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| Jim Mason hits his approach into #5 West |
It's been ten years since Dr. Jim Mason was seen hoisting his third of three consecutive Oak Hill club championship trophies. A lot has happened since then. Brad McAreavy and David Fries were not even members. Our bowling team, The Brassies, was still Mason, Schantz, Sanger, Gerham & Owen. Heck, I even still bowled. We all still carried our golf bags instead of using push carts. I was about a 5 handicap, had just qualified for my first trip into the championship flight and my oldest son was still in elementary school. Jim carried a plus 3 handicap, was qualifying for USGA events, still had a good knee, good back and was going to win his first of many RDGA Ryan Championships....soon. Jim's Wednesday Night Golf partner, Paul Crombach, was still alive and making us all laugh. The Buffalo Bills were even a half way decent football team.
You get the point, things change, time marches on. Many a snap hook has been hit in the last few years. The clubs have gone into short term storage and Jim probably wondered if he'd ever get the chance to win again. But, slowly, Jim's game has been coming back and this weekend it arrived for real as he defeated eight time champion Carter Lucas 3 and 1 over 35 holes.
The day started at 8:00 AM on Oak Hill's West Course. Carter took the first lead with a par 4 on number two and Jim came back to win the fourth with a par. Number five was halved with bogies and six, seven and eight with pars. Then the fun began as the contestants would trade wins over the next 27 holes.
Carter would win the ninth with a par 4 and take a one up lead when Jim's approach to a back right pin bounced over the green into the back bunker. The tenth was halved with par 4's. Jim won eleven to even up the match with a birdie 4 with a nice up and down from 90 yards. Carter made a beautiful 10 foot par save on twelve to halve the hole with 4's. Jim inexplicably missed a three foot par save on 13 to give Carter the one up lead. But, Jim fired back with a forty foot birdie at fourteen and when Carter missed his own three footer on fifteen Jim regained the lead one up. Carter won sixteen, Jim won seventeen and when Carter birdied eighteen the match was right back to it had started 3 1/2 hours earlier, all square.
The afternoon eighteen on the East Course opened with poor drives by both players. Jim's was more troublesome as he hit a hard snap hook. He managed a fine, long punch shot through the trees to 120 yards, wedged to fifteen feet and buried the putt. We've seen that movie before haven't we? Carter missed his own ten foot par save and Jim took a one up lead.
Carter charged back on number two when his approach to tough back right pin finished four feet from the hole and he converted for birdie. He followed that up with a very fine tee shot to eight feet for a rare birdie 2 on the third. Both of these birdies countered Jim's fine scrambling skills as he had set up par saves from the fairway bunker on the second and the left bunker at number three. The lead was now one up, Carter Lucas.
Jim won the fourth when Carter could not get down in two from just off the front of the green to a back middle pin. On the fifth we got a glimpse of the "old", "lucky" Jim Mason. Old as in ten years ago old. Jim's tee shot was hit solid but hooking into the trees. Somehow it only grazed a branch which redirected the ball back on line and into the fairway without losing any real distance. Jim failed to capitalize on his good fortune when both he and Carter missed the green and only Carter could save par.
At the sixth Carter fanned his tee shot but it just carried the right hand bunker and kicked left to set up a four foot birdie attempt. Jim followed with a shot that missed going in by inches and rolled to the back of the green. After Jim's birdie effort slid by it seemed ordained Carter would take the first two up lead of the day. Fate shined on Jim as Carter pushed his putt and failed to convert. The sixth was tied and thus ended an eleven hole stretch of where one of the finalists had come out on top.
The boredom of a halved hole didn't last long as Jim's tee shot on the seventh found Allen's Creek. Carter took advantage with a safe tee shot and approach to take the lead two up. Through twenty five holes neither contender had held a one up lead for more than two holes so Carter's two up lead had to be worrisome to Jim.
Both players hit poor tee shots at number eight. With Jim almost on Chapin Way he looked to be in the tougher position. Carter's approach from the left rough was poorly struck and finished in the front right bunker. With a back left pin a par save was no sure thing. Somehow (OK, really, as I said before we've seen this movie so "somehow" sounds pretty weak. As sat in my cart I told my daughter , "Jim 's got thsi shot" but he still had to hit it, he did, of course) Jim punched it under, around and through the trees and his balled trickled onto the front of the green. Carter could not negotiate his long bunker shot and Jim two-putted from fifty feet to halve Carter's lead.
Jim's drive on number nine found the left rough but he managed (managed? really? shouldn't I just say "skilfully" or "expertly judged" by now) to run his 190 yard approach onto the green. When Carter short sided himself from 180 yards and could not save par the match was all square after 27 holes.
Jim gave it right back at number ten when he failed to make par from the fairway. Both players made fine 8-10 foot par putts on the eleventh. At number twelve things began to change. Carter snap-hooked his tee shot and was forced to lay up. Jim's tee ball found the first cut but also an old divot. His approach went long but left a relatively simple downhill chip that he failed to negotiate and Jim carded a bogey. Carter's wedge from 60 yards had finished 12 feet above the hole on the same line as Jim's putt and he now had an opportunity to win the hole and take another two-up lead. Carter misjudged the speed and then compounded his error by missing the 2 1/2 footer for the halve. With six holes to go the match was all square.
This time Jim did not look back. He took charge. A fine approach at thirteen to a front right pin left him 10 feet uphill for a birdie which he made for a one up lead. Jim looked ready to stretch it to two at fourteen as he left himself with another uphill 10 footer to a front left pin but just ran it by. Number fifteen was halved with pars.
At the sixteenth Carter snapped another drive left while Jim flared one right. Carter did a nice job escaping from the trees and finished 20 yards short of the green while Jim's approach finished in the rough on the outer lip of the left front bunker leaving a somewhat awkward shot. Jim hit a fine chip to seven feet and saw the left edge snare his putt for a par save. Carter missed his uphill six footer and suddenly the match would be on the line at seventeen.
At seventeen Carter again found the left rough off the tee. His approach from 235 yards flared to the right and left him with a poor lie in the right rough where he took two shots to find the green. After finding the right rough off the tee Jim played conservatively and was laying four, four feet from the hole. When Carter's 25 footer for five missed the hole Jim's putt was conceded and he was once again club champion.
It was a well played match between the two past champions. As documented above it's been a long time since Jim played for the trophy. Carter deserves a great deal of credit for even being able to compete. Early this spring he had surgery to remove a cyst on his wrist and didn't play a round of golf until the middle of August. We might have played more rounds last week than Carter played all year!! Nothing can be taken away from Jim's effort but nobody this side of Bruce Lietzke could have put his clubs down last September, picked them up on August 15 and competed n such a high level. It's a credit to Carter's natural ability and desire to win that he even made it to the finals.
Congratulations. It's been ten years of hard work and frustration. But talent, a positive attitude and a trip or two to the Cape just to get away from it all finally paid off. Yes, many things have changed over ten years but others remain constant. When Jim makes it to the finals; his record? 4 - 0.
Match Summary:
The day started at 8:00 AM on Oak Hill's West Course. Carter took the first lead with a par 4 on number two and Jim came back to win the fourth with a par. Number five was halved with bogies and six, seven and eight with pars. Then the fun began as the contestants would trade wins over the next 27 holes.
Carter would win the ninth with a par 4 and take a one up lead when Jim's approach to a back right pin bounced over the green into the back bunker. The tenth was halved with par 4's. Jim won eleven to even up the match with a birdie 4 with a nice up and down from 90 yards. Carter made a beautiful 10 foot par save on twelve to halve the hole with 4's. Jim inexplicably missed a three foot par save on 13 to give Carter the one up lead. But, Jim fired back with a forty foot birdie at fourteen and when Carter missed his own three footer on fifteen Jim regained the lead one up. Carter won sixteen, Jim won seventeen and when Carter birdied eighteen the match was right back to it had started 3 1/2 hours earlier, all square.
The afternoon eighteen on the East Course opened with poor drives by both players. Jim's was more troublesome as he hit a hard snap hook. He managed a fine, long punch shot through the trees to 120 yards, wedged to fifteen feet and buried the putt. We've seen that movie before haven't we? Carter missed his own ten foot par save and Jim took a one up lead.
Carter charged back on number two when his approach to tough back right pin finished four feet from the hole and he converted for birdie. He followed that up with a very fine tee shot to eight feet for a rare birdie 2 on the third. Both of these birdies countered Jim's fine scrambling skills as he had set up par saves from the fairway bunker on the second and the left bunker at number three. The lead was now one up, Carter Lucas.
Jim won the fourth when Carter could not get down in two from just off the front of the green to a back middle pin. On the fifth we got a glimpse of the "old", "lucky" Jim Mason. Old as in ten years ago old. Jim's tee shot was hit solid but hooking into the trees. Somehow it only grazed a branch which redirected the ball back on line and into the fairway without losing any real distance. Jim failed to capitalize on his good fortune when both he and Carter missed the green and only Carter could save par.
At the sixth Carter fanned his tee shot but it just carried the right hand bunker and kicked left to set up a four foot birdie attempt. Jim followed with a shot that missed going in by inches and rolled to the back of the green. After Jim's birdie effort slid by it seemed ordained Carter would take the first two up lead of the day. Fate shined on Jim as Carter pushed his putt and failed to convert. The sixth was tied and thus ended an eleven hole stretch of where one of the finalists had come out on top.
The boredom of a halved hole didn't last long as Jim's tee shot on the seventh found Allen's Creek. Carter took advantage with a safe tee shot and approach to take the lead two up. Through twenty five holes neither contender had held a one up lead for more than two holes so Carter's two up lead had to be worrisome to Jim.
Both players hit poor tee shots at number eight. With Jim almost on Chapin Way he looked to be in the tougher position. Carter's approach from the left rough was poorly struck and finished in the front right bunker. With a back left pin a par save was no sure thing. Somehow (OK, really, as I said before we've seen this movie so "somehow" sounds pretty weak. As sat in my cart I told my daughter , "Jim 's got thsi shot" but he still had to hit it, he did, of course) Jim punched it under, around and through the trees and his balled trickled onto the front of the green. Carter could not negotiate his long bunker shot and Jim two-putted from fifty feet to halve Carter's lead.
Jim's drive on number nine found the left rough but he managed (managed? really? shouldn't I just say "skilfully" or "expertly judged" by now) to run his 190 yard approach onto the green. When Carter short sided himself from 180 yards and could not save par the match was all square after 27 holes.
Jim gave it right back at number ten when he failed to make par from the fairway. Both players made fine 8-10 foot par putts on the eleventh. At number twelve things began to change. Carter snap-hooked his tee shot and was forced to lay up. Jim's tee ball found the first cut but also an old divot. His approach went long but left a relatively simple downhill chip that he failed to negotiate and Jim carded a bogey. Carter's wedge from 60 yards had finished 12 feet above the hole on the same line as Jim's putt and he now had an opportunity to win the hole and take another two-up lead. Carter misjudged the speed and then compounded his error by missing the 2 1/2 footer for the halve. With six holes to go the match was all square.
This time Jim did not look back. He took charge. A fine approach at thirteen to a front right pin left him 10 feet uphill for a birdie which he made for a one up lead. Jim looked ready to stretch it to two at fourteen as he left himself with another uphill 10 footer to a front left pin but just ran it by. Number fifteen was halved with pars.
At the sixteenth Carter snapped another drive left while Jim flared one right. Carter did a nice job escaping from the trees and finished 20 yards short of the green while Jim's approach finished in the rough on the outer lip of the left front bunker leaving a somewhat awkward shot. Jim hit a fine chip to seven feet and saw the left edge snare his putt for a par save. Carter missed his uphill six footer and suddenly the match would be on the line at seventeen.
At seventeen Carter again found the left rough off the tee. His approach from 235 yards flared to the right and left him with a poor lie in the right rough where he took two shots to find the green. After finding the right rough off the tee Jim played conservatively and was laying four, four feet from the hole. When Carter's 25 footer for five missed the hole Jim's putt was conceded and he was once again club champion.
It was a well played match between the two past champions. As documented above it's been a long time since Jim played for the trophy. Carter deserves a great deal of credit for even being able to compete. Early this spring he had surgery to remove a cyst on his wrist and didn't play a round of golf until the middle of August. We might have played more rounds last week than Carter played all year!! Nothing can be taken away from Jim's effort but nobody this side of Bruce Lietzke could have put his clubs down last September, picked them up on August 15 and competed n such a high level. It's a credit to Carter's natural ability and desire to win that he even made it to the finals.
Congratulations. It's been ten years of hard work and frustration. But talent, a positive attitude and a trip or two to the Cape just to get away from it all finally paid off. Yes, many things have changed over ten years but others remain constant. When Jim makes it to the finals; his record? 4 - 0.
Match Summary:
Holes played - 35
Holes halved - 11
Holes won - 24
Lead Changes - 9
Holes in lead, Carter Lucas - 11
Holes in lead, Jim Mason - 8
Holes halved - 11
Holes won - 24
Lead Changes - 9
Holes in lead, Carter Lucas - 11
Holes in lead, Jim Mason - 8
