Corwyn: Just making a quick post as a timestamp.
I did get my round in ... just ... with some crazy rushing on the back 9 when I realized how tight for time I was going to be.
Got the screenshots (in a hurry) and a vid after the last putt (going from card/stats to lobby and bag proof), all of which I'll post tomorrow after some sleep, along with round report from my notes.
Quick comment: that was one of the crazier par rounds on WGT I've ever had (5 birdies, 5 bogeys, some very unlikely putts made and some serious clumsiness). Gotta agree with Russ though that even from the 'Easy' tees this was a really good tough-it-out test.
Here's the full report on my R1 from last night:
After a practice round that got ugly in places, I decided my main goal was to avoid any big number holes, and to play fairly conservatively. That all went pretty well on the front 9, and then the back got a little crazy. Was very glad to make the birdies when the chances came along. I think it impossible to get round here bogey-free!
Should have birdied #8 and #9, and should have avoided bogey on #18, so could have been quite a bit better... but I got a lot of luck too and some great winds, so pretty happy with par in the end.
#1 27@12 D263 >151, but well short with 137 attempt 16yds and poor flop 3yds short, but short so much better than disappearing long, and was able to save with fairly straight 10ft ding putt PAR
#2 26@1 This plays as great risk/reward driving hole from forward tee. Big tailwind had me thinking hard as to whether Driver would clear bunker... in the end, opted for 3W which I dinged down middle; bit too conservative with line on 2nd; and close-ish but never really likely to hole 24ft putt downhiller, 3ft PAR
#3 29@10 well short and left with poor tee shot, short with 38ft putt up ridge, 2ft save PAR
#4 24@130 pushed t shot onto horrible sidehill after aiming for way left flatter area, 2nd playing for flat area only just made it past bunker onto bad sidehill lie and overcompensated with 3rd which reached fringe on top shelf (not the place to be, lol), pretty decent attempt at putt but still inevitably rolled way past, but made unlikely 24ft putt for a great save on a genuinely hard hole. PAR
#5 27@3 >207 oh, so unlucky with roll-on shot that trickled into rough by bunker just short of a little power; horrendous lie but opted for just the right shot, phew! and came out to 1yd fantastic! [Shot of the Round, I think: pics above show the lie, and then where I aimed with almost full power 31 pitch], and sunk the 3.8ft save PAR
#6 25@1045 >176 bad mishit but got lucky as 3i turned out real well 3i to 5yds and made great 14ft speedy putt for a lucky bird BIRDIE
#7 27@330 D203 >219 couldn't even safely reach before green so big lay up with 2nd >71 not bad with PW uphill but rolled a little long right, really close with par putt BOGEY
#8 20@115 D253>279 2nd >92 good 3rd to 1yd, but missed shocker 3ft putt aarggh! really clumsy (aimed outside hole knowing it moved a lot, but then powered it right through the break, doh!), just a PAR
#9 24@1 played left to roll down, not bad 3yds away with 9i, darn dinged but not enough borrow on 9ft putt! PAR
... went to turn feeling bad, having missed 3 makeable putts on last 3 holes ...
#10 28@130 D242 but well right, got another dose of incredible luck with a terrible mishit 2nd that skirted but stayed clear of bunker (I was aiming well left and planning to roll round, which saved me) and made great 20ft downhiller woo hoo! BIRDIE
#11 25@1 D254>184 overcooked it and through back, darn, tried flop to roll over ridge but short and misread 14ft downhiller not enough break, 2ft BOGEY
#12 28@615, very handy to get headwind on this hole making for fairly straightforward birdie, despite mishit 2nd: D185 >36, bad pull on LW 2nd 2yds left sunk 5.7ft putt BIRDIE
#13 23@115, dhill lie tried 3H for height but wrong choice!!! disaster into bunker!, way hard with escape, uninspired lag to 6ft, but thankfully sunk it to avoid adding insult to injury (par would be outstanding here so main goal was to avoid double or worse) BOGEY
#14 20@4 Lack of practice in these conditions told on this hole, as I had no idea about this wind and wasn't confident of reaching closer fairway. Played very conservative knowing that finding sand here is WD time (remembering our Foursomes opponents' experience in the TIO Ryder Cup); forced to lay up with 2nd, and then surprised to go 7yds long on 3rd missed 22ft too high BOGEY
#15 beginning to get very conscious of time running out, so wind notes from now on are from memory and started to run out of time to grab replays. Nice t shot with good wind (3 o'clockish IIRC) went slightly right to fringe but sunk 10ft putt BIRDIE
#16 28@9 >93 CPU was in overload mode by this point, but I was pretty certain I did not have time to close browser and reopen), so soldiered on, and got inevitable punishment with hideous meter skip on 2nd shot to find bunker, not bad escape from horror spot and was lucky again to sink great save (which I didn't spend long trying to read either) PAR
#17 28@3 rapid aim and fire and good contact came up 8ft short left, and sunk putt for BIRDIE
#18 23@3 and was really rushing to finish, and didn't allow enough aim for t shot, coupled with slight push meant I went into right bunker, punch out from 30-40 was still miles away and couldn't reach, lay up to 55 with 3rd shot for SW approach which I managed to hit 5yds long, and capped ugly final hole performance with slightly early click on 16ft save attempt, 3ft past, clumsy bogey but in a major rush, and very relieved to finish with perhaps 2-3 minutes to spare before midnight tourney deadline! BOGEY
... and, once it finally uploads, here is my additional Video proof: