Round 2 of the Deepwoods championship was played under hot and humid conditions at Willow Valley Golf Club. I maxed out my point total in Round 1 and was playing with some co-leaders who had done the same. If the first hole was any indication, this was going to be a good round. I pounded a drive to the right fairway on this 340-yard par-4, leaving 75 yards to the green. Lob wedge hit the heart of the green, followed by a birdie attempt that just missed and an easy tap-in for par.
Hole #2 was the only one that presented a problem that has been plaguing me severely – bunkers. My drive was a few yards in the right rough and my 7-iron approach just a couple yards left into a bunker near the pin. I haven't had a chance to practice in the bunker physically, but I have been watching videos and reading tips in an effort to identify my problem. None of that helped, as I once again picked the ball out clean, going over the other side of the green. After a good pitch, I 2-putt for double-bogey.
I maintained bogey pace over the next six holes, with a par, four bogeys and a double. The par came on hole #8, a baby par-3 at just 105 yards. The double also came on a par-3, but one that was a little more testy at 170 yards. I pulled my tee shot slightly left and had to hit out of deep fescue. I was controlling things pretty well during this stretch. I had an errant drive, a topped second ball on a par-5 and a fluffed chip mixed in, but recovered well with an accurate punch, lofted iron, or steady putter.
The first frustrating part of the round started on hole #9 and culminated on hole #11. On the first of these, I hit a drive low off the club head and failed to carry a pond. Hitting three from the tee, I finished with a hard earned double-bogey. OK, nothing too terrible there. On hole #10, I wasted a good tee shot to the left fairway with a terrible iron and a bad pitch en route to another double. On hole #11, a par-5, I wasted a brilliant drive that was straight and deep. I had just 200 yards to the green from the middle of the fairway and I topped a 5-wood miserably. The club received a little toss in disgust. A terrible chip near the green brought more disgust and a wedge slammed into the ground. I soon recorded my third consecutive double-bogey.
The club toss and slam released the frustration and I played brilliantly over the next six holes. This included four pars and two bogeys. The first of these pars was on hole #12, a 365-yard par-4. I went driver, 8-iron into the heart of the green, followed by a lengthy lag and tap-in. The next par was a beautiful save on hole #14, an awkward par-4 that doglegs sharply to the right around a pond, with out of bounds along the entire left side. I'm never quite sure what to do with the tee shot. I tried a 5-wood over the edge of the pond, but sliced it into the water. Taking a penalty and drop at 170 yards from the green, I hit a beautiful 6-iron all over the flag that stopped quickly on the narrow section of green. Then I calmly drained a 12-footer for the par. The two remaining pars came back-to-back on holes #16 and #17, a par-5 and par-3 respectively.
Now came the second and final moment of frustration during the round. As well as I played over the previous six holes, my playing partners were also playing great. I knew that I was a few points behind them because of the trouble I had on holes #9 - #11. In addition, some clouds had rolled in and some thunder could be heard just to the west. In retrospect, I panicked a bit. I wanted to get the last hole in before any lightning appeared. But just at that moment, the group ahead of mine, which wasn't part of Deepwoods, decided to take ages looking for balls in the fescue. They went forward and backward three or four times near the landing zone, while we waited to tee off.
When I finally hit the ball, I pulled one left of the fairway, on an up-slope. It shouldn't have been a real problem, but an uneven stance and the rough combined to ruin my 7-iron attempt. The ball squirted forward just a few yards. Now I had a worse stance, with the ball well below my feet and still in the rough. Another duff ensued and I was still 230 yards from the green. The 7-iron was the object of my second club toss of the day. Next, I blasted a 3-wood 50 yards right of the green, but had a clear opening to the flag. I came up short with the lob wedge, then duffed another, en route to a quadruple-bogey 9. The wedge received a slam into the ground for the second time on the day.
I was focused on Deepwoods points and finished with 34 out of a possible 40. If I had just played the last hole calmly, I might have earned 36, which is actually pretty good. My playing partners earned 40 and 38 respectively, but focusing on them probably cost me a couple points. I hope it doesn't come back to bite me in the run to the championship. Also, the final hole blowup turned a likely 89 into a more typical 92. It actually ties my second best score ever at Willow Valley, but I expected more. Maybe not the 83 I shot in 2011, but sub-90 for sure.
Score: 92
Putts: 35
Fairways: 8
Greens: 6
Penalties: 2
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