Hi
What a great day! (except for some of those tricky holes!!) We had quite a few below par this year in the first round. And leading them off as the Medalist was Albertha Hicks!! She shot a mean 66 net – which you would think would give her a nice cushion going into the next round, but…… others are right on her heels. Fran Clinkscales and Linda Dillon are only a stroke behind at 67. Judy Hensley, Tisha Gentry, Carol Musselwhite and yours truly are not going to let her rest for a minute. We all shot under par! All results are on the website in the Calendar of Events.
A few of the holes were issues for the great majority of us. The 18th hole pretty much ate our lunch the average score on the hole was nearly two over par – there were only 5 gross pars. And the 17th hole was pretty much the same story – only 4 gross pars in the whole field. (I think those that played are nodding their heads right now in agreement). Every par 5 averaged over par. Granted some were long, but mostly they were tricky.
And good news, the concept of all coming in for lunch certainly added to the specialness of the day. Our results were posted and displayed for the world to see on the tvs in the restaurant. A glitch in the plan, the restaurant took our orders, with names, before the round and then used our names to start preparing as we came in. So, advance notice did nothing to help! (I did give helpful constructive criticism to the pro who did apologize profusely).
Heathrow promises to be a model of efficiency. You will be selecting your lunch and paying for it in the pro shop as you check in. (SHOTGUN 8:30). We will be joined by 4 after the field (same shotgun start). Once again, scores will be posted during lunch – and Heathrow pros will be adding the first day’s results so you will know nearly immediately the standings after the first two rounds.
Nice job to all of the participants. While most came in under 4 hours 30 minutes, there were some that took longer. Judging from the difficulty of some of the holes, it makes sense, but I encourage you to split up immediately! Don’t hesitate thinking you can make it up on the next hole.(That just adds to the angst!) Another way to keep your speed is have the two that finish the hole first leave the putting green and go to the next tee. If there is an opening, tee off while the other two players make their way to you. And of course, the ever popular, “hit and sit”. Get in the cart with your clubs and when you or your cart partner get to the next ball, put your clubs away. Anyway, be aware and please take measures to keep up.
But I’m sure the nerves will be calmed tomorrow and the play will only get better! See you at Heathrow and again, thanks for your support.
Judy
Judy Dunlop
Major Tournament Chair