Photo by Kasey Hine/NAPGT :: Story Matt Byrne/NAPGT
August 14, 2007 (Plymouth, MA)—The scorer’s tent was a strange mix of astonishment and relief.
Astonished by the 66 posted by Rob Oppenheim; relieved because if the cut were made today, 78, six over par, would make a check.
Thirty-four players started, and only three broke par.
This was the scene after the first round of the Crosswinds Open, where sixteen players—nearly half the field–failed to break eighty. Par had been protected by a course that forced surgical-precision off the tee, despite the perception of wide fairways.
“… if you don’t drive it somewhere in the fairway or the rough, you don’t even have a chip out, that’s how hard this golf course is,” said Geoff Sisk, whose 71, one under par tied him for second going into the second round. “You have 60 yards to hit it in, and if you happen to miss it 30 yards off line, you’re done,” he said.
And when leader Rob Oppenheim signed his card, he looked grateful, perhaps because it was over. One of the few to play a practice round yesterday, Oppenheim said he owed success today to his putting. He was five under after nine holes, before going on to make two bogeys and three more birdies on the back nine.
“No matter what course you’re playing, when you make fifteen, twenty-footers, which I was doing, it’s good,” he said. It seemed Oppenheim was able to miss on the eighth hole, a par three, where his 45-footer sunk. “…you’re hoping to two-putt, and next thing you know you walk away with a birdie,” he said with a grin.
Tied at second with Geoff Sisk is Dustin Cone, who has made a name for himself this year by seemingly never leaving the top five. In the last four of his five tournaments he has placed third or higher after the first round, with one win.
Tee times resume tomorrow at 7 a.m.
