Week 9: The Honda Classic

[paddyjk19]

Oh man I love this course but at times it does not love me back.

Rd1 got off to a very loose start +3 thru 5 holes but I rallied back to E before a 3 whack on 16 left me +1 at the finish.

Rd2 was just comical, chipped in for birdie on 5 before racking off 3 on the bounce and then chipping in for eagle on 10 to be -5 for my round and -4 overall, burnt the edge a few times before three whacking 15 to sit -3 on the 17th tee.

Hit a perfect perfect 3 wood straight down the flag but it hit the tier 6ft short and finished 30ft away on the lower tier. 1st putt got to the top of the slope and rolled back off the green, chipped it up the top but it rolled back off the green again, then clubbed up and chipped it in the hole at pace (and in a rage) for a bizarre bogey. Then missed a 6ft putt for birdie on 18 to shoot -3 for the round.

-2 at the halfway stage

[Tuffguts]

Nov 9, 2020 0:33:02 GMT Tuffguts said:

Started +1, Even. Lots of pars this week so happy to rid my round of the doubles and triples I had at Harbour Town.
Some good scrambling this week but my GIR's were inevitably too far from the hole for legit birdie chances. 

Went -2 in Rd3. Par city again with a few birds before a bogey on 17.
Rd4 - only took 1 hole to get my first bogey, then was up and down until a couple of nice back 9 birds and 2 long range up and downs for par on 17 and 18 to finish even for the round and -1 total for the tourney. Longest putt was an 18 footer for bogey.
Really good reads on plenty of putts that were just off. A few chips shaved the hole as well. Could have been close to double figures under with a bit of luck but anyway, happyish with the final result.
Cheers

[wimigbg]

My second round was again pretty promising. Played with hammers1man and Tuffguts the par machine. Held it together for 13 holes at +2. Then a laps in concentration at a drive OOB and a double follows by a triple and another bogey... Still, it feels better and I really love the Merion East.

I admire hammers1man to hold it together after the rough first 9. I even took a picture of your unfortunate hit of the grandstand, but I don't remember how to get a picture in a message here.

[artvandelay]

After my romp thru Hilton Head (partied in that lighthouse, trippy) I headed south to PGA National for the Honda Classic.  Then my caddie said it was being held up in PA.  No Natty?  Well then, pulled a u-ey and up to Merion I went.

Rain.  Ugh.  Pudding green speed?  Groan.  No matter, gonna wear the tartan jacket till it rots off me.

[andersnm]

First round: Very good tee to green except a couple of holes. Double bogey at the 16th was the main bad thing. But overall quite pleased with my performance. 78% fairway, 67% GIR and decent putting all round. Main problem for me this round was scrambling when I missed the green.

Edit: forgot to mention I was even par at the 15th. So those 3 final holes - yeah, really tough (3 putt on the 18th from 66 feet for bogey).

[Deleted]

Paired up with Tuffguts in the Third Round. He played really well tee to green, really judged his short game shots superbly. First two bogeys were par putts from under 7ft in. The first one was a mental mistake as I didn't hit it enough. Had opportunities to close the gap but chili dipped both my wedge pitch shots on the short par 4s and settled for pars. Hit it stiff on 16 to within 5ft and he did the same. +1 for this round and +5 overall heading into the Final Round. 

[wimigbg]

A stray dog played my third round. That’s the story I’m sticking with. This press conference is over. 😬

[SimChars1968]

Round 2, and a very solid effort.

[hammers1man]

Nov 10, 2020 14:36:12 GMT wimigbg said:

My second round was again pretty promising. Played with hammers1man and Tuffguts the par machine. Held it together for 13 holes at +2. Then a laps in concentration at a drive OOB and a double follows by a triple and another bogey... Still, it feels better and I really love the Merion East.

I admire hammers1man to hold it together after the rough first 9. I even took a picture of your unfortunate hit of the grandstand, but I don't remember how to get a picture in a message here.

Thanks wimi, the best way to upload photo's is imger.com, drag your photo file into your photo's on the site. Then click on the photo and then press the blue tab that says BB Code(message boards and forums) to copy, right click and paste directly in your message.
It is very hard to be consistent in this game and front 9 I lost it a bit but I had to compose myself and get the rhythm back. Nice 13 holes yourself and best advice I can give is try to put the last hole
behind you, slowing your game down really helps. When I am frustrated I tend to speed my game up I really slowed it down on the back 9 to shoot under par when the front 9 is the worse I have played for a long time.

[wimigbg]

Ah, that’s why I couldn’t remember how, I never knew how, haha. Thanks!

Sometimes I do something else for a while when I have lost the rhythm. It usually helps. Will try to slow down, it’s not like IRL when someone might be waiting behind you.

[Deleted]

Paired up with Tuffguts and Paul for my Final Round. Again had some really good chances to at least try and close the gap. But like the rest of my previous rounds, just wasn't able to make the key par saves and putts to keep the momentum going. Forgot how much fun it was to play with ghosts during rounds. We all stuck it close on the par 3 13th. And once again, on 16 Tuffguts hit it stiff and I followed suit. Kudos to him for getting into red numbers for this event, he definitely could've gone a few lower as well. Even for this round and finished The Honda Classic at +5. Stats for this week, 39% FIR, 55% GIR and 50% Scrambling. 

[Tuffguts]

Nov 12, 2020 2:24:33 GMT @pakalolo77 said:

Paired up with Tuffguts and Paul for my Final Round. Again had some really good chances to at least try and close the gap. But like the rest of my previous rounds, just wasn't able to make the key par saves and putts to keep the momentum going. Forgot how much fun it was to play with ghosts during rounds. We all stuck it close on the par 3 13th. And once again, on 16 Tuffguts hit it stiff and I followed suit. Kudos to him for getting into red numbers for this event, he definitely could've gone a few lower as well. Even for this round and finished The Honda Classic at +5. Stats for this week, 39% FIR, 55% GIR and 50% Scrambling. 

Thanks for the kudos @pakalolo77. Yeah that approach on 16 was the big hook with the wind. Surprised when I got to the green to see it sitting so close....obviously caught the slope just right.

[paddyjk19]

Scrapped an Even Par round in the third to enter the final day at -2 and clear on the PS4 leaderboard then disaster.......

left myself a 42 yard pitch for my third on the par 5 early on with the ditch, tried to get cute and hit a slow, DUNK into the ditch, walked off with a triple bogey and then 3 whacked the next for good measure to leave me +2 overall, managed to get back to +1 on the 16th tee and made a great birdie there with a downhill 12 footer before stepping onto the 17th tee knowing I needed a bird to tie tuffguts, hit a great 3 wood to 6ft and holed the putt for what feels like a rare birdie on 17, hit a good 3 iron out of the rough on 18 but missed my 25 footer for the clubhouse lead.

Finished -1 overall which could be competitive if Sloan takes another week off!

[artvandelay]

Round 2 was a no ground given, none taken event.  I know rain does not effect gameplay, but tell that to my sunshine lovin' head!

[wimigbg]

Round 4 was a step in the right direction compared with round 3. Not good, but not yesterdays disater at 89, only 81 thias time, haha. Played fairly well until a good birdie chans at 6 or 7 and 4-putted for a double bogey. Had to take a break there... But it was a treat to see PaKaLoLo77 and hammers1man playing well. I envy the straight drives.

Must say that Merion East just becomes better everytime I play it. My favorite hole is the very tough 5th, it's just so beautiful. Must play it again soon.