Season two kicked off in true mediocre fashion. I was recognized in front of the participating chapter members for choking in the playoff and finishing 2nd at the MGAWC.
We kicked off the season at Silver Oak. A course I have previously won at and one that due to its lack of length provides me with quite a few scoring opportunities. I played well off the tee all day but struggled on my approach. I had to get up and down on almost every hole and my putting wasn’t strong enough to salvage pars. I sprinkled in a few pars amongst two doubles and a card full of bogeys. The highlight of the day came on hole 10.
My tee shot found a fairway bunker along the left side of the hole. The green on number 10 is one of the biggest on the course and features a lower shelf along the rear right side that can ruin an otherwise good shot into the green if the pin location isn’t in the lower shelf. I was 115 to the flag. I tend to struggle getting distance out of a fairway bunker. I catch too much sand and end up well short of my intended target. I opted for my approach wedge, my typical 120-130 yard club, thinking even if I get too much sand I’d still be safely on the front of the green. My shot was online the whole way and I could tell by the contact that I had plenty of distance. A slight mound at the front edge of the green blocked my view but the other 2 in my group applauded and gave kudos. Walking onto the green I saw a ball a bit long and left of the flag, but it was a neon green ball played by one of my group. I assumed my ball had hit and skipped down onto the lower shelf leaving me a horrible birdie putt. To all of our surprise, my ball was in the cup. A ball mark was on the green about 8 feet passed the flag, in line with bunker I had just hit out of. Backspin is not a big part of my game and seeing that my ball had hit that far passed the hole and spun back in for eagle was quite a surprise.
The rest of my day continued with solid tee shots being wasted with shitty approach shots. I couldn’t capitalize on any of the short par 5s. My final tally was 88, with my 2 stroke MGA handicap my official score was a 90.
I finished in 7th, taking home my first mini check of the year for 37 cents. I’ll take any top 10 finish as that keeps me on track for a chance at my redemption at MGAWC24. Next stop Lakeridge for the Bastards.
