2017 Newport Cup Matches at Talamore Resort (Pinehurst, NC)

[RandallT]

Good morning from a McDonalds on I-85N. Was a pleasure and honor to crash the first couple days of Newport Cup 2017. I'll be home soon(ish) and will be tuning in online for the remainder. 

Today's the big day. The one we've all been waiting for. Yes, that's right, ladies and gentlemen- it's shorts day at Newport Cup! I know that makes Jerry happy, for whom the idea of 50F and slacks is quite foreign. 

As the sun rises on the final day, things are tight due to a late RED surge on the back nine of afternoon play at Mid-South. Here's the summary scorecard so far. Apologies if it's too small:

BLUE had opened up a 5 point lead at the turn of afternoon fourball at Mid-South, but things turned quickly in RED's favor on the back. In retrospect, we should've seen it coming because the largest cause for celebration for BLUE was a hole where Dave K had to declare an unplayable lie! Strange but true. Hey, it made sense at the time, as BLUE looked to be in strong position as we neared the turn.

RED had some highlights of their own. Dan (AKA, the "greatest damn bogey golfer in the world") had a heroic eagle chip from just off the green on the par five 15th. Tyler seemed interested in winning the all-important and highly coveted category of "most pars despite a lateral hazard drop."  Fortunately, Dan talked Tyler out of having his own Tin Cup moment on the 9th, and from that point on seemed to go their way.

The real turning point of the day may have been coach Mike cutting through the kitchen bureaucracy and demanding that his team get their meal in fewer than 2.5hours. The timing of the comeback seemed to coincide with the lunch carbs kicking in.

Dave P, on the other hand, was well fed and even debated with the wait staff on how to properly communicate that one has had more than one "Man of Law". The debate rages on, but is it Man of Laws, Men of Law, or just the mundane "2 mugs of Man of Law." I think only those from the Pinehurst area are fit to judge such questions, as it is a Southern Pines area product.

On the back nine, another possible reason for the turn of fortunes is when Michael H had politely asked me if the unfortunate events of the recent holes might be withheld to prevent public mockery. A "what happens at Talamore stays at Talamore" kind of thing. No chance, Michael! At that point, his team poured it on, came back from 1DOWN on the front to win the back and the overall.

Before leaving the topic of the matches, I just wanted to document how I love the contrast of different players. For example, Brian picks out the exact spot that he will hit with his driver, and he actually hits his aim point. "See that leaf over there on the right side of 18 fairway?" (at Talamore). Nice easy swing, and he hits it. RED said they only saw him miss the fairway once!

Phil, on the other hand, enjoys deciding on his shot shape and aim point late. He likes to see what random position he gets to at the top of his backswing, and see how things go from there. "I do know this- it'll go far. But by A5, I'm getting a sense of whether I want to hit a cut or a draw. Near impact, however, is when things come together and I make my final decision." Kidding, Phil! The birdies late in the back nine were quite impressive, and part of an amazingly well-played match by everyone in that group.

In other news, Erik had to increase his iCloud storage requirements to accommodate the bloopers and outtakes from the product endorsement videos. Jim, he wanted me to mention that you'll be charged 80% of that cost on your Newport Cup bill. Not sure what that was about, but I'm sure there's a good story behind it.

Kyle looked smooth on his endorsement, so if he ever wants to go back to the West coast, he has a future in Hollywood. Well, Erik might have to fix the sunburn on the product video first. For that, he simply needs to sample a color from the RED teams Day 1 uniform, and that should make your cheeks a bit less red. Kidding, again, man. 

At dinner, Nate showed what a team player he was. The owner pulled out every trick in the book to get conversation going with us, but we mostly wanted to be left to ourselves. The owner seemingly had a network of business contacts and extended family spread to every corner of the country, in an effort to make a connection. In fact, he even employs Webb Simpson to get us talking! Webb friggin Simpson! Nate, sensing that the man would not go away until a common acquaintance was made, said "Yes, sir, I know your cousin who works in the Wisconsin public education system in Orono." Boom, just like that, the man disappeared, content that he finally succeeded in his mission. Nate, with that kind of dedication you have likely secured your 2019 spot in the Newport Cup.

Well, lots of golf has been played so far. The holes were blurring into each other, and on the back nine of Mid-South there were holes I didn't think I'd even seen before. Drew felt a similar eerie sense of amnesia as the day drew to a close. Mainly, I wanted to thank Drew for reminding me of the soccer video (knowing Drew is an expert soccer ref) that I wanted to see after various viral golf instruction videos were passed around at dinner last night. How can you not love Scott Sterling? 

Ok, before Erik warns me about going OT on this thread, I'll just close with how incredible the first couple days of Newport Cup has been. Thanks again for letting me crash it. Has been great getting to put a face to the name. For all those reading, it is worth it to get your games ready for 2019.

With that said, have a great day, gentlemen. Play well and have fun. I've had a great opportunity to spend time with coaches Mike and Erik and while they are both competitive, I do know the comaraderie is every bit as important to them. Have a great experience with your teammates today, and enjoy your competitors. Life doesn't get any better than that.

Lastly, Erik wants to remind all that Lowest Score does not win today. You need to get to 30! Notice the sliding colors in the leaderboard? There's a mark in the middle at 30. I was geekily proud of that, even if I stole that from the recent President's Cup. Enough yacking. Back on the road. Sorry if I left someone out of the narrative. I'm tired! Good times. 

 

Edited October 22, 2017 by RandallT
Tweaks for grammar, humor, clarity

[jsgolfer]

Thanks for hanging out and doing the updates @RandallT, was good to catch up with you.  Safe travels home.

Edited October 21, 2017 by jsgolfer

[nevets88]

 

[nevets88]

 

 

 

 

 

[nevets88]

 

[nevets88]

 

[nevets88]

 

[Club Rat]

The West Coast looks really sharp today in their @PingTour apparel with custom #NewportCup logo #playyourbest

Many thanks to @RandallT for the on-course pics and leaderboard updates...  

Love the Match Ups for the singles today. Although as much as I like my buddy @DaveP043 I have to root for @mchepp and the rest of the West Coast.

to all the Newport players in this great event and thanks to all the Sponsors....

[nevets88]

 

[nevets88]

 

[nevets88]

 

 

[RandallT]

The challenges should be fascinating. Our hunch is that there will be many challenges on the difficult par three 17th, but each team will make decisions independently (and could vary based on conditions as they go).  6 points up for grabs with the challenges in today's matches. Reminder, the yellow ball will be played alternate shot and team that shoots par or better (net) gets the point.

Edited October 21, 2017 by RandallT
Fixed date

[nevets88]

 

[nevets88]

 

[RandallT]

20 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

 

The first of the 6 challenges! Good choice for BLUE here as they now gain a point.

As the groups all pass the turn, we'll post the updated leaderboard. Should be fairly soon as the foursome with Matches 1/2 (Dave P, Jim, Michael, Kyle) made the turn not long ago. RED was up in both of those matches. 

[billchao]

 

[RandallT]

Thus far, RED has widened its 1pt lead heading into today by 1 more point.  With the first Snell Get Sum Optic Yellow Ball Challenge going to BLUE, there are 5 points left for challenges. Of course, 12 points are left for the matches.

Edited October 21, 2017 by RandallT
Changed AM to PM

[nevets88]