On the par 5 18th tee at Pinnacle Country Club, for the John Deere Classic Monday qualifier, I waited for the group in front to clear the fairway. I was coming off two birdies and was 4 under par in the second-to-last group of the day. The leaderboard indicated 5 under would be a playoff and 6 under was certain to get in. I had been spraying the driver all day – my cuts had missed left and my draws had missed right. A stiff left-to-right breeze blew across the hole and any miss right of the fairway might be fatal to my chances. I aimed down the left edge of the fairway and committed to a draw. The blocked drive rode the wind, bounded off a tree and down a hill into darkness, coming to rest in a place without hope.
Josh Creel shot 7 under and Chase Johnson posted 6 under to earn their spots in the field this week. Two other players, Blake Hathcoat and Anders Larson, survived a 4-for-2 playoff to win the final spots over Mike Van Sickle and Jack Sparrow. Hathcoat birdied the 17th and 18th to get into the playoff, and made it three-in-a-row on the first playoff hole to win a spot.
The disappointment of being so close to a spot in a PGA Tour event and collapsing hits hard. Mike Van Sickle, once a top-10 amateur in the world, hooked his playoff tee shot into the trees and played his third from knee-high fescue. Van Sickle stopped pursuing professional golf full-time a couple years ago, but occasionally shows up in a qualifier. With the ability to catch fire and go low, Van Sickle likely still harbors the hope that an elusive performance at the right time might alter the trajectory of his professional life. A bogey ended that short-term possibility on Monday’s opening playoff hole.
As a player, you try to accept disappointment by reminding yourself of how close you came; nearly qualifying for a meaningful tournament means you’re improving. There were nine players who faced a frustrating ride home after finishing at 4 under. The group included Danny Guise, who survived an eight hole playoff last week to earn a spot in the Rocket Mortgage Classic but struggled in the event.
After coming up short in a qualifier, it’s hard to overcome the sinking feeling of an opportunity squandered. At 3 a.m., I found myself lying in the worn, coarse sheets of a cheap hotel room with a funky smell wafting through the air conditioner, wondering why the hell it went wrong. When each glance at a bank account becomes stressful, a blown chance to play in a PGA Tour event leaves a mark. Transforming angst and the frustration of defeat into motivation is easier to do with each passing day, but needless to say, I didn’t sleep well Monday night. I suspect many others felt the same.
Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey was one of my playing partners for 9-holes. Two Gloves was stuck in neutral for most of the front side as he hit imprecise shots with his signature oversized gloves. He three-putted for par on the par-5 7th hole and said with his thick southern accent, “you can’t three-putt a par-5 and expect to shoot 6-under.” He knew the headwinds had stiffened. When he missed a short par putt two holes later, he called it a day. As the first alternate for the tournament, the next nine he’d play would be at TPC Deere Run, the tournament course for the JDC.
Two Gloves always surprises me in the best ways as a playing partner. He plays quickly and encourages his playing partners enthusiastically. The third member of our group was 52-year-old Sean McCarty, the head pro at Brown Deer Golf Club in Iowa City. McCarty has won every regional PGA section accolade imaginable, and even after a recent shoulder surgery, hammers his driver. After each shot left McCarty’s club, you could hear Two Gloves quietly coaxing McCarty’s ball toward a good bounce, or a little more break – whatever helped get the ball closer to the hole. This level of support from a playing partner stands out on the cutthroat Monday circuit.
I was fortunate this week that a friend let me stay at his house from the pre-qualifier through the Monday Q. We talked about golf and music and watched the Olympic trials all weekend. Some of the Olympic hopefuls we watched have been training for years for one defining moment. These athletes knew if they ran or swam the time, they’d achieve their dreams. The leaderboard doesn’t care if you’re an accomplished athlete, or someone working a job, living with your parents, and training at night. One cramp, a broken shoelace, or the tiniest slip can cost these competitors years of their lives. The stakes of Olympic trials are far greater than that of a Monday qualifier, or even Q-school.
When I consider this, a flared drive on the final hole of a Monday qualifier doesn’t sting as much. There’s always next Monday, where I can return with more experience and a renewed hope that this is my day, my week, and my year.
It can all start on a Monday.
Josh Creel shot 7 under and Chase Johnson posted 6 under to earn their spots in the field this week. Two other players, Blake Hathcoat and Anders Larson, survived a 4-for-2 playoff to win the final spots over Mike Van Sickle and Jack Sparrow. Hathcoat birdied the 17th and 18th to get into the playoff, and made it three-in-a-row on the first playoff hole to win a spot.
The disappointment of being so close to a spot in a PGA Tour event and collapsing hits hard. Mike Van Sickle, once a top-10 amateur in the world, hooked his playoff tee shot into the trees and played his third from knee-high fescue. Van Sickle stopped pursuing professional golf full-time a couple years ago, but occasionally shows up in a qualifier. With the ability to catch fire and go low, Van Sickle likely still harbors the hope that an elusive performance at the right time might alter the trajectory of his professional life. A bogey ended that short-term possibility on Monday’s opening playoff hole.
As a player, you try to accept disappointment by reminding yourself of how close you came; nearly qualifying for a meaningful tournament means you’re improving. There were nine players who faced a frustrating ride home after finishing at 4 under. The group included Danny Guise, who survived an eight hole playoff last week to earn a spot in the Rocket Mortgage Classic but struggled in the event.
After coming up short in a qualifier, it’s hard to overcome the sinking feeling of an opportunity squandered. At 3 a.m., I found myself lying in the worn, coarse sheets of a cheap hotel room with a funky smell wafting through the air conditioner, wondering why the hell it went wrong. When each glance at a bank account becomes stressful, a blown chance to play in a PGA Tour event leaves a mark. Transforming angst and the frustration of defeat into motivation is easier to do with each passing day, but needless to say, I didn’t sleep well Monday night. I suspect many others felt the same.
Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey was one of my playing partners for 9-holes. Two Gloves was stuck in neutral for most of the front side as he hit imprecise shots with his signature oversized gloves. He three-putted for par on the par-5 7th hole and said with his thick southern accent, “you can’t three-putt a par-5 and expect to shoot 6-under.” He knew the headwinds had stiffened. When he missed a short par putt two holes later, he called it a day. As the first alternate for the tournament, the next nine he’d play would be at TPC Deere Run, the tournament course for the JDC.
Two Gloves always surprises me in the best ways as a playing partner. He plays quickly and encourages his playing partners enthusiastically. The third member of our group was 52-year-old Sean McCarty, the head pro at Brown Deer Golf Club in Iowa City. McCarty has won every regional PGA section accolade imaginable, and even after a recent shoulder surgery, hammers his driver. After each shot left McCarty’s club, you could hear Two Gloves quietly coaxing McCarty’s ball toward a good bounce, or a little more break – whatever helped get the ball closer to the hole. This level of support from a playing partner stands out on the cutthroat Monday circuit.
I was fortunate this week that a friend let me stay at his house from the pre-qualifier through the Monday Q. We talked about golf and music and watched the Olympic trials all weekend. Some of the Olympic hopefuls we watched have been training for years for one defining moment. These athletes knew if they ran or swam the time, they’d achieve their dreams. The leaderboard doesn’t care if you’re an accomplished athlete, or someone working a job, living with your parents, and training at night. One cramp, a broken shoelace, or the tiniest slip can cost these competitors years of their lives. The stakes of Olympic trials are far greater than that of a Monday qualifier, or even Q-school.
When I consider this, a flared drive on the final hole of a Monday qualifier doesn’t sting as much. There’s always next Monday, where I can return with more experience and a renewed hope that this is my day, my week, and my year.
It can all start on a Monday.
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