Played with Ben so we played the white tees. Drove the ball very well all day and reached many greens in regulation. In too many instances though, hit right through the green and had to chip back on. Greens were like concrete. Hit a 60* wedge from 60 yards out on 6, knowing everything was so firm, so only took 1/2+ swing. Landed it 15 ft in front of pin and it bounced like it hit pavement, right off the back. Luckily I saved par with a good chip to 2 feet. It was like this on every green. Much like it was at Olympic during the US Open last month. I guess we need some rain, but hopefully not when I want to play again. Only real trouble today was having to take penalty on 18 after drive left me slightly right of tree limbs between ball and pin. Went for it anyway with 5H and caught limb, leaving me in unplayable situation. Overall, hit 12 of 14 fairways and really had control of my game, however, had some trouble on the greens beginning the back 9. Three-putted 11, 12, and 13 after GIRs. That was maddening. I didn't really putt that badly, just some tough reads. And, on the 10th, I hit a very high 7 iron approach that landed well short of the pin, yet it bounced like a superball, again, right off the back. My chip back was well short, not because I hit it poorly, but because I expected it to be much faster based on the speed all day to that point. It stopped about 15 ft short, and then I 2-putted for bogey. So, actually 10, 11, 12 and 13 were all very realistic par opportunities and I blew every one. Even so, I felt I played very well today. Oh well, will try again tomorrow.
