Dane Werk

Day 1 of PGA Tour Qualifying at Grasslands in Lakeland, Florida

PGA Tour qualifying for the first leg has started at Grasslands Golf & Country Club located in Lakeland, Florida today.  Grasslands is one of 13 sites around the U.S. that has the first leg of qualifying.  There is a strong northern wind on the Jerry Pate and Bob Cupp designed course.  I am perched up in my sky-box on what is usually the par 3 10th hole but is being used for the qualifier as the 18th hole because the PGA does not care to start a nine on a par 3.  I can see clearly from here the 1st and 10th hole tees.  But I have a complete few of the par 3 18th and that is where my focus will be.  The pin is tucked left towards the front center of the green.  This pin placement typically plays about 162 yards from the tips with an elevated green surrounded by five deep bunkers that sit about six feet below the green. With the strong wind today it will probably play about 190 yards to the hole.  The players will start coming to the 18th about 10:45 a.m. 

The last players teed of on 1 and 10 at 10:30.  The first group on the front is now hitting into the 9th hole, so I should be seeing the players come to the 18th very soon.  It is now 10:50 and the first group is getting ready to tee off.  I do have the list of players but will not be breaking it down to who got what.  The interesting thing about these guys is the consistency they hit the ball.  Balls will be landing in about 3 locations on the green all day. 

 The first shot was a very safe one about 15 feet to the right of the pin, hole high.  I expect to see a lot of those today with this wind.  The next ball was pushed right to the far side of the green but is hole high.  The other tee ball was hit left of the bunker hole high.  That will be a very difficult location to get it up and down.  Oh boy, the shot was hit low and went across the green.  He is going to be left with a 10 foot bogie putt.  A very nice putt from across the green for an easy par from the second player and easy par from the 3rd player.  A very nice putt to save bogey by the first player.  With the bermuda rough, the 1st players ball stayed out of the bunker on his tee ball and when he scalded it across the green the bermuda kept it out of the bunker.

The next group has the 1st player hitting it to the fringe, below the hole and the 2nd player hit the safe shot pin high about 15 feet right of the pin.  The wind is very strong and that is what we grasslands guys call the teeth of this course.  The 3rd player pushed the ball right and will have about a 40 foot putt for birdie.  There is the first birdie by the guy who put the ball about 15 feet to the right of the pin.  The other two players had routine pars.

In the third group the first player has hit in the right front bunker.  The same for the second player.  The third player hit a bad shot to the left of the green and the ball has landed between the bunkers.  In the first group of players, the one that hit it the same spot bogeyed this hole.  There is just very little green to work with from the left side.  A very impressive bunker shot by player 1 to about a foot from the hole.  Player 2 hit it about 8 feet out of the bunker. Here comes the difficult shot from the left of the green.  He hit a nice lofted shot but it went about 18 feet past the hole.  He just left the putt short for a bogey.  Player 2 missed his par putt and oh my missed the 3 footer coming back for a double Bogey.  A very nice par out of the bunker for the 3rd player.

Here comes group 4 and the first tee ball is in the right front bunker again.  The second shot is front middle on the green as is the 3rd tee ball.  Another wonderful shot out of the bunker to about a foot from the hole.  The next putts were not impressive and the first player to putt has three putted for a bogey and the 3rd player had a routine par.

The first shot from group 5 was a little long to the back center of the green and the second tee ball to pin high about 15 to the right of the pin.  The third player hit it terribly short.  He has about a 25 yard pitch to the hole. and hit a very nice shot to about 3 feet.  Three pars and they are on there way to #1.

In group 6, the first tee ball was sliced out of bound to the right, the second was not good at all and landed next to the cart path. and the third tee ball was pushed to the right fringe.  The reload of the tee was a very nice shot about 6 feet directly behind the pin.  This group isn’t looking good.  The results double bogey, bogey, and  bogey. 

Here comes group 7 with local favorite Travis Perkins.  There is a lot of backing away from tee shots and putts today.  It is very gusty.  Two tee balls are on the front shelve.  Their is a pretty good tier on this green with the hole about five feet past it.  Travis, always the sharp dresser is in orange and gray today and has one of the balls on the lower tier. The third tee ball is on the front slope between the green and the front left bunker.  That ball goes by the cup left about 7 feet.  Travis is next and hits a beautiful putt that drops in the hole for only the second birdie on this hole all day.  There is a routine par and a bogey by the other two players. 

In group 8 the first ball is on the lower tier, the second is short of the green and has rolled down the hill, and the third one is a very nice shot to about 10 feet right of the cup.  The shot from in front of the green was nice and is about 3 feet from the cup.  The second player hits his putt about 3 feet past the hole and the third player gets only the third birdie of the day.  A very nice par by the player that was short of the green and a three putt bogey from the player that was on the lower tier.

Slow play by group 9.  They have not teed off yet and the group in front of them are getting ready to hit their shots into the green one #1.  The first tee ball  is very nice about 9 feet from the hole, pin high.  The best tee shot of the day.  The second shot is pushed to the far right side of the green and the third tee shot is long and right on the green.  Most of the groups have at least two caddies in them and several with 3, but this group only one player has a caddie.  Here comes the nine foot putt and he misses it to the right for an easy par.  The second and third players get routine pars.

In Group 10, the first tee ball is a nice shot about 10 feet past the hole and just left, the second tee ball is also a nice shot about 15 feet to the right, pin high and the third is on line of the pin about 20 feet past the hole.  Definitely the best tee balls by a group today.  Not good, the first player just ran his putt about 6 feet past the hole.  A nice birdie by player 2 and a routine par by the 3rd player that had the best tee shot.  Player 1 does sink the putt coming back to save his par.

In group 10 the first tee ball is short of the green and has rolled back down the hill.  The second ball is on the front lower tier and the third has missed the green to the right and the ball lays on the up-slope between the bunkers.  The shot from in front of the green is about 3 feet from the hole as all the other ones from there have been.  He does miss the putt and makes bogey.  What seems like a hard shot for amateurs is certainly routine for these players.  The player from off the right side of the green hits his shot past the hole about 3 feet and saves par.  The player putting from the bottom tier leaves his putt short about two feet and misses his putt and makes a bogey.

In group 11 the first player leaves his shot short and it roles down the hill away from the hole.  The second player hits his shot to the right and short of the front right bunker.  The third hits his shot left of the green into the hill left of the green.  From the right side the player hits a bad shot and leaves it on the lower tier.  It is the first club I have seen get airborne today.  Then he hits his putt about 4 feet past the hole and makes bogey.  From in front of the green the player leaves it about 5 feet short and makes a two putt bogey.  The player from the left side hits a nice shot to about 2 or 3 feet and makes a nice par.

That is for me today.  I will not be covering the groups that teed off on #1.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 10:32 am and is filed under Grasslands G&CC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply