So close! Inclement weather and interminably slow golf wiped out the best-laid plans as the Gross Golf Challenge fell just short of the goal on Day 1 of the Wegmans’ Rochester LPGA tournament.
A late run made it close, but I only got to see 123 of the 144 golfers between 10:15 and 2:15. I was on pace to clear the remaining 21 in about 45 minutes when the rains came, causing a weather delay and scuttling the quest.
I decided to add three last-minute constraints to the challenge, putting the four-hour limit at risk from the outset.
1. Unlike last year, when I was able to bang out the gross of golfers in just under four hours, I chose not to use the media armband, allowing me to duck under the ropes and go onto the course at will. I had a media badge which gave me access to the Gatorade (and later shelter from the storm) in the media center, but had to stay behind the yellow ropes with the spectators. This made navigating the crowds surrounding Nancy Lopez and the threesome of Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis and Morgan Pressel, a major undertaking, costing valuable minutes. I also got caught in the notorious 1-2-3-4 corner, where a confluence of two greens and two tee boxes with constantly shifting ropes can corner a spectator, costing 10-15 precious minutes the one time I got trapped there.
2. I had to start an hour earlier than planned, because I am scheduled to work a minor league baseball game tonight. Plus, with the threatening forecast, I was trying to get my four hours in before the rains came (which, technically, I did). An 11:15 start would have let me hover around the clubhouse and catch the early tee-times as they finished, while also keeping pace with the later tee-offs. Starting at 10:15 meant I had to go hunting. And as long as I’m hunting, might as well add another rule:
3. I had to see at least one stroke on each hole on the course. Again, I fell just short, seeing one through four, eight, and the back nine. I had a plan to backtrack the missing holes while watching the last six groups, however.
The weather also kept the pace of the golf slow, and it obviously takes longer to see all 144 golfers if everyone is taking longer to hit. Many golfers spent several excruciating minutes setting up shots, tossing grass in the air to gauge the wind, conferring with caddies, then watching the caddy toss grass. On the flip side, the wind kept the temperature down—I never even had to change my shirt (yes, I brought a spare). And the cloud cover kept the UV rays to a minimum, especially good on a day I forgot the sunscreen.
As I learned last year, the "identify the golfer before the shot" rule did not come into play that often. The global nature of pro golf works in my favor. Many golfers have their national flags sewn on their bags, which is much easier to read from a distance than their names. Plus, with pairings like the one that teed off at 7:59 AM on Tee One—South Korean In-Bee Park, Mexican Sophia Sheridan, and Swede Eva Dahllof—it’s not hard to make a positive I.D.
About the only time an identification mistake came back to bite me was when I was trying to cross the street. Locust Hill Country Club is set up on both sides of Jefferson Road, with the middle seven holes of the back nine on the south side. Spectators have to take a tunnel under the street, usually jammed closed with several golf carts, while the players get a police escort across the stopped traffic above. While working backwards early in the day, I was trying to watch one threesome tee off at 18, then get to the green of 17 across the street in time to see all three golfers.
My first attempt got me to the green on time, but as the first golfer lined up her shot, I was torn between two Brittany L’s. Lincicome and Lang were in the same group, along with Korean Joo Mi Kim. None of the caddy name plates were visible, and all three golf bags were face down on the ground, so I looked from Brittany to Brittany trying to find a way to tell the difference. Just as the golfer was ready to putt, I remembered speaking to a league umpire supervisor at last night’s baseball game. He said he spent the day following Brittany Lincicome’s practice round and proclaimed her "better looking than Natalie Gulbis."
Given that piece of information, I proclaimed the larger golfer about to putt to be Brittany Lang, while the slight waif of a golfer waiting her turn to be Lincicome.
After she sunk her putt, her caddy came to retrieve the club and I read the name plate—I had them backward. Which meant that I had to re-cross Jefferson Road to watch the two Brittany’s tee off on 18. And as for the "better than Gulbis" claim? Let's just say all those jokes about umpires' eyesight may not be that far off the mark.
Despite all the challenges, I was still on pace to get through the 144 faster than a round of golf, as the rounds were taking significantly longer than my four hour estimate. For instance, The day’s first threesome teed off on their last hole at 11:38, some four hours, 23 minutes after starting. Charlotta "Don’t Ask About Her Sister" Sorenstam teed off on 17—with two full holes to go—at the 4:05 mark.
Alas, the rain kept me from accomplishing the feat with an asterisk. Back out for attempt number two tomorrow!
