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Post by The Boss on Dec 20, 2021 18:15:59 GMT
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Post by The Boss on Dec 23, 2021 10:37:43 GMT
Round 1 - Here we are at one of the most famous courses in the world, and the weather is very hostile!! It was blowing a gale out there and the scoring illustrated how some players handled it well while others didn't. From his very first shot of the event, a drive that flew left into trees, it appeared that Mark Lipping, our winner last week, wasn't 'on his game' and he could only put together a disappointing 75. Rich Urban has progressed some way up that learning curve and he did well to card a fighting 73. Randy Grant had birdies on the last 2 holes to thank for a level par 72, while Les Souter carded 9 consecutive pars on the way to his own 72. Charlie Roberts had a run of 4 birds and an eagle on the outward nine, but in the end had to settle for a respectable 71, while Bob Fletcher was almost in a state of ecstasy after his fine 69 which included holing out from sand on #15. It was just a shame he had a triple on the 9th! Ian McKinley also made a good start by shooting a 69, but the guest performance of the day, however, came from Hans Kunok who played the wind superbly to register an opening 66. That sees him sharing the lead with tour pro's Notah Begay III and Vijay Singh, but with the weather looking like it's not going to improve much anything can still happen...   
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Post by The Boss on Dec 24, 2021 1:31:55 GMT
Round 2 - Not quite so much wind today, but faster greens. Mark Lipping improved on his first round but could still only manage a 73, despite a super eagle on #6. Rich Urban also improved by carding a 72, as did Randy Grant when he came in with a 71 under his belt. Charlie Roberts put his lacklustre 72 today down to poor concentration, but there was nothing wrong with his focus when he eagled the 2nd! Bob Fletcher made an even worse than usual start to his round and never recovered, eventually registering a 73, while the conditions seemed to suit Les Souter who notched up a fine 68 to move into a tie for 12th in the process. At halfway Les is 7 strokes behind the 3 co-leaders, who are tour pro Vijay Singh, overnight co-leader Hans Kunok, who impressed with a 67, and veteran Ian McKinley, who stormed to the top of the leaderboard by firing a stellar 64!! It's looking like we'll have our 5th different winner in 5 events this week, but who will it be?   
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Post by The Boss on Dec 26, 2021 14:24:39 GMT
Round 3 - Traditionally 'moving day' in tournaments, and there was a good chance of a lot of movement due to the brutal conditions today. A wind of near-hurricane proportions, coupled with bone-dry, incredibly quick greens had players switching into survival mode. Unfortunately for some, the weather proved too much - Randy Grant (80), Rich Urban (77) and Les Souter (78) all dropped to the bottom of the leaderboard after their games couldn't cope with the conditions. On the other hand, Charlie Roberts' 70 was his best round of the event so far, with a lot of putts burning the edge of the cup so he could easily have propelled himself even higher than his eventual tied 31st position. Bob Fletcher had a bit of a 'give and take' round, also carding a 70, with which he was overjoyed, and which keeps him a stroke ahead of Charlie in a share of 23rd place with the likes of Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia. There were developments at the business end of the leaderboard. The three overnight joint leaders were all displaced from the top spot. Vijay Singh and Ian McKinley managed a pair of level par 72's which left them locked together in a tie for 3rd, while Hans Kunok's 73 now sees him in a tie for 5th, but still in with a chance of winning. Tour pros Matt Gogel (67) and Mark Brooks (66) are the new co-leaders but there are still a big group of players who could snatch victory...   
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Post by The Boss on Dec 27, 2021 13:43:24 GMT
Round 4 - The conditions today were probably the easiest of the week. Still windy, but rain had rendered the greens a lot slower and less precarious. Taking advantage were Rich Urban (67) and Randy Grant (66) who recorded their best rounds to end the tourney in a tie for 54th. Les Souter's second 68 of the week earned him a place in a group of players, which included Sergio Garcia, who finished tied 39th. Charlie Roberts second level par 72 round edged him one stroke ahead of Les in a share of 34th, while Bob Fletcher was visibly elated after shooting his best round at Pebble, a fine 66, lifting him into equal 9th position. Overnight leaders Matt Gogel and Mark Brooks both had their worst rounds of the tournament and consequently fell away from the top of the leaderboard. Hans Kunok had been in contention all week, and his 68 today, although good, was not quite enough to finish the job. In fact, we had a tie for first place between Ian McKinley, who also fired a 68, and Tiger Woods who blazed around in just 64 strokes, the equal best of the event as Ian had also shot a 64 in Round 2. So it was Play-Off time! The Sudden Death Play-Off holes in the AT&T are as follows: 18th, 18th, 17th, 18th, and a repeat of that sequence if there is still no winner. It transpired that we only needed one Play-Off hole, Tiger Woods carding a birdie on the replayed 18th while Ian McKinley could only manage a par!    
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