Monday, Sep. 15, 2008

Looking forward to the Leonetti

By Eric Degerman, sportstricities.com

Our opening round of the Northwest Open at Meadow Springs Country Club in Richland could have been worse, and it was nearly quite a bit better.

"Hey, we're just out here having fun," said Spencer Klapp, the amateur from Tualatin, Ore., whom I'm caddying for this week. "We've still got our day jobs. You know there's some guy who four-putted and missed getting his tour card by a shot."

Ultimately, golf is all about the final number on your scorecard. "So how did you shoot?" is basically all that anyone at any golf course cares about. It's how you measure yourself with other golfers, to quote Judge Smails.

Scott Erdmann, a pro at Oswego Lake Country Club, was the early leader in the clubhouse with a 7-under 65. He looks to be an early obstacle to Blaine pro Jeff Coston, the defending champion is in search of his 17th sectional title. According to Doug Gullikson of the PGA's Pacific Northwest Section, that would match the record of the late Bob Duden.

For Spencer, the short answer to the question of the day was "76."

Spokane pro Gary Lindeblad, one of the really good guys in Pacific Northwest and member of two regional halls of fame, told Spencer, "You are better than that!"

Lindeblad is right, and Spencer nearly was. He stands at 4-over-par, a pretty decent number considering it was the first time that Spencer ever laid eyes on the former Nationwide Tour track. In fact, he played a 14-hole stretch in 1-under.

Unfortunately, the bread of that sandwich was a couple of moldy heels. He bogeyed the first two holes (the par-5 No. 10, and the uphill par-4 11th) and went bogey-double bogey at Nos. 8 and 9 to finish the round.

"It reminds me of this yahoo kid I played with one time," Spencer said. "He said, 'The round would have been so much better if you don't count those five double-bogeys."

It's disappointing because Spencer hit the green in regulation on three of those four holes. He finished with 35 putts, four of them coming on No. 9 (our 18th hole of the round). All total, he hit 14 GIR and 10 fairways.

On the other hand, the way he struck the ball has emboldened us for Tuesday's round. And my reward is dinner at Monterosso's Italian Restaurant in Richland with a bottle of Leonetti Cellar's 2000 Cab. (Spencer seemed only mildly dismayed by the stock market plunge).

My job as a caddy began with a strange request from Spencer, a buddy from our high school days in Spokane.

"Here's a tip that only the super caddies on the Tour know," he said. "Go into the restroom, get the tap water really hot, and stick the face of the driver under the water for about 30 seconds. It heats up the clubface on a cold morning.

"That's good for an extra 30 yards," he said with a chuckle. "These pros don't know what a little metallurgy can do for you. Too bad it's only good for one shot."

I didn't doubt Spencer. After all, he earned a Master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford. Yet, I wanted to be discreet about it in the restroom. Good thing I had some legitimate business to conduct, which allowed me to "smoke out" the only other guy in the restroom. Privacy and the application of science with this PING G10 were mine.

Moments later, Spencer pipes his Titleist down the 10th fairway. Unfortunately, a three-tap was on the horizon.

Our playing partners were George Mack, Jr., of Black Butte in Oregon and Tom Mueller of Lake Oswego, Ore.

I asked Mueller, "You went to Central Washington University, right?"

He seemed taken back. "How do you know that?"

"Google," I replied. "I googled you."

It was an enjoyable group, and both pros have solid games, but frustration soon emerged.

"I might as well start packing now," one of them said while we were playing our seventh hole, the par-5 16th.

There were some light-hearted moments. Spencer has a habit of teeing up his ball nearly ahead of the tee markers.

"Those extra six inches will get me home in two," Spencer quipped.

To which a bystander replied, "Another six inches and I'd be in a different line of work."

Mack reminded me a little bit of Ian Woosnam and a lot like Iron Byron. He hit 16 greens, but a balky putter let him down over and over again. After walking off the last green following yet another missed birdie opportunity, Mack muttered, "Thirty-seven putts. I average in the 20s."

The bread in our sandwich cost us the chance at our little game of "beat the pros." Mack shot a 74. Mueller, 75.

Tuesday afternoon, we get another go with them. And Spencer has one round under his belt at Meadow Springs.

"It's an awesome course," Spencer said. "Greens were perfect. The homes are beautiful but not in play."