Vandyland

- 1998 McKinleyville Open  -

 "Josh's Revenge"

It didn't take long for Micah to realize that defending an Open Championship is easier said than done, and it was Josh's pleasure to teach Micah this lesson. And it was Greg's pleasure to teach Micah a lesson or two as well. Things seemed the same for this Open just as in 1997. Micah wasn't on the golf team of course, but he was playing just as much golf. Josh played about the same amount of golf, a little here, a little there. Carl was playing golf a few Saturdays each month and Greg, well, Greg may have played once since the '97 Open. Micah had the advantage, again. Just before the Open, Josh and Micah went out to work out the kinks at Lighthouse Golf Club in West Sacramento. Micah shot an amazing round of 89, his first under 90. Josh played almost as well, shooting a 93 or so. It definitely looked as though a repeat may be in order. Of course, Beau Pre is a very demanding golf course and the weather is nothing like Sacramento. Details are, of course, missing for this Open, we don't even know the final scores of the players, but there are a few things we do know. Josh held a lead going into the last few holes that no one would be able to catch unless he really messed up. Micah was about 5 off the lead, Greg 6 or 7, Carl a few more back. Josh finished out the round strong, leaving him with a score some where just over 100. Greg had par on the last hole while Micah fell apart and finished with a double or triple. Because of this last hole breakdown and Greg's good final score, Josh finished in first, Greg in second 5 strokes back, Micah one behind that, and Carl a few more back. So, not only did Micah not defend his first title, he didn't even finish a close second. This Open perfectly shows the inconsistency in Micah's game. An 89 one day, then a 107 or so less than a week later. For Greg, this was a good showing. He came out and shot a little better, but finished in second showing that he doesn't need to play all year long but can still come out and shoot a solid score. Josh made it clear that he wasn't going to just roll over and give the rest of the Open's to Micah, he would have to battle every year for that title. Carl didn't show much change from 97 to 98, but he was just getting into the swing of things.