I defeated 46 men to take the title!

On June 24th, I competed in my 2nd OGA tournament of the year at Forest Hills in Cornelius, OR.  I played a practice round the day before with 2 regulars. This helped me trememndously as I had never played the course before.  I knew which clubs to select off the tee, where to aim my tee shots, and when to stay below the hole, which helped me develop a solid game plan for the tournament. 

On tournament day, I started strong, with 2 birdies on the first 4 holes. I threw in a couple bogeys, but I remained even par through the first 14 holes.  After that I followed a bogey with a double bogey.  Then a birdie and another bogey and a finale par.  3-over 74 on a par 71. 

I didn't add up my score until the end and I was shocked that I went that low.  I tied my lowest score ever.  The question was: Is that good enough for first place?! I never expected to contend for first place.  My only goal was to play my best.
Our group was one of the last to turn in scorecards.  I turned in my scorecard, looked at the board and saw a lot of scores in the 70s but nothing below a 75.  As the last scores were written on the board and I saw that mine was the lowest, I was in shock.  Complete shock.  "Really, I just beat 46 other people - all men and several who are sub-5 handicaps - to win?!"

I've never won a golf tournament before, and I would have to say the highlight was beating 46 dudes.  "Sorry guys, I know your ego is brusied."  ;)

Check out the results here:
http://www.ghintpp.com/OREGONGA/TPPOnlineScoring/Results.aspx?id=90&archive=None&type=players

Low Net 68 @ Emerald Valley

Usually under competive pressure in golf, I crack and shoot much higher scores than normal.  On April 30th at the OGA Tour event at Emerald Valley, something unusual and surprising happened.  I was able to stay focused, keep my composure, putt well, and shoot an 80.  I had one triple bogey, 1 birdie, several pars, and a few bogeys which resulted in a consistent round.  1 tournament down, 4 more to go this year.  I now see that I really can play well under competitive pressure, so hopefully that will carry over into future tournaments...

Creswell, Ore. (April 30, 2011) -- A full field enjoyed the second OGA Tour Individual Series event at Emerald Valley on Saturday, April 30 with nice weather and a course in great condition.  The conditions were perfect to see some low scores!

Flight 1 saw Brett Taylor of Camas, Wash. take the Low Gross prize with an even par 72, while Ethan Glaser of Salem, Ore. grabbed the Low Net title with a round of 68.  Taylor’s even par round was the low gross round for the event.

Dean McKinney of Grants Pass, Ore. earned the low gross award in a card-off against Ivan Mombert of Eugene, Ore., both with rounds of 79 in Flight 2, with Ashley Wilson of Happy Valley, Ore. taking the Low Net title with a round of 68.

In Flight 3, the Low Gross went to Dan Matthews of Portland, Ore. with an 82, while Corey Fhuere of Coos Bay, Ore. was awarded the Low Net prize with a round of 68.

In addition to gross and net prizes in each of the three flights, the Wells Fargo Skills Contests including Longest Putt, Longest Drive and Closest to the Hole also had a number of winners. 

Longest Putt

Flight 1, Ethan Galser 36’9”
Flight 2, Taylor Luzier 6’0”
Flight 3, Andy Merrill 18’11”

Longest Drive

Flight 1, Brett Taylor
Flight 2, Ashley Wilson

Flight 3, Michael Johnson

Closest to the Hole

Flight 1, Ryan Patterson 10’9”
Flight 2, Ivan Mombert 9’1”
Flight 3, Michael Smith 7’6”