The Kokopelli Golf Stance

Mr Science Reports

Terry started well with a very short birdie putt on 1, but the day was a struggle.  The pin placements were diabolical on many holes, perched up on small "top shelves", sometimes on peninsulas, guarded by bunkers and often at the back of the green, when there is nothing but trouble over the green on this course.  Terry made 4 birdies on the day, and burned the edges a few more times.  He was even par when he had a blowout on 14.  His approach was a little right of target, and funneled down the false front into the chipping area right of the green.  We all thought he should have hit a lob wedge onto the green, and had a par putt, even if it was a long one.  Instead he selected a hybrid to chip with, and it didn't quite make it to the top of the hill, and rolled back down near where it started.  On the 2nd try he used the lob wedge, and two putts later he had a double bogey.  He fought back with birdies on 15 and 17, but finished two strokes out of the playoff for the 11th and 12th spots.  The top 5 get a "card", exempt from qualifying, and the next 7 get a conditional exemption.  Anyone in the top 30 is exempt from pre-qualifying, and thus can play in the Monday qualifiers.  Terry is T20, and will be competing in Monday qualifiers next year.

The other two in our group were Fred Holton and David Peoples.  David shot 70 and missed the playoff by 1.  An errant tee shot on 16 went over the trap on the right, and bounced right, toward the hazard.  As he got into the cart, disappointed, he said "Every swing's an adventure".  He made a good chip, but missed the putt and released an F-bomb.  Then birdied the next hole, but it was not quite enough.

Fred, a club pro from Alabama, shot 69 and was in the playoff for 11th and 12th places, along with Lu Chien Soon, Rod Spittle, Curt Byrum, Jim Rutledge, and Rich Parker.  They all made par on the 9th hole, the first playoff hole, a par 5 where many birdies were made during the tournament.  Lu, Fred, and Jim all had a putter in their hand for their third shots.  On 10, another par 5, they all made birdie except for Rod, whose short birdie putt suffered a horeshoe-shaped lip-out.  On 11, Lu and Jim missed birdie putts from inside 10 feet, and Rich fell out with a bogey.  On 12, Fred captured the final spot with a 6-foot birdie putt.   

Peter Senior shot 66 and won the tournament by 3 shots.  Steve Haskins, who had a 4-shot lead at the beginning of the day, shot 74 and tied for 2nd with Joe Ozaki (66) and Ronnie Black (70).  Jim Roy (66) got the 5th exemption in a playoff against Bruce Vaughan and Kirk Hanefeld.