Vandyland

- 2009 McKinleyville Open -
"Bass Ackwards"

- Prologue - Odds - Final Scores - Epilogue - Full Scorecard - Pictures -

Prologue

Results from last year's open weren't posted until nearly a year later and the 2008 open was in danger of going down in history just like the Lost Open of 1995, but alas, everything was found. Josh was amazing again with an 88, Greg posted an unbelievable 89 (the only player besides Josh to ever break 100), Micah finished at 91 (with a record 39 on the back), and Carl...well...he shot 50 on the back nine. Catch up with the details by clicking here.

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Odds

• July 8th, 2009 - Alright, so this is the first note and the open is less than a month away. Either someone is slacking or there is nothing to report...or both. Carl has been playing some ('bout the same as always from what i have heard), Josh and Micah have played once or twice, and Greg hasn't played at all. But, Greg has gotten himself in great shape for the open, so that has to be factoring in with the opening-gate odds, which are as follows: Carl-105; Greg 97; Josh-96; Micah-98
• July 27th, 2009 - A lot has happened since the last post...Josh has complained about his odds, Josh complained about his odds some more, Josh tried to talk trash, and Josh didn't back any of it up. The foursome played the McKinleyville Open tune-up at Wildhawk on the 26th and Josh finished in third. Greg had a stellar back nine of 6 over and finished with an 87. Micah played fairly solid and shot 91. Josh did well, but had some troubles chipping, had a few triples, and finished with a 93. Carl played through pain and managed a 101. So, based on these scores (and Josh's complaining), the odds have been updated (see below).

  Also of note, the open has been scheduled for Tuesday, August 4th at 8:56am. The folks at the proshop were reluctant to give us a time later than 7am and earlier than 9am, despite the fact that the men's group tees off at 8 and gets done by 8:30. Whatever, we may want to stop in there on Sunday.

  Another item of importance is that the Board of Directors has decided that this year's open with be a team match play format with Greg and Micah again facing off against Carl and Josh. This will be the first time of match play and the hope is that outcome with be decided on the last few holes. The tune-up sealed this fate as the lead toggled back and forth between the prospective teams and they were all-square after 9 holes. Greg and Micah did go on to win 3 and 1.

  Updated odds:Carl-103; Greg 92; Josh-91; Micah-94

• Final Odds: Carl - 103; Greg 92; Josh-91; Micah-95. Good luck to all...you're gonna need it.

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Final Scores

- Carl: 57/48/105 - Greg: 49/45/94 - Josh: 51/46/97 - Micah: 49/46/95 -

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Epilogue 

In nearly record time (no joking) here is the recap of the 2009 McKinleyville Open

Things were odd even before the round started. The decision of the Board of Directors was to have the Open be an individual match style format played in teams. What that means is that if Josh shoot birdie, Greg and Micah shoot par, and Carl shoots double bogey then Josh and Carl win the hole. The directors believed that this would be the best way to make the team format close till the end. However, on the way to the tournament the board was overruled in favor of a standard team match play format. In the above example, Greg and Micah would have won the hole because they, together, shot par while Josh and Carl shot +1.

Things continued strange once the players reached the course when they were told that they needed to start on the back nine instead of the front; that’s a first. Greg and Micah came out firing on #10 as if they had already played 9 holes. They both had some great shots and Greg made birdie and Micah par. Josh and Carl didn’t fare so well and after 1 hole Greg and Micah were up by 6 strokes…good thing they weren’t playing strokes.

Things turned around as Josh and Carl won three straight holes mostly thanks to Carl’s exceptional play, two bogeys and a birdie. The two elders remained 2up until the par 5 15th when Carl ran into some problems getting his ball out of the tall rough, but fortunately the pair was 1 up after 6 holes. Greg made his second birdie at the 16th and Micah was the only one to make bogey or better on the easy par 3 17th to bring the match all square. It was strange teeing off on the 18th knowing there would still be 9 holes to play, but Josh made par as if it were the 18th hole of the day. Greg and Micah posted bogeys, though, and took their first lead since the first hole to lead 1up after nine.

It was well played back nine by all of the players as they were all within 3 strokes of each other. The guys teed off on the 10th hole of the day, the par 4 1st as a whole bunch of kids starting hanging out at the pro shop. Greg and Micah won the hole and took a 2up lead, but Carl and Josh came back on the 2nd hole as Micah went in the water as a group of youngsters watched.

The foursome was told that the kids had priority to play #3 and that they would have to come back to it, so the players moved on to the short par 3. One ball landed on the green (it was Micah’s), Josh finished with an unprecedented double bogey, Greg and Micah took a 2up lead and didn’t look back. Micah made his second straight par on the next hole, Josh matched him, but Greg beat out Carl as the lead became 3up. Greg made his third birdie of the day on the hillside par 3 6th hole and his team went 4up despite Micah’s triple bogey and thanks to Josh’s triple.

Greg and Micah were 4up with 4 to play and were guaranteed at least a tie, but Josh and Carl weren’t giving up. Josh made par on the downhill par 5 while all the other players struggle and the lead was back at 3up with 3 to play. That was, however, as close as Josh and Carl would come. Greg made bogey on the 8th hole while the other players struggled, but this gave Greg and Micah the victory 4&2. The two didn’t stop there as Micah made par on the 9th hole and the tournament was over…or was it?

Of course, it wasn’t. The foursome had to return to the par 4 3rd hole to finish up. While the Axel Lindgren trophy was already on its way to being engraved, it was still up for grabs who would finish with the lowest score. For the first time in open history, there was a three-way tie going into the 18th…er…last hole. You would think odds would favor Josh as he can be very solid, but he had struggled a little on the day; he wasn’t going to finish under 90 for the first time since 2005. Or maybe the hole favored Greg since it is a long par 4 and he had been driving well most of the day. Or, could Micah somehow manage to overcome his driving woes, and preceding par, to finish with the low score.

Micah teed off first and hit it in a familiar location, in the little stream in the right hand rough. Josh teed off next and pulled it, as he had been doing much of the day, over a row of trees into another fairway (or water). Greg teed off next (actually, after Carl) and drove it right down the middle. Micah had to take a drop and played an aggressive second shot that landed behind the green to the left. Josh had to take a drop as well and after hitting a tree and a grounder, was somewhere near the green in bad shape. Greg’s second shot landed close to Micah’s, but would still require some work. Micah continued his aggressive play and went right after the pin and ended up past it on the fringe. Greg had a poor third shot, but was still on the green. Micah had a good putt but was just short and finished with a double. Greg sweated it out a little, but finished with a bogey and the lowest score of the round.

So, Greg and Micah won 4&2 (by 6 holes), but what would have happened had the tournament been played as the Board of Directors had wanted? It would have been Greg and Micah 1up going into the last hole with a final victory of 2up. Yeah, just a little closer. But, everyone knows better than the Board of Directors, right? We’ll see what happens next year.

Tournament Notes: Greg finished with 3 birdies and 0 pars. This is the first time that the lowest score did not include a single par…his birdie on the 10th hole was the first in open history…as was Carl’s birdie on the 13th. Speaking of birdies (Tiger Woods just made one in the second round of the PGA championship) Carl shot a birdie for the second straight year. Micah shot exactly at his projected score, Greg was two shots over, Carl two shots over, and Josh and amazing six strokes over. And speaking of Josh, this was his worst round since 2004 when he shot a 105; that was also the last year that he did not shoot the lowest score of the tournament.

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