Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2008

Making the cut at the Northwest Open

By Eric Degerman, sportstricities.com

AP, I'll be showing up at the office a little late on Wednesday.

That's because my high school buddy made the cut at the 2008 Windermere Northwest Open, and I'm on his bag -- sort of.

Spencer Klapp, the 46-year-old amateur from Tualatin, Ore., shot a solid-as-granite round of even-par 72 Tuesday at Meadow Springs Country Club in Richland. That put him at 4-over 148 through 36 holes, good enough to make the final round.

He tees off at 8:34 a.m. Wednesday as one of 11 amateurs with 52 professionals left in the tournament – the final major of the season in the PGA's Pacific Northwest section.

The event is being led by Bellevue professional Patrick Howard, a Tri-City native and grandson of the late Bill Welch. He's at 9-under 135, a stroke better than Montana pro Ryan Malby.

First-round leader Scott Erdmann fell back into a tie for fourth after shooting 73 on Tuesday. Blaine’s Jeff Coston made his run for his record-tying 17th sectional tournament title more difficult after his second round of 74. His two-round total of 140 leaves him tied for 10th and five strokes off the pace – still within striking distance.

The cut line was 149, which means it will be a lot easier to park at Meadow on Wednesday with 68 fewer players in the field.

Normally, tour caddies get 5 percent for a made cut.

"I always give 100% of my check to my caddie, so you can look forward to that," Spencer said. "Whatever I get in pro shop credit, I give to my caddies."

Spencer points out that I will make more as a working caddie this week than Steve Williams -- Tiger's famous looper/bodyguard.

My job was made a bit easier Tuesday afternoon than Monday morning. I no longer have to pack the bag. Now, I just clean the clubs, hand off the range finder and help read the greens.

"Hey Degerman, I thought you were caddying?" heckled Tom Moore, a Meadow Springs member. "I expected to see you carrying a bag."

Well, Spencer decided to rent a riding cart because of the 90-degree temps forecast for the afternoon round.

"This cart will be good for two strokes today," Spencer said with a chuckle.

That's one of the beauties of hanging around Spencer. There's always a joke around the corner.

"We exorcised some demons today," he said, referring to Tuesday's par at No. 9 vs. the double-bogey there to close the first round. "You could hear them go 'woosh' as they left the hole."

On Tuesday, rather than go "D2 Man" on No. 9, Spencer laid up with a 4-wood. It left him with 89 yards to the "jar," and his approach was middle of the green. He narrowly missed his birdie, leaving it in the jaws.

An hour earlier, he birdied No. 4 -- a hole he bogeyed on Monday in part because I failed to tell him about a fairway bunker that is not part of the original layout. On Tuesday, Spencer cited a University of Washington banner flying from a patio on the par-5 as a good omen.

Tuesday morning, Spencer figured his target score to make cut was 72. Well, the guy in high school we referred to as "Doctor K" called his shot. He missed just one fairway -- No. 3 -- and nearly made birdie from the rough. He hit 14 greens. His other birdie came at the par-3 6th. Bogeys popped up at No. 5 (a three-putt) and No. 12.

Spencer is a 1 handicap at Tualatin Country Club, where he's been a member for the past 12 years and a three-time club champion. The software salesman’s best finish at a Northwest section event was a tie 24th at the 2003 Rosauer's (68-70-71).

He showed his mettle at Meadow Springs by closing with six straight pars, including a 12-footer on the par-3 No. 14 and a gritty up-and-down from beyond the pin on the par-3 17th. His choice to rent a cart rather than walk just might have been the difference.

"It will be nice to play (Wednesday) with the pressure off," Spencer said. "We came through on the difficult finishing holes knowing that we were near 'the number.' "

There were 28 rounds that were par or better on Tuesday, and I got to witness two of them – by Spencer and George Mack Jr., who carded a solid 71. The Black Butte, Ore., pro went on a birdie binge, draining putts at Nos. 7, 8 and 9.

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Another thing I don't think I'll ever forget about Tuesday's round was the odd putting maneuver by Tom Mueller, a pro from Lake Oswego, Ore.

After a rocky front nine, the right-hander addressed his first putt on No. 10, backed off, then went at it left-handed -- using a putter for right-handers. He turned around his Anser-style and starting rolling his putts with the back of the putter. He drained a 20-foot downhiller for birdie on No. 11 employing this odd approach.

He had no three-putts the rest of the way, but he missed the cut.

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One member of our threesome did not use a range finder to help with yardage to the pins.

"It's like playing with 12 clubs in your bag," Spencer said.

It's a great Christmas wish list item for the avid golfer. His Bushnell Yardage Pro Pinseeker 1500 Tournament Edition goes for $400.

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A quick way to distinguish the players from the caddies on a hot day is by looking below the waist.

A caddie may wear shorts, but any player -- amateur or professional -- is required to be wearing slacks as soon as you step out of your car.

Spencer, who got his BS in electrical engineering at the University of Washington, wore a purple golf shirt and tan slacks for the opening round. (He uses a Stanford ball mark because that's where he his master's in EE).

Today, I was looking for karma, so I donned the Husky purple Nike golf shirt -- a gift from Spencer earlier in the week. It might have helped vs. those demons.

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I wondered if the course would be set up similar to the days of the Hogan/Nike/Buy.com/Nationwide Tour stopped here.

It's not too difficult.

"Not even close," said George Mack Jr., who played in three Nike Tri-Cities Open events.

My first clue was the rough, which is not punishing. Course superintendent Mark Dalton used to groom the rough to U.S. Open thickness and length for the Tri-Cities Open. That tough rough never sat well with Meadow Springs members.

Why is it different for the Northwest Open? Events run by the PGA section, at least in the Northwest, are not intended to be overly penalizing. Club pros make up the bulk of the field for the sectional tournaments, and the pros don't get a chance to play as often as they like. They are busy operating the golf courses many of us hacks play on. And if the section makes the course too tough, the fields will shrink. Club pros don't aspire to play in a tournament on a course that will beat their heads in.

No one wants to be embarrassed. As Spencer points out, "You just know there's some member at every club who reads that his pro shot, say 76, and the member says, 'Hey, I played there last year and shot 74.' "

Besides, many of these pros merely enjoy the opportunity to play some competitive rounds and gather with their peers at the 19th hole.

Spencer’s 19th hole came at Anthony’s at Columbia Point as we celebrated his achievement with a bottle of Thurston Wolfe 2007 PGV.