Club Championship - Final Two Rounds - Too Many Putts

July 27-28:  Going into the final weekend one shot back, it became a 36 hole tournament.  I started my third round strong going out in 36.  The back nine was a very different story...

I had 5 three putts and a painful triple on the 11th after hitting my tee shot into an unplayable lie along the left out of bounds fence.  Shot 46 and dropped myself into 4th place and 5 shots off the lead held by Brett Douglas.

On the final day, my plan was to play aggressive on my approach shots.  It worked well right off the bat, hitting my approach on one to 15 feet above the hole, tucked in the left corner.  What did I do?  Three putt! This couldn't be more discouraging after my putting mess on Saturday.  I really was not comfortable with the speeds.  My putting woes continued until the back nine on 13 when I hit a 15 foot birdie putt.  This ignited by adrenaline and confidence coming to the final holes.  On 14, I just missed a 30 foot birdie try.  On 15, I made a 35 foot birdie in front of the clubhouse!  Going into the horn, I felt great about my chances to birdie at least one of three.  The 16th tee was up and the 17th pin (back left) was prime for a tight shot.  My intentions felt right, but the wait on the 16th must have taken something out of me.  I was trying too hard, finished par, bogey, bogey to shoot 75 and ended up runner up by three shots.  The winner finished birdie, par, par...our performance on the horn ended up being the difference.

My eighteen hole was dramatic as usual for me.  I caught a flyer 8-iron from 170 that hit the back side of the green.  According to the gallery, it bounced over the bunker, off a cart tire, off the clubhouse, and then rolled down the cart path between the first tee boxes.  A fortunate break.  I hit a great flop shot and just missed the par attempt.

Something about playing in front of the crowd gets me excited.  Love it.

B. Douglass was the winner at 305.  High scores for the tournament.  Course was playing tough.  Another good weekend for weather, 80s and mostly sunny.  My Dad was excellent and big thanks to my Mom and Uncle to watching my final 9 holes.

Congrats to all the Lex members who participated in the four rounds.  Its a great test.

Kurt