Day Four - The First Round Begins
And it did change. First of all, there were considerably more people than at any of the practice rounds, and that relaxed atmosphere of day before was gone. The players were focused and did not interact often with the fans now that scores were being kept. The crowd hush while players teed off seemed even quieter, if that's possible. And these greats of golf often visibly reacted to near misses on the putting green as the crowd gasped.I tried my best to make my way around to catch many of the big names. Tom Watson and Jay Haas both got a great birdie on 17 to finish 3 under for the day while Edmond's own Gil Morgan went into his final hole at 5 under. The group with Tom Kite, Hale Irwin and Fuzzy Zoeller was easily one of the most popular of the day as a horde followed them from hole to hole.
This is not an uncommon sight of course. Many people put up their little chairs in a nice shady spot beside a hole and just watched as each group played through while others followed in massive groups their favorite golfer. You could always tell when someone popular was coming because the sidewalk would fill with fans making their way with them.
It was at the end of this day, easily the hottest of the week, that I returned home in red-tinted pain and decided I needed more than just a bucket of sunscreen for the next day.
Day Five - Second Round Action
So I finally learned my lesson. It only took me four days to do it. Choosing a couple of the key holes, I found myself a nice spot under a shady tree and just took it easy. I planned ahead so that I would see many of the bigger names, and I chose a couple of my favorite holes. My locations would be beside the 4 green and 5 tee, then later the 13 green and 14 tee and finally in the bleachers overlooking the 18 green and the 1 tee.What I saw from the players was something different than the previous day. There was significant frustration as the difficulties of the Oak Tree course began to take their toll, just as I had suspected they might. Clubs were often slammed to the grass or tossed to the side, and the shaking of the head became a common sight.
Gary Player seemed to be quite frustrated, particularly on the 4th hole early in the morning. Lee Trevino turned to the crowd on the 5th and said, "I wonder how many members they actually kept when they redid this course." The comment drew chuckles from the group, but it wasn't a laughing matter to many of them. I saw Andy North, Tom Wargo and Nick Job all visibly unhappy with their performances, and none of these mentioned would make the cut.
However, one man who had undoubtedly played Oak Tree many times, Edmond's Gil Morgan, continued to do well. He wasn't quite as impressive as the day before but sat at 6 under, even with Brad Bryant and one stroke behind the leader Peter Jacobsen, who had a great day.
Sitting in the shade by the 13th, I saw all three in the group of Morgan, Jacobsen and Bruce Fleisher birdie the hole and draw loud applause in the process. It was quite a sight and one of the more memorable holes I had seen.
The cut was set at 6 over, and many of the big names had an early weekend. The leading group for the next day would contain Edmond's own Gil Morgan, Peter Jacobsen and Brad Bryant. Following them would be my Saturday goal.
Day Six - After the Cut
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who had that thought. Along with a huge group of fans, multiple television cameras and photographers, I decided to stick with the leading trio.What I saw was a lot of struggling, much of it probably due to the horrendous winds that ripped through the course. A couple of folks from the crowd had their hats blown onto the course, and it was clear the shots weren't going where the players would have liked.
Jacobsen shot a 4 over for the day and lost his lead. A bogey on 4 was caused by his less-than-ideal tee shot, forcing him to remove his shoes and socks at the water's edge in the attempt to get on the green. He would follow that with bogeys on 6 and 7 to complete a disappointing stretch.
Morgan also bogeyed the 7th but finished at even for the day and took over the lead at 6 under. It still wasn't close to his first day, but it wasn't bad given the conditions. Brad Bryant would finish 1 over for the day and sat in 2nd behind Morgan.
So the Final Day figured to see me once again trailing the leaders. There were not many good days, but a few others still remain in the hunt. I'd keep my eye on Loren Roberts, Jay Haas, Dana Quigley and Tom Watson on the last day as well, just in case there's a comeback.
