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Am Worlds is Over

I finished 40th. Out of 244 golfers, only 39 of them beat me. That actually sounds better on paper than it did on the course.

I had a good time. My last round was completely stress free. I played it like a casual round, very care-free. If I had a chance to run at the basket, I went for it. It resulted in some long birdies, but also a couple of mistakes. At the end, I had shot a 2-under 60 for the second straight day and went from a tie for 41st to a tie for 40th.

I also finished fourth in putting and place high enough to win something back in the distance contest, so I came home with a few prizes.

The top four in each group qualified for a final 9 holes where the other players and fans made up a pretty big gallery, at least for disc golf. And it turned out to be highlight film drama.

Paul Ulibarri of Arizona trailed Brent Koontz of Indiana by two strokes going into the final hole. He was down by four entering the final nine.

So Koontz had been playing conservative and lost strokes on back-to-back holes to cut the lead to two. Another time, Ulibarri's 36-foot putt cut through the chains and out, a missed chance that looked big when he entered the final hole of the 135-hole event down two.

The last hole was 465 feet with no chance of OB unless a drive really went astray. Uilibarri didn't have the biggest arm, but he got around 400 and was 70 or 75 feet out. Koontz just needs a 3 to clinch it, but he hits the first tree and only gets 150 or so on his drive. Then he leaves a fairly routine 315 foot shot about 35 short.
Uilbarri somehow cans his 75-footer into the wind and then Koontz two-putts for a bogey and tie.
Koontz could have won on the first sudden-death hole, but misses from about 30. They both made big putts on the second hole before Uilbarri parked a tightly wooded par-3 right next to the cage to seal the victory.

I met the young man just before the opening round of the tournament as we warmed up, but had no idea he was any good. He came across as confident, but not cocky. And he was sure calm under pressure in an exciting rally on Saturday in Tulsa.

It wasn't on SportsCenter or even the Tulsa World. But that's because of the newness of the sport, not the lack of accomplishment or excitement.

Posted by Andy Newberry at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)