Number 36

What was a one shot lead with 12 to play turned into missing a playoff by 7 shots. How?

Hole 5 on the Fairfield Gold course is a gettable par 4 as long as the drive clears a little rise and is not bad off line with for me an approach 200-225 feet uphill through a narrowing gap. My drive as with the previous three open ones left me shooting first in the 5 some. The shot was on line but hit the base of a tree 25 feet from the basket and rolled back down 50 feet into brush. I was able to pitch up for par but the two who were one behind barely missed that tree and tied me.

Hole 6 is a par 4 which was extended a few years ago from a par 3. My play is a midrange to the fairway, another to where it bends 90° degrees right, and a pitch for a par. After a wait to play the hole, my drive was a bit right clipping the edge of trees leaving me out of position to get down to the bend. Though a roller was considered, tried to turn over the disc hard right to the bend as opposed to a safe shot and missed bad left ending up in bushes. After the roller out and the attempted turnover after hit first available tree, pitched to 20 feet which was the about as good from where I was being completely blocked and missed the putt for a 7. One of those I was tied threw his drive where I wanted it to land, went over the top to 40 feet and made the putt for 3.

That began a humbling and painful eight hole stretch where I either hit a tree or missed the gap beyond a tree 15 times shooting 10 over while my opponent went even par.

As I dragged myself to the tee on 14, the focus changed to making sure weight shifted forward as I threw and the drive was ok followed by a 60 foot shot that unlike a couple others that missed a gap, went under the basket. 

On 15, threw the best drive I ever did on that par four followed by a 220 foot approach through a 6 foot gap to 15 feet. Though still pissed the birdie putt double doinked off the band, figured out what was wrong and after executing a solid drive on 16, clanged home a 35 foot birdie putt to finish 7 out.

So how did it happen? Focus shifted especially after the bad break on #5 knowing the situation and with tired legs that the wait on the tee of 6 did not help, failed to finish throws with the body which causes shots to be higher, curve more left at the end and most importantly start off line both ways. Most shots in that stretch even the drive getting a birdie on #9 had one or more of those things happen.

So what next time? The next potential situation for winning, the focus needs to be on executing throws and not the results. Hoping this post will remind me what to do and prevent a bad break from snowballing like it did yesterday and during round one of the World's in June.