Let me set the stage for you: Its the second round of a three day tournament, with a cut after todays round. After a first round 76, with infuriating double bogeys on the first and last holes, I was just outside the cut line forcing me to shoot a 71 or 72 to make the cut, one under par and even par respectively. At the time I didn’t know if that was true or not, but I believed it to be the case. Either way I knew I had to play well today just to make the cut.
Off I went and even after I bogeyed three of my first six holes to get me way outside the cut line, I knew I was not out of it yet. I then grinded out birdies on three of the next 11 holes, getting me back to even par and giving me a chance as I got to my approach shot on 18. With a 7-iron in hand from the fairway I was staring at a pond on the right side of the green with ample room to the left of the green. I knew I needed to keep it in play and close to have a chance to make the cut. I had to make par or better. I pulled that shot left of the hole and left of the green leaving me forty feet away from the hole with twenty feet of fringe to go through. As I stood over that shot, I had a wedge and putter in my hand, and I was feeling much more confident with my putter. Directly in my path, I had two sprinkler heads that would force me to chip over them or aim farther right with my putt. Based upon my play that day I made the best decision possible and decided to putt the ball. The lie was great, the fringe was in good condition, but I didn’t trust my wedge. I hit the putt pretty well considering my line and left myself an 8 foot putt to make par. I had a feeling I needed to make that putt to make the cut and play the next day so I needed to focus. I decided on a line and decided on a speed all I had to do was execute.
I hit the putt a little right of my line, and I still had a good feeling as the ball made its way up to the hole. It was the perfect speed as it stopped just on the right side of the hole with the shadow of the ball encompassing most of the cup. I stood there and waited for it to fall in…but it never did. As I walked up to the scoring tent after my round was completed I had a sinking feeling I missed the cut by one stroke. Several hours later I found out my intuition was right and was heartbroken. I played in four tournaments that summer, three of which had a cut after the second round, and in those three events I missed the cut by ONE STROKE! I’m not making that up!
Looking back I am asking myself a couple questions over and over:
1. Why didn’t I have the confidence to chip the ball on the green?
2. Why did I miss the cut by one stroke each time?
I have the rest of the off season to figure that out. I know that I will figure it out and I will be back next year with a vengeance!
What do you think…
GolfTooter 