13. SENIOR U.S. OPEN

I should be -1 after round 1. par should be 71?

Round 2

Heavy overnight rain resulted in the greens being fairly receptive and quite slow today, but also there is no wind at all. Ian McKinley's 73 was only a slight improvement on his first round, so he remained anchored at the foot of the leaderboard. Randy Grant slipped downwards after his 71, putts not reaching the cup being his main failing. Meanwhile Jared Kingsley and Bob Fletcher stayed in contention when they produced a pair of 68's. Jared was left to rue several missed opportunities, but still only carded one solitary bogey. Bob, on the other hand, had a frustrating day with the putter, holing some good putts but also struggling with others, hence a 4-putt and a 3-putt on his card.

Round 3

As if the course wasn't difficult enough, there were high winds today and, coupled with glass-like rolling greens, this was probably the toughest round of the season so far. Jared Kingsley (84), Ian McKinley (81) and Bob Fletcher (80) all succumbed to the brutal conditions, rendering their final rounds tomorrow completely meaningless. Charlie Roberts, however, showed how to combat the wind and the greens on his way to a level par 72. Charlie even grabbed an eagle on the 4th, but a couple of bogeys on the back nine denied him a sub-par round. To his great credit, Randy Grant also carded a 72 but will still have his work cut out to achieve a top 10 finishing place and some Charles Schwab Cup points. And after today most players will be glad to be leaving Black Salt Valley...