Thompson makes his stand; tourney now 36 holes
Marion, Iowa // July 23, 2011
(Marion, Iowa) – (Saturday, July 23, 2011) – Officials at the Greater Cedar Rapids Open (GCRO), looking at gathering ominous clouds – a forecast that wasn’t in their favor and a lot of golf still to play – made a tough call early Saturday when they decided to shorten their 13th annual 54-hole event to 36 holes.
Chris Thompson, looking at a five-shot deficit with now only 18 holes to chase a golfer that had fired a course record, didn’t blink. After finishing his first round with a 6-under-par 66, Thompson turned right back around and posted a 5-under 67, which could have been better if his putter had been a little hotter.
The seasoned pro from Lawrence, Kan., now has to wait and see what happens Sunday during what’s left of the second and final round of the GCRO. First-round play was completed Saturday after yet another weather delay early.
Faced with a bleak forecast, officials decided to send those golfers with Saturday’s original early-morning times – about 50 of whom had just finished their rounds – right back out and the other half of the field had their tee times moved to 7 a.m. Sunday. So, prior to Sunday, about half the field has finished tournament play. Those who teed off in the morning Friday will in essence have the same tee times Sunday while finishing their tournament.
Thompson birdied four of his first eight holes in the second round but then had to settle for just one birdie the rest of the way in his bogey-free round. His two-round total of 11-under 133 is exactly what he had after last year when he was in a tie for the lead after two rounds.
He is tied in the clubhouse with Brock Mulder, who also is at 11-under but after only one round of play. Mulder shot a 61 Friday in a record-setting performance at Hunters Ridge Golf Course. He will complete his tournament Sunday. He tees off at approximately 8:40 a.m.
“I’m going to stick around (town),” said Thompson. “You never know what can happen. Brock is a good player and it’s lift, clean and place, but it’s hard to come back and put another low number up and it’s hard to protect a lead.”
Also in the hunt and with a second round left to play are Judd Cornell of Omaha, Neb., who is three back after posting a sparkling 8-under 64 Friday, and Tom Bliefnick of Decatur, Ill., who is five back. Tracy Vest of Waukee, Iowa, matched Thompson’s 66 in finishing his first-round Saturday, but couldn’t get anything going in the afternoon and shot an even-par 72 for a 6-under 138 totals. He’s tied with Marion’s Bill Hoefle, who posted back-to-back 3-under 69s.
Shane Blankenship of Herculaneum, Mo., had Saturday’s second-best second round with a 4-under 68. Hoefle was one of six golfers to shoot 69 in the second round.
That group included Dave Rummells of Kissimmee, Fla., who is tied for the clubhouse lead in the Senior Division with Barry Cheesman of Sarasota, Fla. The two are tied at 4-under 140 after Cheesman posted a second-round 70. John Bermel of Cedar Falls is at 3-under, but he has his second and final round slated for Sunday. Rummells and Cheesman are former GCRO Senior champs.
Mulder was sincerely disappointed with the fact that the tournament has been shortened, even though it put him in an advantageous position.
“You never want to play in tournaments that are shortened,” said the Waterloo native, who was headed out to his old course, Sunnyside Country Club, to take on some members after his Saturday tee time was moved to Sunday. “When you’re playing well you want to continue to play well. We want to play. I’ve been on the other end, where I’ve been second, third, fourth or fifth place and the tournament gets shortened. I was disappointed I didn’t have a shot to win.”
Mulder, whose best finish is a tie for eighth at the GCRO, said he changed his strategy about how to attack Hunters Ridge.
“I haven’t played this golf course that well. I didn’t hit a lot of drivers off the tee, I hit hybrids and 3 irons and kept the ball in the fairway,” Mulder said of his switch to a more conservative strategy.
It left him with 115 to 140-yard shots instead of flip wedges from between 50 and 80 yards. The result produced a lot of 10-15-foot birdie putts, nine of which he made.
“That’s been a part of my game that I’ve been struggling with the last two to three months,” said Mulder, a former Iowa state high school golf champ, “but yesterday (Friday) it all seemed to come together.”
This is the first year in the 13-year history of the tournament that is has been shortened to 36 holes.