Just When You Thought....

...the season was over certain tour members somehow managed to squeeze in two seperate rounds this week:

First, Ben and Mike M. snuck away to FDR, where in the past Guns has reigned supreme earning him the title of Mr. FDR due to his consistent success there and status as course record holder. Well this day would be no different. Mike was in fine form, administering a bludgeoning to our Season 3 (and 2 and 1) Champ that would leave him doing some soul searching for days. Millsbury's forehand was on, he had some monster drives, including a few of the best we've seen on the long par 4 number 6. He was also looking quiet confident with the back hand valkyrie shots and brought a steady putting game to the table. Ben, however, was in a different place, a sad lonely place that involved many weak drives and deplorable putts. The trees reverberated with his screams of frustration as he tried to exorcise the demons that have plagued him at this course. In the end, Mike took this exhibition event handily with a final score of +4 (new course record) to +10.

Next, Ben Mike M. and Saito found themselves at Tyler State Park for a full day of cold weather disc. The long johns and off hand gloves were in effect this day to combat the near freezing temperatures, but that didn't stop Ben from getting hot early and keeping the heat applied all day long. The format was 2 seperate 27 hole exhibition rounds with a cold hotdog grubbing break in between (courtesy of den mother Tomoko).

Round 1 saw Ben open with two straight bogies but then settle down and find his groove. He birdied 4 of the next six holes using the "tongue out-putter in" technique illustrated in the photo. By hole 12 the scores were Ben -2 Mike +11, Saito +13. Yes folks, thats a 13 stroke lead after 12 holes. What happened to Mike M this day? All the more confounding considering his recent stellar play at FDR. The turning point really came at about hole 9, which offers a treacherous ravine off the left, and even bigger cliff beyond the basket, all sandwiched with an OB road off to the right just to keep you honest. Well both Saito and Mike found themselves ensconced deep in the ravine while Ben kept it tight for par. The gulf just seemed to grow of its own accord after this hole. Interestingly, going into the final 9 holes of the first 27 hole round, Saito was legitimately threatening Mike for second place (they were tied most of the round). Alas, the final 9 played to Mike's strengths and he managed to break out with a few much needed birdies to seperate himself from the tenacious Blake prodigy. When all was said and done Ben made a strong statement with a +5, Mike meanwhile carded a dissapointing +16 with Saito falling off at the end to finish +21.

Round 2 looked like it might prove more competitive, considering Mike's strong play at the end of round 1. Ben started off by double bogeying the extremely easy hole 1 though (with saito tripling, ouch), giving Mike a 2 stroke lead roght off the bat. Ben again settled down however and was able to build a two stroke lead of his own over Mike and Saito. A triple bogey for our hero on that damnable hole 9 however brought the scores back into parity with everyone now tied at + 5. This was the critical juncture in the round, who would step up and who would go home crying for mama? Next hole, birdie for Ben, par for saito and bogey for Mike. Mike wasn't quite crying yet though (although i could have sworn i saw a tear as he retrieved his disc from yet another hazard, see photo), that would come later. After a few more holes, Ben found himself with another tidy lead of three to four strokes over the two challengers. Mike's will to win had wilted (and the mental errors mounted) after a few frustrating holes in which he missed two mandotories (this was Saito's golden opportunity to take down a tour veteran with a strong move but he also missed the same mando!), shanked a few short puts and seemed confused as to which driver to pull out of the bag. Going into the final 9, ben held steady at +6, Mike was at +10 and saito had slipped to +12. Even with all the frustrations, Mike could potentially make a move with a great back nine. Twas not to be though as Ben held strong as Mike missed some key opportunities, bringing the final result to +8 for Ben, Mike +11, Saito +20.

A fun day and one in which Saito was in the mix in the early and middle stages but tended to fade towards the end. On one particularly painful hole depicted in the photo, we see precisely how far Saito's initial drive made it from the tee. If this course was only 18 holes, Saito would have had a very competitive score. I know Mike was up late this night contemplating how close he came to being bested by the relative newcomer, a fate consensus agrees will probably be destined for one Mr. Shankdog in the coming season...