San Juan Open Tidbits
It's exactly midnight, meaning it's officially championship Sunday at the San Juan Open.
Here are a bunch of snippets I've picked up over the last two days.
*****
The man, the legend -- Jake Grodzinsky stormed the leaderboard Friday with a 64 after shooting 9-under through his first 11 holes, including a hole-in-one.
Grodzinsky almost didn't play in the tournament -- his buddy Jake Rogers alerted him Tuesday and they cruised out to Farmington on Wednesday.
Now he's got a chance at the $15,000 prize -- he's two strokes off the lead at 18-under heading into the final round.
But Godzinsky's done more than play good golf. He's a regular entertainer during interviews this week. A few interesting moments:
* Jake dedicates his hole-in-one to pop icon Michael Jackson, who died of a heart attack Thursday.
"This round was dedicated to Michael Jackson. My ace was too," Grodzinsky said. "Next one's for Farrah Fawcett (who also died Thursday), but you've got to go with the King of Pop."
* Asked what his goals were for the final two days of the tournament, golf being the obvious implication, Jake turned to another outdoor sport.
"I really want to catch a fish."
He'd already failed a few attempts at landing a bass or trout as of Friday but wanted to get to the San Juan River before the tournament ended. I never got to ask him if he caught anything. Maybe later today.
* Jake tends to start his interviews bland until he comes up with an idea he likes. Saturday talking in the third person amused him.
"Jake Grodzinsky is only one man. I can only play my own game," Grodzinsky said. "Those guys can just do their thing and hopefully Jake Grodzinsky comes out on top at the end of the day."
So Jake, you're not afraid to speak in the third person?
"I prefer it. I'd rather always speak in the third person."
*****
Record week -- Several players have tied or set scoring records this week. Here are a few:
* Ashdon Woods tied many players for the second-lowest score in tournament history while shooting a 62 during Thursday's first round.
* Grodzinsky tied the tournament record for the lowest score on the back nine with a 29 during Friday's second round.
* Nick Killpack and Derek Tolan broke the tournament records for lowest score and most strokes under par through 54 holes. That's a 31-year-old record.
Most Strokes Under Par, 54 Holes
-20 Nick Killpack, 2009
-20 Derek Tolan, 2009
-18 Jake Grodzinsky, 2009
-16 Ryan Hogue, 2009
-16 Paul Purtzer, 1978
-15 Larry Webb, 1975
Lowest Score, 54 Holes
193 Nick Killpack, 2009
193 Derek Tolan, 2009
194 Paul Purtzer, 1978
195 Jake Grodzinsky, 2009
195 Larry Webb, 1975
196 Andy Boyd, 1977
Keep in mind this is a 45-year-old tournament.
Here's where they stand before the final round:
Most Strokes Under Par
-22 Gary Christian, 2004
-20 Nick Killpack, 2009
-20 Derek Tolan, 2009
-20 Brian Kortan, 2003
-20 Scott Frisch, 1994
*****
Amateurs qualify -- Two Lukes qualified for today's final professional round -- Luke Symons and Luke Tanner. The two couldn't be more different physically.
Symons is listed at 6-foot-5, 185 according to his bio -- he'll be a senior at the University of Colorado this year.
Seen wearing an Oklahoma visor on Saturday -- Symons was born in Tulsa, Okla. -- he has other Big 12 connections as well. His father Greg played football for New Mexico and his brother Tyler played golf at Texas Tech.
Tanner, who recently finished up at Fort Lewis College, is listed at 5-9, 130 according to his bio. A Farmington High graduate, Tanner set a course record last week while winning the Navajo Trail Open at Durango's Hillcrest Golf Course with a score of 11-under.
Also in the field at the Navajo Trail Open was last year's San Juan Open champ Jeremy Lederer (4th) and this year's co-leader Derek Tolan (8th).
Tanner plans to try and qualify for the U.S. Amateur in July before turning pro.
*****
Shots of the week -- Grodzinsky aced No. 13 during the second round Friday.
Barry Conser one-upped him Saturday, carding an albatross on the par-5 15th. That's a double eagle. Three strokes better than par. He sunk his 6-iron approach from 207 yards.
Honorable mention goes to Hogue for leaving an indentation on the edge of the 17th hole with his approach shot.
*****
Putting trouble -- During Friday's round, Chris O'Connor got a bit fed up with his flat stick.
After one particularly frustrating hole, O'Connor fired the golf ball at his cart. It knocked the hubcap off.
On another hole, O'Connor considered using his driver, the second-flattest club in his bag. He took both clubs to the green and decided against the driver, flipping it away. instead of stopping, it bounced into the creek.
*****
Course conditions -- The greens this week have been softer than they've been in years, contributing to the low scores. Word is that tournament organizers wanted a lot of birdies, but a good bit of rain toward the beginning of the tournament turned a lot of golfers into great putters.
"Guys aren't putting it off the green which is what this tournament's been known for," Symons said.
Tanner, who graduated from FHS in 2005 and knows the course and the tournament well, said the cut line is usually plus-4. This year it's minus-4.
"There's nothing really difficult about the course at all. It's not any more difficult than it is if you come out and play here on any normal day," Tanner said. "The greens are not as fast. They've never been this slow in the tournament."
*****
Tolan quotes -- And last, a couple of quotes from co-leader Tolan, courtesy of sports editor Darren Vaughan, who wrote this profile about him.
On his conservative strategy:
"There's a lot of holes out here where you can take some risks and try to force birdies, and I've done the exact opposite. I've just played really conservative, because if you just keep it in play, there's so many really easy birdie holes out here that if you don't make any bogeys, you're going to come out in the mid-60s.
"If you do take a lot of risks, you're going to shoot bogeys and doubles and eagles and all that other stuff, and it's probably going to add up to about 1- or 2-under by the end of the day."
On what he expects during today's final round:
"It's going to kind of be the way it has been the last few days, just not caring what anyone else is doing. I'll have a goal score in mind before -- 64 was my goal score (Saturday), and all I was thinking about out there was, 'How am I going to get to that.' If I do that, odds are that everything else is going to fall into place."
*****
Tidbits -- After a few days at the golf course, I feel like my voice is 30 decibels lower than normal ... Does anyone else find it hard to resist yelling out "Blahhhh!" just as one of the players starts their downswing on the tee box? ... I think Nick Killpack has one of the most intimidating/awesome last names in all of sports ... Speaking of Killpack, he's made a single bogey all week, three-putting No. 2. He also has just one eagle and one double bogey while shooting 20-under through three rounds ... Anthony Aguilar woke up Thursday with a pain in his lower back thinking he'd injured a rib. Turns out he had a spider bite that infected the muscle. He's taken eight Ibuprofen during each of the last two rounds to dull the pain.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Here are a bunch of snippets I've picked up over the last two days.
*****
The man, the legend -- Jake Grodzinsky stormed the leaderboard Friday with a 64 after shooting 9-under through his first 11 holes, including a hole-in-one.
Grodzinsky almost didn't play in the tournament -- his buddy Jake Rogers alerted him Tuesday and they cruised out to Farmington on Wednesday.
Now he's got a chance at the $15,000 prize -- he's two strokes off the lead at 18-under heading into the final round.
But Godzinsky's done more than play good golf. He's a regular entertainer during interviews this week. A few interesting moments:
* Jake dedicates his hole-in-one to pop icon Michael Jackson, who died of a heart attack Thursday.
"This round was dedicated to Michael Jackson. My ace was too," Grodzinsky said. "Next one's for Farrah Fawcett (who also died Thursday), but you've got to go with the King of Pop."
* Asked what his goals were for the final two days of the tournament, golf being the obvious implication, Jake turned to another outdoor sport.
"I really want to catch a fish."
He'd already failed a few attempts at landing a bass or trout as of Friday but wanted to get to the San Juan River before the tournament ended. I never got to ask him if he caught anything. Maybe later today.
* Jake tends to start his interviews bland until he comes up with an idea he likes. Saturday talking in the third person amused him.
"Jake Grodzinsky is only one man. I can only play my own game," Grodzinsky said. "Those guys can just do their thing and hopefully Jake Grodzinsky comes out on top at the end of the day."
So Jake, you're not afraid to speak in the third person?
"I prefer it. I'd rather always speak in the third person."
*****
Record week -- Several players have tied or set scoring records this week. Here are a few:
* Ashdon Woods tied many players for the second-lowest score in tournament history while shooting a 62 during Thursday's first round.
* Grodzinsky tied the tournament record for the lowest score on the back nine with a 29 during Friday's second round.
* Nick Killpack and Derek Tolan broke the tournament records for lowest score and most strokes under par through 54 holes. That's a 31-year-old record.
Most Strokes Under Par, 54 Holes
-20 Nick Killpack, 2009
-20 Derek Tolan, 2009
-18 Jake Grodzinsky, 2009
-16 Ryan Hogue, 2009
-16 Paul Purtzer, 1978
-15 Larry Webb, 1975
Lowest Score, 54 Holes
193 Nick Killpack, 2009
193 Derek Tolan, 2009
194 Paul Purtzer, 1978
195 Jake Grodzinsky, 2009
195 Larry Webb, 1975
196 Andy Boyd, 1977
Keep in mind this is a 45-year-old tournament.
Here's where they stand before the final round:
Most Strokes Under Par
-22 Gary Christian, 2004
-20 Nick Killpack, 2009
-20 Derek Tolan, 2009
-20 Brian Kortan, 2003
-20 Scott Frisch, 1994
*****
Amateurs qualify -- Two Lukes qualified for today's final professional round -- Luke Symons and Luke Tanner. The two couldn't be more different physically.
Symons is listed at 6-foot-5, 185 according to his bio -- he'll be a senior at the University of Colorado this year.
Seen wearing an Oklahoma visor on Saturday -- Symons was born in Tulsa, Okla. -- he has other Big 12 connections as well. His father Greg played football for New Mexico and his brother Tyler played golf at Texas Tech.
Tanner, who recently finished up at Fort Lewis College, is listed at 5-9, 130 according to his bio. A Farmington High graduate, Tanner set a course record last week while winning the Navajo Trail Open at Durango's Hillcrest Golf Course with a score of 11-under.
Also in the field at the Navajo Trail Open was last year's San Juan Open champ Jeremy Lederer (4th) and this year's co-leader Derek Tolan (8th).
Tanner plans to try and qualify for the U.S. Amateur in July before turning pro.
*****
Shots of the week -- Grodzinsky aced No. 13 during the second round Friday.
Barry Conser one-upped him Saturday, carding an albatross on the par-5 15th. That's a double eagle. Three strokes better than par. He sunk his 6-iron approach from 207 yards.
Honorable mention goes to Hogue for leaving an indentation on the edge of the 17th hole with his approach shot.
*****
Putting trouble -- During Friday's round, Chris O'Connor got a bit fed up with his flat stick.
After one particularly frustrating hole, O'Connor fired the golf ball at his cart. It knocked the hubcap off.
On another hole, O'Connor considered using his driver, the second-flattest club in his bag. He took both clubs to the green and decided against the driver, flipping it away. instead of stopping, it bounced into the creek.
*****
Course conditions -- The greens this week have been softer than they've been in years, contributing to the low scores. Word is that tournament organizers wanted a lot of birdies, but a good bit of rain toward the beginning of the tournament turned a lot of golfers into great putters.
"Guys aren't putting it off the green which is what this tournament's been known for," Symons said.
Tanner, who graduated from FHS in 2005 and knows the course and the tournament well, said the cut line is usually plus-4. This year it's minus-4.
"There's nothing really difficult about the course at all. It's not any more difficult than it is if you come out and play here on any normal day," Tanner said. "The greens are not as fast. They've never been this slow in the tournament."
*****
Tolan quotes -- And last, a couple of quotes from co-leader Tolan, courtesy of sports editor Darren Vaughan, who wrote this profile about him.
On his conservative strategy:
"There's a lot of holes out here where you can take some risks and try to force birdies, and I've done the exact opposite. I've just played really conservative, because if you just keep it in play, there's so many really easy birdie holes out here that if you don't make any bogeys, you're going to come out in the mid-60s.
"If you do take a lot of risks, you're going to shoot bogeys and doubles and eagles and all that other stuff, and it's probably going to add up to about 1- or 2-under by the end of the day."
On what he expects during today's final round:
"It's going to kind of be the way it has been the last few days, just not caring what anyone else is doing. I'll have a goal score in mind before -- 64 was my goal score (Saturday), and all I was thinking about out there was, 'How am I going to get to that.' If I do that, odds are that everything else is going to fall into place."
*****
Tidbits -- After a few days at the golf course, I feel like my voice is 30 decibels lower than normal ... Does anyone else find it hard to resist yelling out "Blahhhh!" just as one of the players starts their downswing on the tee box? ... I think Nick Killpack has one of the most intimidating/awesome last names in all of sports ... Speaking of Killpack, he's made a single bogey all week, three-putting No. 2. He also has just one eagle and one double bogey while shooting 20-under through three rounds ... Anthony Aguilar woke up Thursday with a pain in his lower back thinking he'd injured a rib. Turns out he had a spider bite that infected the muscle. He's taken eight Ibuprofen during each of the last two rounds to dull the pain.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: San Juan Open Tidbits.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blog.daily-times.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1003
Leave a comment