2018-04-15_Independence

If it is Spring then it must be time for The Masters. This year marks the 10th anniversary of major competitions for what would become the RAGA Tour. The 10th Master tournament will be presented over 2 groups and 2 non-consecutive days which should provide some drama out of the doldrums of the long winter. Watch as Steve, Jon N., Mike, and Todd look to set the stage on day 1 while Rick and Patrick strive to upstage them on day 2 all being played out at Independence.

Todd made a bold statement with pars on 1 and 2 as his opening soliloquy reverberated across the howling winds of the open-air arena. Mike tried to keep pace with his usual bogey golf but found himself 4 shots back at the turn. Jon N. tried to brush off the rust and return to prime form but this course is a tough place to do that. A triple-triple-quad on 3-4-5 put Jon N. behind a curtain early and found himself 7 shots back at intermission. Steve struggled under the spotlights and pressure of recreating his Shakespearean brilliance in majors as new actors put their claims on the thespian's title. After going 9 over through the first 4 holes, Steve was able to string together 5 straight pars to close out the front and was only 2 back going into Act II. This play turned into a horror flick on the back 9 for Todd, struggling in the wind, particularly on 16 as a closing 51 paved the way for an operatic story of triumph by Steve. A 45 on the back gave Steve a 4 shot lead over Todd, 6 on Mike, and 7 on Jon N., at the close of group 1 play.

Group 2 faced a daunting task in front of a sceptical audience as the curtain rose on their opening tee-shots. The story in front of them - to shoot better than a 90 on the very difficult Independence stage. Rick looked to remain a character actor, playing the role of bogey golf through the opening 9, out in a 45 - keeping pace with Steve. Patrick started with a powerful statement by finding a birdie on the 3rd. But a triple on 6 and quad on 8 set him up for a possible redemption story arc on the back. Unfortunately, that story arc never played out as Patrick continues to find his way to A-list roles. Rick needed to take advantage of the stage presented at the short par-4 10th. A successful drive put him in prime position to take advantage but his short iron approach shot was put in the front-right green-side bunker. The sand was firm and his lie was on a down slope and he was fortunate enough not to put it into the woods behind the green but the double bogey hurt like being back stabbed by Brutus. Similarly, the par-4 12th proved just as tragic as Rick’s approach shot came up short, as did his uphill putt from off the front of green when it rolled back to his feet. The nail in the coffin came on the par-5 13th as another short iron approach rolled off the green to a green-side bunker, followed by hopscotching the green for a quad. The miraculous climatic comeback fell short and Steve took home another Green jacket and Masters title by 3 shots.