sick, congrats man

Way to go!

Holy smokes!!! Nice job!!!!

Wow! Grats!
Keep on stepping!

Good luck! This is a fun sweat to follow, keep it up!

Thanks all. Was lucky to sleep 4 hours last night. Hole by hole recap to hopefully come later today.

golf first, updates second.
congrats BO.

OMGOMGOMG can't wait for update!

Congrats!!

Had the course set up short, only 6700 yards. But it was odd in places, longer holes played back, shorter holes moved up even more. I had gotten the yardage guidelines a few days before so I could somewhat plot out a strategy on some holes, but you never know exactly how it’s going to play until you step on the tee.

#1, par 4, 415 yards. Cross bunker in the middle of the fairway I decide to lay up short of with 5 wood. Baby 7 iron I fan right of the green. Course pretty sparse around the green so I decide to use putter. Decent enough lag up a slow hill 6 feet short. Putt never sniffs the hole. Bad start. Bogey.

#2, par 4, 410 yards. OK drive down the right half leaving 8 iron in to a severely back hole location on a ledge. Stuff it to 4 feet. Birdie.

#3, par 5, 530 yards. Reachable with trees down both sides. Fan a drive right, find it in the fairway 240 out. Didn’t see exactly what happened but obviously very good break. Weak 5 wood a little short of the green having to chip up a steep false front with the pin just on top. Hit the shot I wanted but it ran by 20 feet, just couldn’t risk having it come back down the false front. Knocked the putt in dead center. Birdie.

#4, par 4, 360 yards. Another hole with cross bunkers. Safe 5 wood leaving baby 9 iron in. Push it just right of the green where it bumbles around on the hard mounds for a while. Hole high but dreadful lie basically sitting on a bare spot. Use 55 degree to clip it clean and allow for some roll. Hit it clean, right line, right distance, ball dies in the hole. Ho hum. Birdie.

#5, par 3, 160 yards. Another crappy iron shot just right of the green this time in the short grass. Fairly easy pitch down a slope to 4 feet. Make it. First par of the round.

It was at this point play is halted due to lightning in the area. 90 minute delay most of which we waited out by a shelter on the course. With nothing else to do I check the leaderboard even though only about 6-7 groups would have finished. A 3-under and a 2-under on the board. We eventually make our way back to the clubhouse because I’m stiffening up and they had announced the practice facilities would be open prior to the restart. Hit about 20 balls before heading back out.

#6, par 5, tee moved way up to 460 yards? Split funky fairway with hazards all over. Bomb drive down the left fairway leaving 3 fingered 7 iron in. Decent shot about 30 feet past dead on line. 2 putts. Birdie.

#7, par 4, 400 yards. Water left, plan was to hit a slider off the water but didn’t trust it. Started it down the middle and it cut across the cart path on hardpan. Was able to loft it over the trees to the very front of the green leaving 70 feet for birdie. An excellent 2 putt. Par.

#8, par 3, 140 yards. Mediocre 9 iron to about 25 feet. Left it short dead in the middle. Par.

#9, par 4, 400 yards. Peel good driver off the left water. Green is over 60 deep with pin 50+ back. Drill perfect 8 iron to 10 feet. Bad putt. Par.

#10, par 4, 400 yards. Good drive leaving 8 iron in to a back right pin behind a bunker. Clip it perfectly leaving 7 feet for birdie. Play it almost a cup out on the right and it catches the right edge. Birdie.

#11, par 5, 575 yards. Cross bunkers in the fairway I want no part of so lay up with 3 wood. Then hit weak 5 wood down the right edge of the fairway. It apparently kicked hard right because we find it nestled against a tree trunk. It wasn’t a good shot but not that bad either. Chip out to fairway leaving 71 yards. Crappy wedge to 20 feet and a crappy putt always low. Bogey.

#12, par 3, 220 yards. Back right pin protected by a large bunker. So of course I proceed to fan another 5 wood into the sand pit. Pretty good bunker shot but the ball didn’t react like I expected leaving 12 feet for par. Toppled over the front edge on it’s last revolution. Par.

#13, par 4, 390 yards. A strange hole with the tee ball having to carry 200 or so over a hazard but then the fairway doglegs 90 degrees right with trees on both sides. I hate moving fairway woods left to right and I’m hitting them like crap anyway, so I take driver and intentionally hit a 30 yard banana ball perfectly shaped with the hole. Technically I’m in the fairway but hitting off nothing but dirt from 82 yards to a pin perched right on top of a false front. Clip it perfect leaving about 16 feet. Drill the putt right in the middle, until it horseshoes back out at me. Damn, was a great putt nonetheless. Par.

#14, par 3, 114 yards. Green slopes hard back to front so don’t want to jump on a gap wedge and have it spin back out of control. Chip little pitching wedge just right and hit it about 9 feet past. Unfortunately this putt is the fastest on the course with about 2 feet of break. Hit a good putt but it falls just low and stops less than a foot away. Par.

#15, par 4, 340 yards. Why they moved this tee up I’ll never know. Drill a perfect drive leaving 68 yards to an elevated green. Hit the pitch a little heavy leaving 16 feet or so. Not the best putt always low. Par.

#16, par 5, 550 yards. Hole gently moving left to right with hazard right and fairway bunker left. I peel driver off the bunker leaving 240 hole, 215 to carry the front bunker. Hazard short and right of the green. Choose to hit 5 wood and just pound it straight at the hole, if it draws like normal it’s either on the left edge or the greenside bunker for an easy up and in. Instead I fan it right, lands on dry ground but it had no chance and one hops into the hazard. At least it crossed just short of the green. I drop short of the bunker and have a straightforward pitch which I catch heavy leaving 22 feet for par. Initially the putts looks like it falls right a bit, after closer inspection we determine it’s a right edge putt. I hit it right edge, it goes straight in the middle. Big putt. Huge. Par.

#17, par 4, 450 yards. Perfect drive leaving 8 iron in. Decent shot in but a little right and short leaving perhaps 25 feet. A good putt but falls just low. Par.

#18, par 4, 390 yards. Water just left and through the fairway as well. I am assuming birdie is a must to have any chance at all. Agressive drive peeling it off the water but also not going too far. Pin is tucked way back right up a hill. Would have to hit perfect 8 iron to get pin high so take 7 iron and kind of 3 finger it. Pull it slightly but distance is perfect leaving 16 feet for birdie.

My plan the entire day was to simply ignore the leaderboard and just go as deep as I could. Even if I’m leading in the clubhouse there were 2 hours of tee times behind me with a lot of studs with the ability to knock me out real quick especially with only 2 spots available.

But looking at that putt combined with the fact we were still waiting for my playing competitors to find the putting surface, all of a sudden I wanted to know if this putt meant anything. For all I knew two guys were already in at 6 under or better and it meant nothing. I pull up the leaderboard on my phone and see still only 1 guy at 3 under and 2 guys and 2 under. Really? Nobody has shot in the 60’s in the last 3 hours? Ok then. I am energized.

Tell my caddie the scoop and then say there’s no way 3 under is good enough with the guys left to finish. We absolutely have to make this putt to get to 4 under to have a chance. Of course I’m not just going to pound it 6 feet past either, but I was so incredibly certain it had to drop. Luckily one of the others had a putt on a similar line that we learned from. We determine it’s a little over a cup out on the right and a little downhill. Exactly the type of putt you want if you have to make per our thread on straight vs. breaking putts, but that’s another story.

I am focused, and strangely not very nervous. Start the putt on the perfect line, it starts to break about halfway to the hole. With perfect speed it goes in dead ****ing center. All the pressure of the day comes out with an aggressive hammer fist and a semi quiet exclamation of **** yeah! Birdie. 68. 4 under.

The other two players and one caddy are outwardly very happy for me and we all shake hands. They both shot in the 80’s but knew how to conduct themselves and deliberately stayed out of my way the entire back nine. The one caddy was the daughter of the player and just starting her college career playing for the University of Texas. She did an excellent job on the bag.

Probably checked my card 10 times before turning it in, I am the solo leader in the clubhouse but have to now wait for 2 hours of tee times to finish. Fun, not fun. The lead USGA official informs me that due to the delay any potential playoff will not start until the next morning so I am free to leave if I choose. I put all my stuff back in the car, get a snack and chill for a bit. I want to see what Clark Dennis, former tour player, former order of merit winner on the European Senior Tour shoots who is about 45 minutes behind me.

I know when he walks in the scoring area he played well and he posts a 6 under 66. So now there is no margin for error and about 24 guys on the course, at least two of whom are more than capable of 4 under or better. I decide to make the 45 minute drive home to somewhat maintain my sanity by not hovering at the leaderboard.

Yes, I refreshed the leaderboard multiple times on the drive home violating basic rules of safety while behind the wheel. Not smart or advisable. Scary player #1 comes in at 1 under. Have to wait a couple more groups for scary player #2 who is in the third to last group. Actually arrive home with his group next to finish. Both my girlfriend and I plop on the couch staring at our phones like teenagers hitting refresh like it’s a slot machine.

Scary player #2 also finishes at 1 under, now there’s only two groups left and both of them now twosomes because of WD’s. 3 of them are amateurs I’ve not heard of, the lone pro I know of but he’s not really a concern. It should be academic now but in this position you taken absolutely nothing for granted.

Second to last group finishes, no worries. Only 2 players left. Refresh, refresh, refresh. I’m about to crack but can’t until it’s officially done. Then the last two players disappear and move up somewhere in the finishing scores. I am still in 2nd, let’s double check the last two scores. Both well over par. It’s complete. All other players below have their status change from their position to MC(missed cut) Clark Dennis and I stand alone. And then I officially crack as does my girlfriend. All the buildup over all the years and all the near misses and all the disappointments and all the doubts, and now this. Truly amazing.

Once I’m halfway composed we call my parents who I know have been refreshing as much as us. It’s a call I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. We did it. Finally. We. Took me a few minutes to easily find words.

There’s a ton of planning to do and I’ve actually gotten quite a lot done in the last 24 hours. The USGA sent me a ton of information and forms to submit this morning. I like to have all my ducks in a row as soon as possible, just how I am. I’ll be posting some other stuff over the next several days about everything involved including a few new pieces of equipment. But for now I’m going to try to sleep, I barely slept last night and eventually will crash. But it’s worth it. No question.

Nice recap. Huge save on 16!

very VERY cool

Awesome recap. That feeling you felt when that putt on 18 dropped must have been something. That feeling is pretty much the reason people play competitive sports. Great job under pressure.

So awesome. Any plans to head to Wisconsin and play that course in the next month? Have you ever played it before?

Thanks for the recap! Well done.

I hope you have the time and inclination to share some of your thoughts, goals, and strategies as you prepare for the Senior Open. Grats again for stepping into the field!

i hope you told your playing partners about the epic thread here after you were done fist pumping

Probably not although the thought has crossed my mind. Have not played it, WI actually one of 7 states I haven't been to yet. The course is actually not open to the public this season until after the championship but we are allowed to make arrangements to get on.

Preparation tentatively planning to be 36 holes of practice rounds spread out over several days week of.


I actually mentioned it before I putted. Gave them the link and laughed at those who would want a dead straight uphill putt for all the marbles. After I drained it they all said they needed to go read the thread and reevaluate their putting preferences.



And it was only one fist pump.


Solid 6.5 hours of sleep last night and an awesome 2.5 hour nap this afternoon!

congrats BO!
interesting that Dennis qualified for the US Open the day before, what a run he's on.

Now I have a reason to watch the Senior U.S. Open!

Congrats!!!!

since this is a well

1 what's the biggest deficit you've had where you recovered and won or otherwise had a top finish

2 what's the biggest lead you had and lost

3 in the pga there's a ton of evidence that golfers who are behind by 10 strokes or more on days 2 and 4 nearly always perform worse than expected whereas day 3 is neutral. However, the exact reason for this is unknown. Some attribute it to facing pressure of cut/final day, whereas others view it as indifference as they can't win/make cut without a miracle so who cares, whereas another theory is that they are taking big risks to close the gap and they often don't pan out.

Do you have any thoughts on this? mind you it's a slight bias of say half a stroke but with enough of a sample in addition to the stark contrast of day 3 not having that bias to imply that while it may be subtle, it's very real and likely cut/finals related.

4 you mentioned that you graded your own SG data, how accurate do you think this is vs official PGA sg data? How do you use SG data to improve as a golfer? I'm particularly interested in this because I originate for pga betting and SG data is a big aspect of that.

5 you mentioned that there were few big guns who you were particularly worried about beating your score, this really surprised me. I kind of assumed once you get to this level then the gaps in skill are so narrow that you wouldn't need to focus too much on specific individuals, yes, over a large sample their results will stand out from the crowd but over a single tourney it always feels like anything can happen. Is this a regular thing or something about these specific tournies where the skill level is pretty varied

6 at what point in your life did you become aware that golf could become a thing?

7 if you could go back to that point in time, would you do anything differently?

Shot 31(-5) the last nine to make a check. Shot 64(-7) final round to jet up the leaderboard another time.

Was 3 up in a state am in college and lost the match. Shot 63(-9) first round of a 54 hole event, finished E over a dozen shots back.

Guys just say **** it and don't try. I can't do it but many players if they can't make the cut or similar just don't care how bad they play.

For me the driving stat is skewed lower because I don't drive it near as far as a PGA Tour play. It's also different because many times I'm playing off shitty grass into the green with not near the control as tour players have off of perfect surfaces.

One use of going through this process is that you see exactly how strokes are gained and lost. You see you gain a ton if you stick a 7 iron stiff, you also see you lose a ton if you hit a 100 yard shot 25 feet away.

The players in qualifiers vary wildly, most have zero chance. Just look at what some of the players shot in this.

I went through the 119 names in the field and counted 17 that had a chance of advancing. So when I said big guns, I meant one of those 17. I could beat the majority of the field with 4 clubs. There were 4 of the 17 behind me on the tee sheet, but 2 of those guys had already WD'd when I finished. So that left 2 of the original 17 for me to worry about.

Early, and then freshman year of high school I had to decide between golf and baseball because I couldn't do both due to scheduling issues.

I had the opportunity to attend MIT, had it not been for golf I would have done so intending to double major in math and computer science. At that time I could really code, no telling where that would have taken me.

awesome man, thank you, really appreciate you taking the time to respond and very insightful answers

we'll all be rooting for you, such an incredible achievement

CONGRATS!!!!!

Congrats man and thanks for the write up always a pleasure to read!


I'll defo be watching it and will be rooting for you!

Leave for Wisconsin in 19 days and naturally I've been busy in preparation.

Tweaking my bag setup somewhat as I'm removing 3 and 5 wood from my bag and replacing them with a 4 wood and a 3 hybrid. (haven't been satisfied with the shafts in the fairways woods for some time now anyway) The Open course will be playing long and figured it would be easier to approach long holes with a hybrid as opposed to a 5 wood. Also my 3 wood has never launched very high so the extra 1.5 degrees in loft should come in handy with probably no appreciable loss in distance. So the long end of the bag will be driver, 4 wood, 3 hybrid, 4 hybrid, 5 iron.

Another Oban Kiyoshi White shaft (65-S) will be going into the 4 wood while the same Graphite Design AD-DI shaft (85-S) from my 4 hybrid will be going into the 3 hybrid.

Since my current Ping bag is over 4 years old and it's original black color now appears more brown, I have gotten a new Ping Hoofer in black. Plenty of pockets to stuff items into to piss off my caddie.

I've never been a clothes horse and currently the vast majority of my golf outfits are faded as well. So I've completely upgraded everything for the trip. 4 new pairs of Adidas shorts, (we are allowed to wear shorts for the practice days) and 3 new pairs of Adidas slacks. I've liked Adidas shorts for some time now as I like the material and they fit well. Used to have an Adidas hookup and got them for half off, but had to pay full freight for these.

Also got 6 new Foot Joy shirts, no funky prints for me, all basic solid colors. Not sure if my friends will recognize me with all new clothing, I buy clothes about every total solar eclipse and they know this.

Naturally been working hard on my game and it's coming around. My Dad was in town this weekend and we went through a standard tune up. Getting the backswing steeper as I tend to take the club back too far inside and then around my body instead of up. When I do this correctly the ball goes scary high and scary far. Will definitely need the height on all my shots and the USGA likes very firm greens. Chipping and putting are very solid, technique pure and the ball is coming off the club face exactly how I would like.

Been pushing the body the get in better shape. When playing have been forcing myself to walk faster in an attempt to get the heart rate up. On days I don't play have been going on hard walks throughout the neighborhood. It has definitely made a difference. Need to keep it up as the last thing I want is for things to go sideways in Wisconsin because I simply got tired.

Took about two weeks after my qualifier to fully come down from a massive high. Have kept busy focusing on what needs to be done. Figure about a week before leaving I'll start getting really excited. It's going to be a blast.