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Stafford, N.Y. — Alan “Doc” Foster, who plays out of Bellevue C.C., posted the morning’s low round with an even-par 72 effort at Stafford C.C. on Wednesday. The next best score in Wednesday’s first wave came from Stephen Hinman, the super-senior leader after round one, who shot a 4-over-par 76.
Foster started off the back nine with consecutive pars at the 10th and 11th holes before making a bogey on the following par-3. He made birdies on three of the next five holes as he fired a 1-under 35 on the back nine. For the second straight day, Foster birdied Nos. 17 and 18, two par-4 holes that have been played nearly under-par throughout the day. He buried a 25-foot putt at the 17th green and hit a solid approach on No. 18 that ran six feet past the flagstick, which sits towards the back left section of the green, and made the putt for back-to-back birdies. “If you have a good chip shot, you should have a reasonably good birdie putt,” says Foster in review of the 18th hole.
Yesterday, Foster advised the overall leader Matthew Haefele (2-under 70) on his mental approach to putting. This morning, however, Foster proved his wisdom in putting is rooted in more than just words as he consistently relied on a strong short-game to offset errant tee shots. “I got sloppy and hit a lot of poor shots but I chipped and putted great so I saved par most of the time,” says Foster, referring to the front nine at Stafford. “I was in the rough all day long, but I was in a position where I could play out of it because the rough isn’t that bad.” Despite finding the rough on his tee shots, Foster carded only one bogey and eight pars on the front nine. The “Doc” plans to hit the practice range before Thursday’s final round in the hopes of finding a cure for his ball striking troubles on the front nine. “I’m just going to go out to the range and figure out what’s happened to my swing,” says Foster. “Hopefully I keep putting well because I need to hit it better.”
Stephen Hinman, who led the super-senior field heading into today’s action, began his round with a triple bogey but did not falter from his shaky start and went on to play a round of 1-over-par for the remaining 17 holes at Stafford C.C. His 36-hole total adds up to 151 as he trails Foster by a three stroke margin in the super senior field.
“When you’re a golfer, it helps to have amnesia,” says Hinman. “That way you can forget what happened like on the first hole I tried to forget what happened and it worked.” Hinman is referring to the birdie he posted on the very next hole, a par-4 dogleg left, which followed his triple on the opening par-4. He hit a rescue club to about six feet on the second hole and sank the putt for birdie.
Hinman relied on his short-game to avoid posting a big number in the wet and cool conditions that faced players during the morning round. “I missed a lot of greens, but got it up and down from almost everywhere,” says Hinman.
The Ravenwood G.C. member made the turn at 4-over-par and registered another bogey at the par-4 11th to raise his second round total to 5-over-par. However, he carded six straight pars and a birdie at the par-4 18th for a strong finish. On the 18th, he stuck his 30-yard approach from the middle of the fairway to about six feet from the hole and made his birdie putt for an even 36 on the back nine.
Hinman, who competed in Tuesday’s afternoon wave, has played consistent first and second rounds of 75-76 in very different weather conditions after a patch of light rain met greeted players this morning. Hinman attributed two main factors to playing well in this year’s event; ball striking accuracy and consistent putting. “Driving the ball,” says Hinman, on his key to success. “I keep the ball in play all the time and I avoided three-putting. I didn’t have a three-putt either day. Those two things make life a lot easier for a golfer.”
Besides the aforementioned scores, the rest of the field struggled to play well in the wet and windy conditions. Joe Quillinan, who notched an even-par total on Tuesday, began his first four holes (Nos. 10-13) at 5-over par but played an even front nine for a second round score of 6-over-par 78.
Tuesday’s top two players in the overall field, Matthew Haefele (70) and James Burns (72), have started off the front nine in the afternoon flight and will finish up later this evening. A full recap will be posted once the final groups complete their round later today.
By Kevin Solan
NSYGA Media Intern
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