A much better 2nd round from me, although I'm still kicking myself for a late click on an almost straight 8 footer on the closing hole for a par which would have matched Russ' 69.
Apart from that, I putted really well, and did a much better job of saving par on the tough holes into the wind. One of the things I find really fun about these TIO Starter rounds is that I take my time over them, savoring the challenge of every shot (each of which generally requires a lot of consideration, lol!). It's more like a real round of golf.
With this gear, you're bound to get some tough breaks, but might get some luck too, so typically, it will even itself out. I somehow managed 6 birdies, had several mid-range birdie tries that might have gone in, one bad par putt miss (on #18), and two poor 3W 2nds on #4 and #13, both of which led to bogey.
Here's the tale of the tape (wind strength and direction indicated at the beginning of each hole):
#1 20@715 ding to hollow still 209 away!, played 190 layup to leave 50odd from l-side dinged 3rd SW but rolled way long (forgot to allow for roll), and not enough break on 15ft attempt BOGEY
#2 15@500, ding just reached fairway, 169 away into 15, ding 190fbs 6yds short R , and dinged 17ft putt for super bird into the wind BIRDIE
#3 16@200 dinged Dr1/2ts 92% 6yds long top level (thanks Mags for showing how you tackle the par 3s here: I'd never tried them with top-spin Drivers before), and another dinged putt 19ft perfect speed to drop in and take break BIRDIE
#4 17@800 Poor aim on 3W 2nd, found rough, misjudged 3rd and rolled back to fringe, lag putt up slope was terrible , and dinged 18ft bogey try but not enough for initial break ugly DOUBLE BOGEY
#5 21@900 dinged drive but found side and upslope, but shot of the round 190 fbs 99% ding to 1yd , and sunk 4ft curler BIRDIE
#6 20@700 slight late click played 170ns 99% bounced short of ridge but didn't roll up, missed ding with putt and slid by on right PAR
#7 21@615 good drive to hollow, good 2nd but found awful sidehill, and pulled 3rd into rough aargghh... v good flop to 1yd to save PAR
#8 16@430 good drive but still 213 away, dinged 3W but didn't clear ridge, good pace on 34ft putt but not enough break PAR
#9 17@300. Grateful for a tip from Cerino this time (and I remembered folly of trying for fairway without big tailwind from last TIO), so hit 3H to land in hollow before the brush and was lucky enough to get 20% lie. Then, unsure if it was wise, took life in hands thinking I could clear bunkers with 3H, but pulled it, and got lucky to bounce through , 3rd from 64 was bad miscalc of slopes/distances, and came up miles short; slight pull on 25ft par try and just missed BOGEY
#10 16@1030 nice 190 1/2bs 98% run-up try but too long 5yds, and sunk 14ft putt dead centre (lucky as putt was slight pull though) BIRDIE
#11 14@445 slight push t shot 225fts 100 but made it to top level 5yds long right, sliced putt into break but lost too much pace--just missed left PAR
#12 21@500 ding to fairway but unlucky big sidehill; hit 190fbs 93% but badly underclubbed, just cleared bunkers, very nice distance on flop but misjudged sideslip 3yds right, relieved to sink good 8.6ft save PAR
#13 20@1100 slight pull, and rolled into horrible sidehill lie aargghh, and got lucky with another pull which just evaded bunkers; dreadful flop that didn't get up there at all, and well short on 22ft attempt from fringe: ugly BOGEY
#14 18@900 succeeded in catching downslope with ding but ended up halfway down 2nd big hummock, dinged 3W chaser to get distance 3rd with 125 1/2ts 97% just changed aim too far left 3yds but sunk 9ft putt BIRDIE
#15 13@430 decent drive, dinged 3W 2nd trying to leave flat 70 3rd but unlucky to find downhill lie, dinged 70fbs 90% and perfect landing spot just on the green... almost holed it, but made 4ft save for a good PAR
#16 17@830 170fbs 99% but pulled it 6yds left, but made splendid 14ft downhill curler BIRDIE
#17 17@600 good drive but still 214 away, tried lay up for 50club but mishit and way short, bad club distance 52 4up into 4wind, bad mishit late but got very lucky and made 4ft save PAR
#18 20@430 dinged drive but left on big sidehill, couldn't get close enough to green, so tried to leave 50club 3rd hit 190, decent 3rd almost ding but erred a bit safe 3yds right of pin, terrible push on 8ft par putt, aargghh! really annoying closing BOGEY
Tournament ends tonight, midnight WGT time. Of the contenders, Jeremy is still to play (seems to have had Starters in the bag for a while... practicing hard, perhaps, lol!) and needs a 71 to pip Russ... but Konrad is still in the hunt as well, having posted 72 in R1 (and a 67 would be enough to catch Russ on 139).
TOURNAMENT ENTRY LINK IS HERE!
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And just a reminder about the various stats categories for those players who submitted scorecards/stats in the forum thread:
Spreadsheet is here.
It's divided into 2 groupings, players who've provided a verifiable record for both rounds (either in pics or twitch etc) and those who haven't (and are thus ruled out for special prizes). Note: there's a highlight in yellow on the box where that player is currently leading that category, and highlights in blue if they are next in the standings.
Please look and see if I might have copied any of your own data wrongly, or missed your submitted info.
Please Note: There are a few players (Devon, SteveReilly, StevepSheehan) who might have been in the running for one of the prizes, but haven't submitted any R2 stats (if they captured them). Deadline for all stats submissions is midday Tuesday 2/24 WGT time.