As superintendent Tommy Robinson makes the turn in the first round of the U.S. Senior Open, I'm making a quick stop back at the media center because ... well, my pen ran out of ink and I didn't have another one. Yea, I know. I should have been prepared. What can I say? I wasn't a very good Boy Scout.
Robinson finished his first nine at 6-over-par 41, which is 10 shots behind current leader Bruce Vaughn, who is at 4-under through 12 holes. Unlike his Wednesday practice round, when Robinson was fairly accurate off the tee but made few putts, he has struggled mightily off the tee thus far but has saved himself even more damage with his short game.
The par-4 18th was a microcosm of his first nine holes. His tee shot ricocheted off a tree on the left side of the fairway and bounced back into the short grass, although well short of the intended landing area. He hit a nice second shot to within 140 yards of the hole, but his third shot came up well short of the green. Needing to get up-and-down for bogey, he flubbed his chip shot and, now laying 4, was still not on the putting surface. However, with a big number looming, he drained a 25-foot putt to salvage bogey, eliciting a large cheer from the fairly sizable crowd around the 18th green.
Back to the course now. Stay tuned to our Twitter account (@GCM_Magazine) for updates.
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