Originally Published on October 06, 2010 by ranchomurieta.com

Diaries written by: Don Thames

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Wrap up:

October 06, 2010

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Lake Nona, FL – In Tuesday's round two, I faced my old buddy and San Jose State teammate Jim Knoll.  Mark Lye and Jim Knoll were two of the All-Americans on our nationally ranked team.  Jim played the PGA tour for three years in the '70s and has played in four U.S. Opens.  It was not the pairing I would have hoped for, but the match seemed more like a Sunday Nassau at the club versus a match in the National Amateur.  We both agreed beforehand that we would play our best and be happy regardless of the outcome.  This time I came out on top, 4-3.  I made five birdies on the day and Jim did not play his best.  As usual, Jim was a complete gentleman and wished me the best for the balance of the tournament.

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In round three I played Dave Williamson from northern Indiana.  Dave jumped out to an early lead and held the lead most of the match.  I was two down after nine as Williamson did not seem like he would make a mistake.  After narrowing his lead to one, I birdied the par five 15th to even the match.  When I blew an easy up and in on the 464-yard par four 16th hole, I was beginning to feel a good bit of pressure.  I could not make a putt or capitalize on the opportunities.  After halves on the last two holes with pars, we advanced to the first tee for a playoff.  Both of us drove to the fairway and had 110 yards downwind to a hole location perched on a shelf back right.  Dave stroked a pure looking wedge right on line, landing the ball one foot from the ledge and spun it back to 30 feet below the hole.  I placed my shot pin high left to 20 feet.  As Californians we play bent or poa greens and seldom have to read grain.  The putt Williamson faced was a difficult uphill putt which then levels off and immediately slopes downhill and down grain.  He left his lag six feet short.  I lagged for the concession and Williamson missed wide right.  The marathon day was over and I had survived to play in the quarterfinals.

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In the medal round, Carole caddied and did an expert job on reading the putts and giving me accurate yardages.  She had charted the golf course and had a book of course knowledge that would rival the information a tour caddy would provide.  She also caddied in round one because it was only an 18-hole day. 

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However, round two and three were played on the same day, so I decided to ride.  Under USGA rules, the caddy must walk.  Therefore, Carole had to run in order to keep up with two players in two carts.  So we devised a strategy.  She would give me hole locations and best approach angles after I would hit my tee shot.  Then she would run down the fairway in her caddy bib and step off the yardage on her way.  Needless to say, Carole was working hard in the 87-degree heat and humidity.  Then she would run to the green and help me read the putt.  So when we approached the 18 tee in our second match of the day she was obviously flushed.  “You better birdie this hole, dude” she said when the match was tied.  Unfortunately, I could not follow her request, but she was happy when we won the first hole of the playoff.  She cried.  Later in the day we counted 10 blisters on her feet and a sore knee.

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The beer tasted good after the two wins, and after a quick shower we returned to Lake Nona for the sweet 16 party hosted by the USGA.  Many of the who's who in Senior Golf were there.  I had previously met Vinny Giles, who is the defending champion, Walker Cupper, former U.S. Am Champ in 1975 or so.  Vinny is one of the most celebrated amateurs in U.S. golf history.  At the dinner I asked Vinny for a tip that I could use for the rest of the tournament.  In a slow, smiling Southern drawl, Giles said, “Son, just play your ass off.  I mean it.  You are playing well.  Keep up your confidence and keep doing what you’ve been doing.  Never mind all that is going on, just play good.”

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Lou Holtz was the keynote speaker at the dinner, and as usual he delivered some pearls of wisdom and humor.  While playing especially bad with Arnold Palmer in a pro-am, Lou told Arnie that “I have never played that bad.”  To which Arnie replied, “Oh, you have played before, have you?”  Holtz believes in four things in this life of ours.  One, have something to do.  Two, have someone to love.  Three, have something to hope for.  Four, have someone to believe in.   Lou’s long time golfing goal in life is to shoot his age.  Something even more difficult is to shoot his IQ, “Which is lower than my age.”

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After all that, Carole told me that I was snoring within two minutes of contacting the pillow.  The next morning we arose at 6 a.m. to do it all over again.  Hopes were high, as I was slated to face Chip Lutz from Reading, PA, who is a member at Pine Valley.  Chip, at age 55, has already won several national senior amateur tournaments and finished second in the British Senior Amateur earlier this year.  I knew I was in for a tough match.  We had tied at 143 in the qualifying.  Chip was a nice guy and a terrific player.

I was happy to discover that by virtue of reaching the quarters I am exempt from qualifying for the tournament next year.  The event will be held at Vinny Giles' home club in Virginia next year.  I also knew that the two finalists gain automatic berths into the Senior U.S. Open.

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Chip played a solid round of golf and I did not.  It was the worst I had played since arriving in Lake Nona.  Too bad I had to have a round like that at the wrong time.  But, to his credit, Lutz played well and deserved to win.  I felt the sting of match-play defeat.  Only one person wins in match play and when you lose a match it is so terminal.  The finality of it makes you feel like a loser.  Fortunately, perspective prevails and I will look at this experience as a positive one.  I can only hope that I will have learned something to put in the quiver.  Maybe next time I will have one more arrow.

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Another Nor Cal player, Jeff Burda from Modesto, gave it a great run and advanced to the semifinals.  Unfortunately, Jeff fell to Paul Simson in the afternoon.

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Carole and I would like to thank all of our friends in Rancho Murieta for their best wishes and support. The interest, the texts, the calls and all of the encouragement were overwhelming.  We had such a good time and will bring back many great memories that we are grateful to have been able to share.  Thank you all so much.  Lake Nona is great, but Rancho Murieta is like no other.

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U.S. Senior Open 2013