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U.S. Amateur Public Links Blog
Monday, July 09, 2007
Weather Blues
Chicago summertime weather is always an interesting case study. One day it can be windy, the next day it could be steamy and thunderstorms are always a possibility. We've seen all different shades this week. It was downright beautiful on Friday and then over the weekend for the two practice rounds, it got steamy hot, with temperatures rising into the mid-90s. Today was another hot one, but unfortunately, thunderstorms rolled through midway through the afternoon and suspended play for the day at 2:28 p.m. CDT. USGA officials waited a little more than three hours before calling off play. The thunder just kept coming to the point where golf could not be resumed.
Now we are in for a marathon day on Tuesday, weather-permitting of course. The 78 players who failed to finish their rounds on Monday, must come back at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday to finish round one, then they'll go out immediately for round two. Some players will have to play 35 holes of golf. Then again, most of these guys are fit and young and can handle the grind. It will be interesting to see how some of the older guys handle the situation. We have four players over the age of 50, but only 53-year-old David Farnam of Kent, Wash., failed to complete his round. He has 11 more holes to play Tuesday morning, then his scheduled 18-hole second round.
The afternoon wave is scheduled to start at 3:10 p.m., meaning some guys won't finish round two on Tuesday. That's if we have perfect weather.
And in Chicago, that's never a given. |
Tardiness Does Not Pay
It's never wise to be late for an important appointment. When that date is a starting time for a USGA championship, it can turn out to be a major disappointment as Dan Doyle of Rochester, Mich., found out Monday morning. Scheduled to tee off from the 10th hole at 7:30 a.m., Doyle was a no-show. It turns out that the Northwestern University student ran into traffic problems coming from Evanston, Ill., on the north side of Chicago. A truck had apparently stalled near the Winfield Road exit on Interstate 88. When Doyle turned around to find an alternate exit to get to Cantigny, he wound up getting a speeding ticket.
So by the time Doyle had arrived on site at Cantigny to begin the 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, an alternate, Jon Cochrane of Eagan, Minn., had been contacted and assigned to the 10th tee.
USGA officials had given Doyle the five-minute grace period, which results in a two-stroke penalty. Once that time had elapsed, USGA officials gave the go-ahead for Cochrane to join Michael Wog II of Tucson, Ariz., and Andrew Rauscher of River Falls, Wis.
A misfortunate incident, indeed. But there are no gray areas when it comes to the Rules of Golf. Every competitor knows its their responsibility to abide by them and, in this case, Dan Doyle suffered a tough blow. |
Players' Dinner Highlights
The Players' Dinner for the 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links featured 1957 champion Don Essig III from Indianapolis. Essig, who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his 6-and-5 victory over Gene Towry at Hershey Park Golf Course in Hershey, Pa., was on hand for the invocation. Essig is a high-ranking Rules official with the PGA of America who has worked U.S. Opens, PGA Championships and Ryder Cup Matches. He's also a friend of the USGA and will assist this week with the Rules.
Contestants were also informed by Bill McCarthy, the director of the APL Championship, that their caddies would have one less duty. Cantigny organizers went out and enlisted high school students to volunteer as walking rakers a la the British Open. All the rakes on the course were removed Sunday night and these volunteers will rake bunkers within their assigned groups. That brought quite a cheer from the audience.
Irv Fish, the Chairman of the APL Championship Committee and a member of the USGA Executive Committee, followed by talking about how difficult it is just to qualify for this event. A total of 71 contestants were making their first-ever appearance in a USGA championship this week and while all of them hope to qualify for another event, the statistics bore out that for many of those 71, this will be their one and only USGA championship. That brought some groans from the crowd.
APL General Chairman Jim Sutherland from Cantigny had a light-hearted moment with Ireland-born contestant Gerard Connolly. Connolly's wife just had the couple's first child on Friday, but Connolly was given permission to leave his New York, N.Y., home to fly to Chicago. Sutherland gave credit to Connolly's wife for allowing him to leave his newborn son to compete in this championship.
Retorted Connolly: "I might not make it back here." That was in reference to hearing that the odds of the USGA championship first-timers making it back to another national championship are not in their favor. So Connolly figured he better come to Cantigny. |
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