole high. rolled it down to a couple feet and made par. 

#13 609 par 5 hazard the entire length left and ob right. heeled a driver into the right center. smoked a 5w into the center and hit AW from 115 to 5' and rolled it in. 

#14 413 par 4 dead into the teeth of  2 club wind. hit my worst drive of the day. a high weak heel fade into the right rough. had 198 and hit a head scratcher of a 5i. green dot in the center of the club face and my divot was right at my target which was right center of the green as there was trouble left. Ball started left and kicked in the pond. Drop chip on and two putted for double.  Only thing I can figure is the ball was below my feet and i hit heel first and just shut the face.

#15 178 par 3 hit 7i heavy came up short in a collection area. had no option for going up so i putted my hybrid up the slope and left myself a testy 3 footer but poured it in dead center. 

#16 501 par 5 hit driver down the left center and had 239 left. really should have hit 5w but there was hazard on the right and my miss all day had been a push cut. I chose hybrid because I couldn't reach the hazard with it. came up just short in the chipping area hit a mediocre pitch and left my putt hanging on the lip. 

#17 149 par 3 hit 9i but yanked it and had 30' from the wrong side so I had to putt over a ridge and hit a good lag about 2' past then made the par.

#18 515 par 5 hit driver high on the face almost but not quite a pop up. had 269 hit 5w just short of the green. chipped to 3' and finished with a birdie. 

shot 38-37 for a +2 75. My friend who has played in multiple USGA events won. He shot -3 70 1st alternate shot -1 72 and 2nd alternate shot 73. My 75 was 4th. After I talked to my friend and he hit it left on 14 also but his hit soft and he got up and down. That's how close it is. His kicks left and mine hits soft that could be a 4 shot difference where he shoots 72 and I shoot 73. 

Overall that shot is the only "mistake" I made. I am going to try and continue to improve and qualify for a USGA event some day. My biggest obstacle is length off the tee. My friend is 30 yards longer than me. 

Thanks for a great recap.  You're right, it's amazing how close it can be in the end!

 

[David in FL]

2 hours ago, Pendragon said:

I also applaud the fact that you didn't go out of your way to call attention to yourself as you tried to qualify for this event.

Really?  

[iacas]

2 hours ago, Shooting29 said:

My marker wasn't going to break 90 and withdrew on #12. Our 3rd was a NS so we waited every shot. 

Did he keep playing? Or just walk with you?

[Shooting29]

29 minutes ago, iacas said:

Did he keep playing? Or just walk with you?

He walked #12 with me then an official marked #13 and split the threesome up and made two twosomes on #14

My scorecard had 4 signatures. 

[bm85]

I have enjoyed these types of threads, and thanks for sharing.

Losing stinks, but it sounded like a good scrappy round of golf. Better luck next time man.

 

[Shooting29]

8 hours ago, bm85 said:

I have enjoyed these types of threads, and thanks for sharing.

Losing stinks, but it sounded like a good scrappy round of golf. Better luck next time man.

 

Glad you enjoyed it. I posted it because I had enjoyed reading about Kyle's journey. 

Tournament golf is a totally different animal than regular golf. I played a state qualifier earlier this year on a 69.3 rated course and shot my worst score of the year by 5 shots, 83. People who don't play tournament golf gave me lots of grief. My retort to the how did you shoot that question is generally I missed a 15 footer on 18 for 82.

People who would look down their nose need to put down their money an show us they can handle the pressure better than we can. 

[Pretzel]

Sounds like you played a really good round on a tough course in competition, congratulations! Just missed out on qualifying, but that's still a pretty darn good score to post with the difficulty of the course.

[kpaulhus]

Fantastic round. Glad you enjoyed it and it's crazy how one shot really was the deciding factor. Tournament golf is a rush.