My week in Dayton, NV was a success in that I advanced through 1st stage and onto 2nd stage. I'll recap each round and discuss some of the major moments of each day. You can follow along with my scorecard here.
FIRST ROUND -
Tuesday's round began on #10, but only after a 20 minutes frost delay. The overnight lows dipped into the 20s and I put on several layers of clothing to prepare. The sun was going to be out, but the wind was forecasted to blow all day and it did, keeping the temperature very cool. My first 5 holes were down wind and I missed an opportunity to get off to a really fast start. Being 1-under through 5 was just average and the final 4 holes on the back side would be right back into the wind. I played 15-18 well, with a lone bogey at the long and difficult 17th.
On the front side I 3-putted 2, but bounced back right away with a birdie on 3. I only had 8 feet for eagle on 3 thanks to a big drive and only a gap-wedge left in. The final 3 holes on the front nine were back into the wind so finishing with 3 pars was a good way to finish the difficult 1st day.
Take a look at the statistics and you'll see that day 1 was the toughest day, by far! The cool temps, high winds, rock hard greens, and tough pins really had the course showing it's teeth.
SECOND ROUND -
Another cold morning and another frost delay. This round began on #1 and I got off to a bad start. I failed to birdie the down-wind 3rd hole and then 3-putted 4. Bad approach shots on 5 and 7 led to 2 more bogies and I was quickly +3. On the 8th hole I hit a good drive, leaving myself only 220 yards to the green, but I decided to lay up instead of flirting with the water that surrounds the green. My strategy paid off when I made a 15 footer for birdie. Once I made the turn, my game had turned the corner and I started making a lot of good swings. I birdied both 10 and 11 and found myself hitting every green and having a lot of chances for birdies. The last hole of the day was another example of following a game plan and having that strategy pay off. After driving the ball in the fairway, I had 240 to the pin, but only 215 to the front of the green. Again, I laid up, to give myself a full wedge in and eliminate the chance of hitting it into the water. I hit my 3rd shot to 12 inches and tapped-in for birdie.
THIRD ROUND -
Thursday was the warmest day of the week and the winds were quite calm. That still didn't make the course easy because of the rock hard surfaces and fast speeds. I guessed that the greens were rolling close to 13 on the stimpmeter, but close to 16 if you had a downhill putt. Definitely some of the fastest greens I've putted on. My first birdie in the 3rd round came on #4 after I hit a 9-iron to 2 feet. It curled around the hole and just slipped by the cup. My bogey on #6 was a 3-putt blamed on an awful approach from the tee. On #8, I again wanted to lay up, but I had 200 to front edge (and over water) and 229 to the back pin. I decided to get aggressive and hit a 5-iron, which was plenty of club to carry all the water. I hit a great shot and had 12 feet for eagle, which I left about a millimeter short. One birdie and one bogey on the back side left me with a second straight 71.
FINAL ROUND -
Not a good day, but the best stretch came in the middle of the back nine. I inexplicably hit two tee balls into the water on 7 and 11, leading to bogies. Mixed in with those water balls were 3-putts on 9 and 13, so I found myself at +2 for the tournament on the 14th tee. Knowing that I was now close to the cut line, I dug deep and rattled off 3 straight birdies, hitting great drives on 14 and 15 followed by wedge shots that left me makeable putts. On 16, the hole was playing 207 (199 front edge), and everything short of the green is water. I hit 6-iron that landed on the front fringe and trickled back into the rough. I chipped-in for a 3 straight birdie and assuring myself a trip to 2nd Stage.
I don't know where I'll be sent for 2nd stage yet, but I'll find out Oct. 29th. Most likely I'll be in Murrieta, CA or Dallas, TX. Thanks for all of the kind messages after I finished. It's good to hear from friends after a long week of battling the elements.
Neil
FIRST ROUND -
Tuesday's round began on #10, but only after a 20 minutes frost delay. The overnight lows dipped into the 20s and I put on several layers of clothing to prepare. The sun was going to be out, but the wind was forecasted to blow all day and it did, keeping the temperature very cool. My first 5 holes were down wind and I missed an opportunity to get off to a really fast start. Being 1-under through 5 was just average and the final 4 holes on the back side would be right back into the wind. I played 15-18 well, with a lone bogey at the long and difficult 17th.
On the front side I 3-putted 2, but bounced back right away with a birdie on 3. I only had 8 feet for eagle on 3 thanks to a big drive and only a gap-wedge left in. The final 3 holes on the front nine were back into the wind so finishing with 3 pars was a good way to finish the difficult 1st day.
Take a look at the statistics and you'll see that day 1 was the toughest day, by far! The cool temps, high winds, rock hard greens, and tough pins really had the course showing it's teeth.
SECOND ROUND -
Another cold morning and another frost delay. This round began on #1 and I got off to a bad start. I failed to birdie the down-wind 3rd hole and then 3-putted 4. Bad approach shots on 5 and 7 led to 2 more bogies and I was quickly +3. On the 8th hole I hit a good drive, leaving myself only 220 yards to the green, but I decided to lay up instead of flirting with the water that surrounds the green. My strategy paid off when I made a 15 footer for birdie. Once I made the turn, my game had turned the corner and I started making a lot of good swings. I birdied both 10 and 11 and found myself hitting every green and having a lot of chances for birdies. The last hole of the day was another example of following a game plan and having that strategy pay off. After driving the ball in the fairway, I had 240 to the pin, but only 215 to the front of the green. Again, I laid up, to give myself a full wedge in and eliminate the chance of hitting it into the water. I hit my 3rd shot to 12 inches and tapped-in for birdie.
THIRD ROUND -
Thursday was the warmest day of the week and the winds were quite calm. That still didn't make the course easy because of the rock hard surfaces and fast speeds. I guessed that the greens were rolling close to 13 on the stimpmeter, but close to 16 if you had a downhill putt. Definitely some of the fastest greens I've putted on. My first birdie in the 3rd round came on #4 after I hit a 9-iron to 2 feet. It curled around the hole and just slipped by the cup. My bogey on #6 was a 3-putt blamed on an awful approach from the tee. On #8, I again wanted to lay up, but I had 200 to front edge (and over water) and 229 to the back pin. I decided to get aggressive and hit a 5-iron, which was plenty of club to carry all the water. I hit a great shot and had 12 feet for eagle, which I left about a millimeter short. One birdie and one bogey on the back side left me with a second straight 71.
FINAL ROUND -
Not a good day, but the best stretch came in the middle of the back nine. I inexplicably hit two tee balls into the water on 7 and 11, leading to bogies. Mixed in with those water balls were 3-putts on 9 and 13, so I found myself at +2 for the tournament on the 14th tee. Knowing that I was now close to the cut line, I dug deep and rattled off 3 straight birdies, hitting great drives on 14 and 15 followed by wedge shots that left me makeable putts. On 16, the hole was playing 207 (199 front edge), and everything short of the green is water. I hit 6-iron that landed on the front fringe and trickled back into the rough. I chipped-in for a 3 straight birdie and assuring myself a trip to 2nd Stage.
I don't know where I'll be sent for 2nd stage yet, but I'll find out Oct. 29th. Most likely I'll be in Murrieta, CA or Dallas, TX. Thanks for all of the kind messages after I finished. It's good to hear from friends after a long week of battling the elements.
Neil
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