Monday, August 22, 2005
Sedgefield Championship Recap
Yesterday was a hot afternoon to wrap up the club championship at Sedgefield. Play was fairly slow, too, which left us standing around roasting in the sun a good bit.
I started the day four shots off the lead, but a front nine 37 left me six back midway through the final round. By the 15th tee, another player and I had closed the gap to two shots. Standing on the last tee, I was still two back of the leader and one back of two other golfers.
The final hole is a par five with a narrow driving area. I hit a good drive, but it ended up in heavy rough on the left. My only hope of winning was to hit a miracle shot on the green and make eagle (I later learned that the report to the gallery behind the final green was that there was no way I could reach the green from that heavy rough).
With nothing to lose, I ripped a 4-iron from 205 yards that landed short of the pin and ran to the back fringe. That left me a 20-25' putt that was severely downhill. My putt raced down the hill, hit the back of the hole, jumped in the air, and fell in the jar. That brought a roar from the 50 or so in the gallery.
That put me in a playoff with the defending champion. Unfortunately, I hit a poor tee shot that led to a bogey and a playoff loss. But I was pretty happy to finish runner up and to make the eagle under pressure and in front of the gallery.
I started the day four shots off the lead, but a front nine 37 left me six back midway through the final round. By the 15th tee, another player and I had closed the gap to two shots. Standing on the last tee, I was still two back of the leader and one back of two other golfers.
The final hole is a par five with a narrow driving area. I hit a good drive, but it ended up in heavy rough on the left. My only hope of winning was to hit a miracle shot on the green and make eagle (I later learned that the report to the gallery behind the final green was that there was no way I could reach the green from that heavy rough).
With nothing to lose, I ripped a 4-iron from 205 yards that landed short of the pin and ran to the back fringe. That left me a 20-25' putt that was severely downhill. My putt raced down the hill, hit the back of the hole, jumped in the air, and fell in the jar. That brought a roar from the 50 or so in the gallery.
That put me in a playoff with the defending champion. Unfortunately, I hit a poor tee shot that led to a bogey and a playoff loss. But I was pretty happy to finish runner up and to make the eagle under pressure and in front of the gallery.
