Last night I wrote about the trials and triumphs of a hardened pro golfer who hit a heroic shot on the 36th hole of the Colorado Open to make the cut. Despite having played on tours all over the world and having found some measure of success, the cut at the Colorado Open mattered to Jimmy Gunn. It mattered a great deal to the Scot. It also mattered to me. Here’s why: moving day comes after cut day, and pay day comes after moving day. Today, both Gunn and I, along with others, took advantage of calm conditions on moving day and went low.
I had the first tee time of the day off the 10th tee in Round 3. I was a bit late getting out of the hotel this morning and hurried to pick up breakfast on my way to the course. After parking at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, I casually placed my full coffee on the rental car, reached in to grab a few other items, and clumsily knocked the coffee over on the way out, spilling nearly the entire cup at my feet. This, I worried, was a bad omen. I pathetically picked the cup up and drank the remaining drops from the bottom like a junkie. Unsatisfied, uncaffeinated and frustrated, I headed to the practice area.
While the putter felt unstable in my hands on the practice green, my swing felt connected and free on the range. My chipping and bunker play were, dare I say, the best they’ve felt in weeks. But the putter remained shaky through the opening holes. The rolls weren’t true, I made two bogeys quickly and started asking myself counter productive questions. Then I arrived on the 14th hole, my fifth of the day.
