Since I’ve been playing well this summer I decided to try my hand at the Mt. Si Club Championship, a two-day, 36-hole event. On day one, Saturday, I struggled mightily eventually salvaging an 87. I figured that I would need at least an 80 to even have a chance of finishing in the money for the tournament. Things didn’t look too promising when I three-putted the second hole for a bogey. But I managed par on six straight holes finishing the front nine with another bogey to make the turn at 38.
The tenth hole has been a particular nemesis for me lately including a triple-bogey 7 on Saturday. A solid four iron left me in perfect position but I yanked a nine iron into a dreaded grass bunker left of the green. My chip out left a 16-foot side-hill putt that I sank for par. Following bogey on #12 and birdie on #13 and par on #14 I saved par on #15 with a 18 foot putt from off the green.
I stood on the par-five sixteenth tee just two over par thinking all I needed to do was keep the ball in play for really low score. Of course, I pulled my tee shot well left but miraculously the ball caromed off the trees and landed back in the fairway. A second three-wood left me still 177 yards from the green. I stuck a five iron fifteen feet from the hole and two-putted to save another par. A bogey on #17 and par on #18 brought me to the clubhouse with a personal best three over par 75.
My two-day total of 162 left me tied with another competitor and I lost in the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to finish second. What a fun weekend!
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