My Quest to Qualify for the US Open

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

This week’s US Open qualifier was my first tournament back in about 9 months – I played at Hammock Dunes Creek Course in Palm Coast, Florida which is extremely demanding from tee to green and plays a monsterous 7,400 yards. After starting on the back nine which is considered the more difficult of the two nines, I got off to a perfect start. I was proud of how strategic I played and how well I managed my game. I played my opening nine in -1 under and was bogey-free. I was feeling good and amongst a hand-full of guys in contention.

Unfortunately, after a missed 12-foot birdie putt on my 10th hole, (#1) I got a little frustrated, as I should have burried it. I made my first bogey at the par 3, 11th hole after lipping out a pretty simple eight footer. This is when things got shaky. I was playing with a couple of guys who were spraying it all over the place and I spent time on every single hole from there on out looking for my playing competitor’s balls. We were, inevitably put on the clock for slow play and and had a small army of rules officials following us for the last 7 holes. I got a little annnoyed that I was the only one in my group in the hunt coupled with the added pressure I felt to play quickly. On the 12th hole I tried to avoid the lines of both of my playing partners putts and took a ridiculously awkward and acrobatic stance and lipped out a 12 inch putt! I should have taken my time to mark my ball and go through my routine, but can only chalk it up as a stupid, brain-fart mistake. Ahhhhh! Lesson Learned!

And then the heavens opened up. We got rained on for most of the back nine and I managed to still keep my compossure and press on. I knew I was in contention for one of the 5 spots up for grabs, I just needed to string a few solid holes together coming in. I stuck a 3-iron to 12 feet on the 230 yard par 3, 7th and had a great look at birdie that just skirted the edge of the hole. I roped a Drive on the 8th hole that left me w a 125 yard pitching wedge, uphill to a sucker-pin tucked back right. The tounament director rode out to join the circus that was forming around our group on #8, as my finish determined not only my fate, but the fate of several others. He informed me that I needed to make a birdie coming in to qualify. At this point I experienced a complete mixture of emotions. My head was spinning. On one hand, I was still in contention and could control my own destiny. But the other half of my brain was making me nautious thinking back to that 12 inch tap in that would have all but secured getting through and qualifying. I had to take it straight at the pin and try to stick one, and I nearly did. I flushed a wedge and was posing on it thinking I stiffed it. It flew straight over the pin took one hop from 3 feet behind the hole and took a huge hop over the green. Now, I faced a mega-flop shot to a green elevated at least 8 feet above me with no green to work with. I could only see the top of the pin and pulled off a miraculous shot that lipped out to 5 inches. I almost stole the birdie I needed to get in.

Now I stood on the 9th hole, my last hole of the day, knowing I need to make birdie on this 470 yard beast of a par 4. I had to go for broke and try to take it over the trees on the dogleg right and absolutely pounded my drive. Unfortunately, on the way down, my ball clipped the only branch sticking out and kicked straight into the trees. 10 rules officials and dozens in the gallery were unable to locate my ball and I had to take a penalty and made a heart-breaking double-bogey on my last hole of the day. I could have played it safe, but I didn’t want to have a long iron or fairway wood into a hole that I HAD to birdie. I play to win, not to “post a number”.

In the end, although disappointed I didn’t qualify, I was proud of how I managed my game and emotions despite the adversity I encountered. I hit a lot of great drives and my short game was really clicking. It’s never easy to stay completely focused when it’s raining, you have rules officials up your ass, and your playing competitors are taking you out of your rhythm with wayward shots, slowing things down big-time. It took us 6.5 hours to play! It was fun to be back in contention and still have a shot coming down the stretch despite that hiccup of a 1 footer. I took a lot of positive things out of the round and am VERY excited to get back on the road.

Related Category: Golf

Tags: fsga, Golf, hammock dunes, John Raser, palm coast, pga, pga tour, pro golfer, qualifier, US Open, usga