Timko
* Ace Member *
A 49 on Swope Gold is insane.
The only hole I saw him really miss was #11 (#8 on the standard course). He facemasked the putt.
KC locals already know this, but I have designed the Swope Gold configuration for the past 4 years. This year had more chances to score but a lot more risk, and at the beginning of the week I predicted someone from Open would shoot in the 40's for the first time since I started. For those who haven't played Swope Gold, it's not so much a distance course as an accuracy course. If you can throw a Teebird 400' on a variety of lines you're going to go a long way on the course. I watched McBeth for the first part of his round, and he was puring everything. The OB forces a particular subset of shot shapes off the tee, and he was shaping them exactly like I pictured.
Funny story about the round. On #17 he had gotten to that magic -11 that he needed to shoot in the 40's. He gets up to #18 and throws it OB. I shrug and walk off to go get some food. As I'm walking, I hear a ching, cheering, and see him sprinting up #18's fairway. He canned an 80'-100' to circle 3 and get in at 49. That's the last time I walk off from watching him.