Wildhorse (and Todd Creek) Recap
When I last posted, I was about to play in the Epson Tour’s Wildhorse Ladies Classic in Pendleton. Before I tell you about that, I missed updating you on my tournament before that – the Annika Women’s All Pro Tour Colorado Championship at Todd Creek.
Todd Creek Recap
Todd Creek is located in Thornton, Colorado, about a half an hour north of Denver. It’s a beautiful, firm course with fast greens and some beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains. The length of tournaments on WAPT varies from week to week, but Todd Creek was 72 holes over four days..
I played very steady, one under my first round and even par for both rounds two and three. My final day, I was playing very well, with birdies on 8, 12, 13, 14 and 16. I had an unfortunate bogey on my final hole, but finished tied for 6th, so I was happy with that.
Quick trip home
I got back to San Diego for about a week before leaving again, this time for Eugene. My parents picked me up at the airport on Sunday. My dad and I practiced at Salem, just like the good old days. Monday morning I wanted to get some practice in early, since it was supposed to be over 100 degrees, but both Salem Golf Club and Illahe pick the range on Mondays, so I headed out to Salemtowne to hit some balls and putt with my grandparents. Later that day, my mom and I drove to Canby to see my other grandparents and my brother Tim met us there.
On to Pendleton
After spending the night with Tim and his wife, Sarah, at their home in NW Portland, we left for Pendleton Tuesday morning. I got some practice in Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday, I played in the Pro-Am. My parents joined us on Wednesday after work. It was great to have the family together. Even my dogs made the trip!
Epson tournaments are typically 54 holes over three days, usually Friday -Sunday. This is my second time playing in Pendleton and I really like the Wildhorse course. It’s well laid out, interesting and was in great shape. My tee time for Round 1 was 12:26 off number 1. The heat wave had passed and the weather was fantastic. Tim was on my bag, my mom and dad were there and I also had several other fans in the gallery. My dad’s best friend from high school and college, Steve Ercolini, and his wife Betsy, drove over from the Seattle area, and my high school golf coach, Brian Eriksen, also came! A friend of my grandparents from Salemtowne was there. Roberta Perkins, my dad’s high school PE teacher, happened to be in the area and came out for Sunday’s round. It was so nice of them to make the long drive to Pendleton. I played well and finished at -2 for my first round.
Weather rolls in for round 2
My Round 2 tee time was 7:36 a.m. off 10. It started raining before the round and came down pretty hard for the full 18 holes. It was very windy for much of the round, too. Despite the weather, I turned in another -2, bogey free. The sun came out and the wind died down for the afternoon tee times, resulting in some low scores for round 2, but I made the cut by two strokes. (No pictures from that round since it was so wet!)
Round 3
Sunday morning, we were playing twosomes with everyone off number 1 for the final round. I was playing very steady, but my putts were not dropping. I had many birdie opportunities graze the lip or come up just short. It was frustrating. I had a couple poor shots that resulted in bogeys, including on the last hole, although I almost chipped it in for par there. It hit the hole, but didn’t drop. Like I said, frustrating. I finished 1 over on the day, 3 under for the tournament and tied for 59th. Not the finish I was hoping for, but it was great to have a tournament (fairly) close to home. And as I said earlier, so nice to have my supporters there cheering me on!
