Arrowood Golf Club, Oceanside CA

Friday  September 26 2008   

Our club’s playoff season is now down to 8 players.  These players competed today in  their Quarter Final Matches to move up towards the next round.  All 8 players have their sights on the 2009 Trophy Seacoast Cup.  Today’s Quarter Final Matches were:

Note:  Winners of the Quarter Final Matches will advance to the next round, Semi Finals which will be played at Encinitas Ranch Golf Club on October 17.

Players who were participating in their matches all came early to warm up their swings.  Players were focused and intentional as they went about their warm up routines.  They all realized that their entire Seacoast golf season was at stake today.  Win and move on…or loose… and just hope for next year..  Here were some pre match comments and notes regarding each match:

The Matchups

Chan vs. Wood – .  Larry Wood and Curtis Chan were both at the course early warming up their swings.  Curtis put some extra time at the driving range the day before to prepare for his match.  Larry was still riding high after his “wild-card” match win that knocked out Bob Newby, our 2007 Club Champion.  Larry also knew that Curtis had to give him 7 strokes this next round and that as long as he played steady, Curtis would have to be making a lot of birdies to stay in the game.  Curtis spent some extra time before his round putting on the greens to get a good feel for Arrowood.  He knew his putter had to keep him in the game if he was to have a chance.  Larry brought along his long time friend, Bill Bracket as his “caddie” and golf motivator.  Bill was present at Larry’s last win over Bob Newby, and Larry felt that Bill would again bring out the best golf in him.   Curtis decided to bring Bob Newby on as his “caddie” and golf cart partner.  Bob is always upbeat on the golf course…and perhaps his wisdom and experience on winning the Seacoast Cup would inspire Curtis during his match with Larry.

Coykendall vs. Maglidt – Kent Coykendall knew his day would be  a challenge as he had to give Darren Maglidt +21 strokes during the round. Kent has been playing well lately, but admitted that he could have spent more time at the range to groove his swing.  Darren has been playing his best golf ever.  He has been practicing each week and even has played several rounds during the past 2 weeks.  He recently had a few rounds in Scottsdale/ Phoenix AZ, where he feels his consistancy on the course has improved.  Darren realized the key to his game is to eliminate the double and triple bogey….if he can do that….then he’s got a chance.  Kent’s game plan is to just play to his ability…and let his higher handicap opponent make the mistakes.

Prince vs. Jensen – Darryn Prince has not been playing much golf lately.  His business has kept him quite busy  and Darryn was fortunate enough to get his clubs out last week when he was visiting Honolulu, HI to get in a “practice” round for his match.  Darryn has been watching how his opponent, John Jensen , has been steadily making progress in his golf game.  Darryn figured if he could navigate and play the tough course (and it is a really challenging course…slope 158)  at Koolau then he would be ready for Jensen.  On the range, John Jensen looked confident and ready. After asking about his preparation for his match with Darryn, Jensen revealed that he had been practicing daily.  He even revealed that he has been using the range here at Arrowood since he lives only 10 mintues from the course..  He even drove back at record high speeds from a meeting in Las Vegas earlier this week, and was able to make it to his late afternoon tee time at Arrowood where he was able to put in a practice round with one of guys in the pro shop.   John has been improving his game in many ways and today he felt ready for his match.  Today, Jensen, would have to give his opponent strokes, but this thought didn’t’ even phase John.  His only comment was…”Bring him on !!!!”

Haug vs. Anderson -  (Match played on Tuesday, September 23, 2008)  Scheduled earlier and approved by tournament chairman.  See results below.

Quarter Finals Match Play Results:

To View the Entire Match Play Bracket - click here

Chan vs. Wood:  Chan win 6 and 5   Larry Wood got a big gift from the start when Curtis sliced his opening drive into the riparian habitat and had to hit his 3^rd shot from the tee.  But then Larry returned the favor back to Curtis as he duplicated Chan’s shot and found himself teeing up a second ball for his 3^rd shot.  Larry knew he had a great opportunity to win the hole if only he would have kept his ball in play.  As the hole played out, Curtis made a great 20 foot putt to bogey the hole.  Larry got his ball to within 5 feet but was already laying 5 strokes for the hole.   Curtis, still frustrated and thinking about what a bad start to this round, he was thinking on just getting to the next hole and called out to Larry and announced that the 5 foot putt was good.  Curtis actually thought Larry’s score of 6 was going to give him a 1 up….but Curtis failed to realized that this starting hole one was the #5 handicap hole and Larry got a stroke on Curtis…so the score after one hole was still ALL Square.  Once again Curtis realized he was not playing the match play he was hoping to play…already 2 crucial mistakes played out in his game and there were 17 more holes to go.  Curtis told Larry…”I’m usually nice and generous…but that’s the last time today….”  The next 8 holes, Curtis played flawless golf and took a commanding lead into the back nine.  Larry somehow couldn’t get his normal game in gear and found himself fighting to make pars, while Curtis was making crucial putts, sand saves, and making many putts from 15-20 feet.    Finally, Larry made his first par of the day on hole 10 to win his first hole, but Curtis already had a 5 up lead.  By the 13^th hole, Larry began to feel his normal game return, but it was too late as Curtis closed out the match 6 and 5.  It wasn’t Larry’s day, and Curtis played 9 holes to perfection.  Curtis moves on to the Semi Finals.

Coykendall vs. Maglidt:  Maglidt wins 5 and 3.   This match was very close until the back nine 12^th hole when Coykendall broke down and posted a triple bogey on the par 3.  Up until this point, Kent was playing very steady golf.  Kent knew his opponent was going to have to make the big mistakes for him to overcome the 21 strokes that Darren received.  Kent held on nicely for the first part of the round, but then Darren put a sting of 3 good golf holes for his cause.   This was the turning point of the match as Darren went par, birdie, par (holes 12-14)and with his strokes, he netted out 4 under for these 3 holes.  Kent’s main strategy for the day was to play good even par golf, and let Darren use up his stroke allotment when he posted the double and triple bogeys.  But Darren kept the high scores off the scorecard during most of the round..  Congratulations to Darren for hanging in there and not scoring the big numbers as Kent was hoping for during the round.   Darrren’s extra time working on his game and practicing his swing has paid off today as he overcame and beat one of our groups best golfers, Kent Coykendall.  (Side Note:  Darren did end up posting the big numbers on holes 16-17…but the match was already done….)  Congratulations to Darren Maglidt…who also moves onto the Semi Finals.

 Prince vs. Jensen:  Jensen wins 3 and 1.     This match almost went to the final holes as Darryn fought hard to keep pace with John’s newly found golf game.  John Jensen has been working hard on his game and in recent months he has shown to be a much improved golfer.  In fact , he has made it to our SCGA club affiliate list of 10 ten best improved golfers for the last 12 months.  Jensen took the early lead and took advantage of Darryn’s early struggles on the first 3 holes.  Darryn finally settled down his game and narrowed Jensen’s lead to only 1 up by the 8^th hole.  From there it was a battle between the 2 players.  Jensen realized that this match was going to be close and even though he had to give Darryn 7 strokes, he couldn’t afford to post any high numbers on his card.  Jensen continued to play hard within himself and when it came to the difficult long par hole #17, Darryn ended up with a big “9” on the card giving Jensen a 2 up lead.  The last 2 holes for Darren meant do or die.  The pressure was too great for Darryn as he again posted another big score on #17.  John continued to keep his game in check and dismantled Darryn’s pursuit for the 2008 Seacoast Cup and ended the match at 3 and 1. John’s diligence in improving his golf game these past months has moved him closer to that Seacoast Cup Trophy.  Congratulations to John Jensen who moves on to the Semi Finals.

Haug vs. Anderson:  Haug wins 4 and 3.   This match had the most evenly paired players in our Quarter Final matches (number 4 and 5 seeded players).  Adding to their comparative stats, both players have close golf indices.  For this month’s golf course handicap, Dan Anderson would give Mike Haug one stroke for the round.    Both players have been playing well these past months and their match proved to be a nail biter.  Their match was played at Encinitas Ranch GC earlier during the week .  The match began on hole #10.  Both players knowing how to play great golf pared their first hole.  Then on the next hole, Mike took advantage of Dan’s missed par put and knocked down his par for the early 1 Up lead.  Then on hole #13 Mike put his second shot (3 wood 265 yards out) on the green setting himself up for an eagle score.  How quickly the tide can turn in golf, as Mike’s attempt at a eagle, turned into a disappointing bogey.  He 4 putted the hole, as Dan finished with a par,  bringing the match back to all square. On the fourth hole (13)  Dan had a nice drive, but put his approach in the canyon to the left.  A nice gift for Mike.  The next four holes were neck and neck with Dan halving the 16th with Mike by making a nice 25 foot right to lefter for par.  On the eighteenth, with the greens lightning fast, Mike was on the back with the pin in the front.  Again, Mike four putted for double.  Another early “Christmas” gift for Dan as he had a beautiful approach  to put him within 20 feet for birdie.  Back to all square at the half way mark. Continuing on at hole #1 one for the last 9 holes, the pin was back right, and Dan hit his approach between the hole and the bunker, took one jump to the left, and rolled to within 4 feet.  Mike was 15 feet past the pin for birdie.  Dan sunk his putt for a 1 up lead, as Mike made par.  From then on, Mike realized that Dan was on a roll and that any missed cues from here on out would mean the match.  Dan was playing great, but Mike had to find another gear to put his game into “overdrive”.  For the next few holes, Mike played up and down golf…placing great dives and putting his ball in for a tap in par.  On hole four, Dan and Mike had beautiful drives, putting each of them between the two bunkers in the middle of the fairway.  Dan had a great save after having to take an unplayable lie after his iron missed the green left, and saved bogey, but a par put Mike 2 up.  Mike was now on a roll.  Dan sensed the urgency to turn his game around and to settle down his game.  But during the next few holes, Dan wasn’t able to match the great play of Mike and by 15^th hole of the match (hole #6), Mike won and finished the match 4 and 3.  Contratulations to Mike Haug for moving on to the Semi Finals.

Golf Score Posting Notes:   All Players playing in the 2008 Match Play Secoast Cup should designate their match rounds as "Tournament" rounds when posting their adjusted gross score with the SCGA computer system.  Those scores that were already posted as a regular round will be adjusted by the tournament committee.

2008 Seacoast Cup - Match Play Bracket

Results for Individual Gross / Net Stroke Play  - several other players did come along to watch and play along with the quarter finals match play participants.  Our normal format of play was also done and here are the results:

The Score Card