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| A simple change on the backswing helped stabilize at the top |
First, as a golf fan, was the fact that one of my favorite tournaments, the Ryder Cup was taking place in Chicago. From Monday on, all you could find in the Golf Channel, ESPN, NBC and sports reports were stories about the Ryder Cup, and who were the hottest players around and how the American team "needed" to win.
Then, as a dad and fan of my daughter Anya, instead of watching TV, I was going to carry her bag on the same days as the Ryder Cup in her last Symetra Tour tournament of her season, at the Champions Club in Daytona Beach, FL. No secret here, I rather carry her bag and enjoy her company, than watch golf all day long on TV... (that is why we now have DVR's where I can skip the TV ads). While the players in the Ryder Cup have achieved stardom, she is still chasing a dream and finding out the confidence that she can do it. There is no greater feeling than being part of a child's success.
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| Posing with the scorecard... if you see closely, it is not signed, neither I or her noticed the missing signature! |
As it is often with golfers of her caliber, sometimes a minute change makes a BIG difference, and on Wednesday afternoon, after a small change in her backswing, she declared herself ready.... "I wish I did not have to wait until Friday to start the tournament".
THURSDAY:
Course was closed because of a second pro-am, so she practiced (the Wednesday change was getting better), we shopped for some essentials, we went to a very good movie, "The Curve" with and by Clint Eastwood, and we went home. Home that week was the house of (great) hosts Ron & Suzanne Byrne. Ron is from Canada and a former professional hockey player and college coach (Colorado College), while Suzanne is no stranger to "putting her name in the hat" to help others: as a city council member in a small town in Colorado she always supported and introduced sensible spending procedures.
FRIDAY:
It was a good "high" in every front. Anya played a steady round of 70, three birdies and one bogey. She, however, missed several mid range putts that could have made her round 3-6 strokes better, when you consider that she hit the ball inside 15 feet 12 times! Afterwards, we were invited to have dinner at a nearby town at a little restaurant by one of the docks called "Boondocks". The mahi-mahi was delicious!
Back in Chicago, the American team started "making me look good" in my prediction that the U.S.A. would win by taking a lead of 5-3. However, that night I read my PGA magazine which I had taken to the trip, and I read something that I did not like: Davis Love III, our captain, had said, "I don't want my team to 'try too hard', I want them to have fun". Excuse me? But, since they were up 5-3, I didn't pay much attention.
SATURDAY:
Anya started very nervous and made some bad swings early. By Hole #6, she was 4 over par, and though we did not know at the time, one shot outside the cutline. We had a little encouraging chat going on to the 7th tee, a par 4 playing into a slight breeze. Recognizing her nervousness, she vowed to be patient. Her irons began to work, she hit the last 12 greens in regulation, facing only three putts of over 15 feet for birdie! Talking about "taking dead aim" and great ball striking! However, only two putts dropped, good enough to give herself a chance to play on Sunday. Her closing 34 gave her a 74 and her two day total of 144 (even par), was inside the cutline by one, tied for 48th place out of 72 players who had made the cut. Afterwards, she went to practice, changed putters to a more conventional model, from a large headed, light-weighted model to a PING ANSER lookalike and heavier putter that felt much better. At home, our hosts grilled a delicious steak and we had a really good dinner in company of another player that they were hosting, Martina Gavier, from Argentina. Martina truly loves and appreciates the USA as much as anyone you have ever met.
Meanwhile, the Americans extended their lead to 4 points, however, again, there were three things I did not like: i) Davis Love had made a decision not to play any player for 5 matches, which meant he left his two hottest players thus far, Mickelson and Bradley, sitting out the afternoon match. Why on God's earth, would a captain sit his two hottest players? I have no clue! ii) U.S.A. was on the way to be 6 points up in the afternoon matches until they let it slip from their grasp and ended up with a difficult to overcome, but not out of reach, four points ahead. That said, the Europeans had some momentum for Sunday with their "mini-comeback" from almost a certain 6 point deficit to a 4 point deficit, and iii) Nick Faldo mentioned that night that there have only been two full moons during the existence of the Ryder Cup, and both times, the team that was behind ended up winning. Sunday night would be a full moon. If you are superstitious, this fact made it a little scary for Sunday morning.
SUNDAY:
Anya started about 2 hours before the Ryder Cup would start, which would give us an opportunity to come and watch the last few matches on TV after her round. Anya's warm-up was pretty good. By the time she went on the golf course, she had expressed confidence in a good final round. Talking confidence and translating it into action, is tough, but she proved to be right.
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| Playing the Concession Golf Club on Monday (A Jack Nicklaus-Tony Jacklin project). Great course. Anya shot 72 from the 6,500 yard tees. |
For Anya, it started well. Not so good for the U.S.A. team, though we did not find out until after her round was over. Anya hit two solid shots to the 10th -her starting hole-, and two putted for par from 25 feet. She birdied #11 from 12 feet and #12 from 4 inches after her ball lipped out from a fairway shot. She added birdies at #16 and #18, both from 10 feet or so, for a 32. She lipped out 2 other birdies as well, all inside 15 feet. Her second nine was more of the same; she started with two solid pars, a lipout from 10 feet on #1 and a fairly easy save from the fringe on #11 (her first missed green of the day). Then she ran three straight birdies from 18, 10 and 6 feet. Seven under par for the day. Saved par with a good 7 footer on #6, her 15th hole, and two putted for par the next two holes, and on the last, made another birdie from 8 feet for a closing 32 and a 64 (click here for the on-line scorecard). It was her best score of the year and of her professional career. The best score of the tournament as well. When we left the green, she hugged me and said, "dad, I am so glad I did this with you in the bag!" and went to the scoring tent.
She went in, checked her scorecard, all was correct, and turned it in. She took a few pictures with people who knew her and wanted a little memento. She wanted me to have a special memento, so she also took a picture with me, while holding her scorecard. Anya had climbed from a tie for 48th, to a tie for 4th! In fact, a couple of more birdies between Saturday and Sunday, and she'd be tied for the lead up to then! (the winner birdied the last hole and ended at 11 under par). We went to the snack bar and saw that the American team was not doing so hot, but since no matches were over yet, there was a possibility that it would all turn out good....
It didn't, not for Davis Love III's team, and, unfortunately, not for Anya either! We were behind the 18th green waiting for the leaders to finish when an official of the Symetra Tour came and informed Anya that she had turned in her scorecard without her signature! I knew immediately what it meant. It was a sinking feeling that it is hard for other people to understand. Even though the rules are clear, and it part of the player's responsibilities (Rule 6), I felt partially, if not totally responsible!
I had just witnessed a great round of golf that would never count, that would never be recorded or officially recognized, a round that would have jumped a player from 48th to 4th, and a mistake that cost a young aspiring player a sum of money much needed for her bank account. We went from a "high" to a very deep "low" in a matter of seconds.
After realizing that there was nothing we could do, we went home to pick up our luggage and tiddy up our sleeping quarters. While there, I watched a little more of the Ryder Cup, wishing for the American team to make a comeback that never happened. I really wanted to finish the day with some sort of a positive that was not coming our way.
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| "I look forward to playing good in Q-School" |
I wanted to take my mind off Anya's misfortune and couldn't, the American team went on to lose, and the day was almost a blur... that is until Anya said:
"Dad, I lost a lot of money today, but I learned a costly lesson. At the end of the day, it is my fault only, not yours or anyone else's. There is nothing I can do about it but take the positive out of it, I had been playing well, but needed a really good round somewhere to show me that I belong here. I had a great week with you and shot a good round when I needed it. I take full responsibility for the mistake. Let's go, we have 3 hours to go to Bradenton, and we will have a great day tomorrow at the Concession Golf Club"...
Trust me: realizing the character of someone you love so much, is a proud moment and a "high" that is hard to describe!
P.S. Anya will be playing LPGA Qualifying School, Second Stage, next week (October 9-12) in Venice, FL. Third Stage will be the end of November at the same golf course where she played last week.... Can't wait for the end of November!