Colonial: Day II
Welcome to the Friday addition of Inside the Ropes this week at the Colonial CC in FW. Well the horses blasted out of the gate at the bell and some flew, others lagged, the field thinned and there were a few surprises.
The wind played tricks as the day wore on favoring groups that played earlier as was the case with the leaders Jonas Blixt, Kevin Na and Tony Finau.
WAIT !! AREN’T THOSE PLAYERS YOU WERE WITH YESTERDAY?
Correctemundo.
You can read the wire reports but yes. I read them as well on line of course and even watched a short video with Jonas Blixt. Very soft-spoken, timid and reserved as I guess most Swedes are by nature.
What I CAN tell you what you WON’T find in the Reuters, AP or UPI reports and that is what I like about JBlix.
Hole 15 from Mondays round was the perfect example.
Blixt played a more traditional or now ‘European’ style where Na and Potter played the ‘thinking, US’ game.
Whereas Blixt blasted his driver off the tee, his playing partners used either hybrids or rescue clubs whatever is trending OR their sponsors supply them. The club in question USED to be a fairway wood, 3 or 4, but they switched to metal a number of years back. ‘Fairway metal’ never sounded correct or caught on so they simply invented new names so they could sell suckers, the ‘playing public’, new equipment.
It’s very simple actually. Basic marketing. Create ‘demand’ thru advertising, then supply to.
Anyway, Potter and Na were 30-40 yards behind Blixt, in the fairway, studying and comparing notes on yardage with respective caddies, taking winds into account of course trying to think of EVERYTHING and of course taking far too much time.
Then the preshot routines of course. Na would continue yapping to his caddie the entire time … ‘165 or 172?’ right up until he struck the ball. Annoying to say the least BUT HEY, you can't say ANYTHING!
Both players hit first being further back and consequently had longer and more difficult shots.
Blixt, using driver and further down the fairway, took one look at his yardage book, checked the wind, may or MAY NOT have spoken to his caddie and promptly hit the ball onto the green.
Anyway, let's move to todays group & recap.
All three (3) players were in the black numbers which is over par. Not good for todays scores will determine who plays on the weekend for the championship, who can go home and this is known as the ‘cut’. Players ‘make the cut’ or fail to make the cut and it derives from cutting the field eliminating the stragglers and those with little to no chance to win outright.
Andrew Landry, Si-Wee Kim and Rod Pampling were the players and we had an intern walking with us named Garret recently graduated from TCU with a ‘dual major’ in sports management and business. He was good for amusement and one side story.
He got to see all the local teams play up close and was of course knowledgeable so I tested him.
Stars v blues, OT, Jamie Benn to the right of the goal, facing the WIDE open net, puck comes to him, he either can’t corral it OR it bounces over his stick.
What does he do? He tosses his head in the air in frustration at the missed opportunity and right at that moment I knew the Stars were not going to win that game.
Garret remembered that moment AND added to it. As Captain, the other players had to sense or see that reaction and their sails lost a small bit of wind and it all unfolded. They did lose, the season ended and the blues are playing in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Stars are golfing somewhere.
Anyway, Garret bailed out the scorer who was absolutely awful. The scorer was the worst I ever had.
On the very first hole, things got messed up. Both players had the white pants, blue (shades) of shirts, white caps and shoes. IOW, it was difficult telling them apart by these common designators or discriminators.
She simply could not do her job. She kept talking asking me where so-and-so was. Many times I simply could not see from where I was standing and I told her more than once but with people like that it doesn’t sink in. Instead of talking she SHOULD HAVE walking ahead to observe and record that data. But you CANNOT say ANYTHING.
One time on hole nine, all three players were having problems and she is standing right next to me.
In this case NOT where she is supposed to be. So she asks me, ‘Is Kim in the bunker?’ Keep in mind she has a hand-held instrument to report just these kinds of data-points, real time to the PGA statistics trailer.
Being as kind and as diplomatic as I could possibly muster, I said ‘We have the same view angle here and I simply cannot see or do I have any idea if he is in the bunker.’ What I SHOULD have said was something like ‘shag your lazy ass over there, take a look for yourself and do YOUR job.’ She has been doing this she said 20+ years. She was asking ME for scores. And I acknowledged to her I was supposed to help her out occasionally but certainly not as often as she was requesting help.
I told Garret in confidence on the back side I had had enough and keep her away from me. A classic toxic female. This one was not going to drag me under.
Another quick one.
I said the players scores to her politely and confirm with her which is ‘helping’. ‘Bogey, bogey par?’
She says ‘Yep. 6,6,5’.
‘Whoa’ I says. ‘I KNOW Pampling had a par (4).’
‘Oh, your sign is right. 6,6,5. They had two 5’s and a 4.’
Mother of pearl AND hijo de puta.
I exhausted now ALL remaining reserves and had there been A gun in the general vicinity I would have done the honors.
Anyway, I am digressing and I must get moving.
All three players this day played poorly by their standards and missed the cut. I did get autographed balls from each and gave Kim’s signed Calloway and Pampling’s Srixon to young lads in attendance with their Dad’s keeping Landry’s Titleist 90 to play with.
Very cool to just watch the reactions.
Tomorrow is Saturday and my ‘OFF’ day.
Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow so hopefully something will come into focus overnight.
