My experience caddying for Monte at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open

[sethdavidsdad]

Just now, _Hawk3y3_ said:

Hole 12 178 yd par 3

 

I can't really get close to this hole, viewing from across a large pond at a not very good angle, so sorry for the vagueness

 

Shot 1 all carry over water to the front of the green, maybe 40 feet

Shot 2 putt just short 

Shot 3 tap in for par

 

+1 through 3

Pars are good keep them coming

 

[_Hawk3y3_]

By the way, anyone who breaks 75 this afternoon has played a very good round of golf. The softness from bit of rain that came through last night is basically gone.

[93tilInfinity]

These hole-by-hole summaries are awesome - thanks! 🙂

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 13 425 par 4

 

Shot 1 bad swings, driver into the right rough that almost landed on top of me. Rough is very thick, but the lie could be a lot worse.

Shot 2 played for a flier, came out a bit dead. Just crept onto the front fringe and somehow stayed out of a greenside bunker that should've collected his ball. 

Shot 3 40 foot putt across a ridge, blew it 6 feet by.

Shot 4 right to lefter that never had a chance

Shot 5 in the hole

 

+2 through 4

[yoose]

1 minute ago, _Hawk3y3_ said:

Hole 13 425 par 4

 

Shot 1 bad swings, driver into the right rough that almost landed on top of me. Rough is very thick, but the lie could be a lot worse.

 

 

you gotta take one for the team and let it hit you and deflect it to the fairway! 🤣

[Sp4zRX]

1 minute ago, _Hawk3y3_ said:

Hole 13 425 par 4

 

Shot 1 bad swings, driver into the right rough that almost landed on top of me. Rough is very thick, but the lie could be a lot worse.

Shot 2 played for a flier, came out a bit dead. Just crept onto the front fringe and somehow stayed out of a greenside bunker that should've collected his ball. 

Shot 3 40 foot putt across a ridge, blew it 6 feet by.

Shot 4 right to lefter that never had a chance

Shot 5 in the hole

 

+2 through 4

Thank you so much for the hole-by-holes! 🙏 

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 14 587 par 5

 

Shot 1 barely stays out of a pond on the right. He's on the red penalty line but playable. 1 more yard right and he's dropping. Another steep, weak swing.

Shot 2 tried to hit 3 wood from the first cut way below his feet, stone cold topped it 100 yards into the left first cut. Outside 200 for his third.

Shot 3 caught a flier over the green into a bunker on a downslope. He's got nothing to work with. 10 feet would be a phenomenal shot.

Shot 4 didn't make it out of the bunker. Impossible shot.

Shot 5 blast out to 7 feet

Shot 6 never had a chance

Shot 7 in the hole 

 

+4 through 5, plus 3 on the par 5s so far

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 15 450 yd par 4

 

Shot 1 pulled straight left into the trees. Lie is OK, and he might to be able to draw something around a big tree and catch a piece of the green

Shot 2 played a low one with good contact but it never drew.  20 yd pitch out of the cabbage upcoming, he has a bit of green to work with.

Shot 3 awful lie, fantastic shot to get it to 7 feet

Shot 4 in the hole

 

+4 through 6. A true US Open par. Lid is off the hole now. On to the flower hole.

[_Hawk3y3_]

Monte tried to puke after the tee shot on the last hole, but has nothing in his stomach. He said he's only eaten 3 crackers since 8:00 last night. He is truly miserable. 

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 16 172 yd par 3

 

Shot 1 to 20 feet on the proper level. Great shot to an uncomfortable right pin.

Shot 2 always short.

Shot 3 in the hole. Good par. 

 

+4 through 7

[CSagan]

24 minutes ago, _Hawk3y3_ said:

Monte tried to puke after the tee shot on the last hole, but has nothing in his stomach. He said he's only eaten 3 crackers since 8:00 last night. He is truly miserable. 

Maybe that will keep him distracted from getting steep. 😁

Edited June 29, 2023 by CSagan
My condolences on the sickness. Just trying to make light!

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 17 370 par 4

 

Shot 1 yanked a 2 iron into the fairway bunker. One if his better swings actually, but a bad result. Awful angle to a tough flag.

Shot 2 ball below his feet, caught a heater that bounced over the green and into the water. 

Drop behind the green for shot 3

Shot 4 bladed his chip off an upslope. 20 feet for bogey

Shot 5 scared the hile but no go

Shot 6 in the hole 

 

+6 through 8

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 18 430 yd par 4

 

Shot 1 best swing of the day, roasted it into the middle of a section of fairway about 13 yds wide

Shot 2 gap wedge sails to the back of the green downwind from 130.  Flag is 2 paces over a huge false front, so 60 feet past is better than 6 feet short.

Shot 3 blew it by and it went down the false front. 30 yd pitch back up the hill incoming. 

Shot 4 elects to  putt with 3 wood, 10 feet past

Shot 5 big right to left breakers, always low

Shot 6 in the hole

 

+8 through 9

[_Hawk3y3_]

Last 2 holes have been killers. Good swings off the tee and on the approach for both holes, and he made a pair of doubles. He's really steamed about the bunker shot on 17. It wasn't even a bad swing that got penalized. He just got an awful bounce.

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 1 465 par 4

 

Shot 1 ropes a driver on am aggressive line, misses carrying a fairway bunker by a yard. Didn't roll all the way down, on an upslope

Shot 2 great swing, flies over the green a yard into another bunker. He's throwing his hands up. Making good swings and getting awful results.

Shot 3 off a downslope 20 feet by. Nothing more he could do.

Shot 4 got a read off his playing partner on exactly the same line. His turned the other way at the hole.

Shot 5 in the hole.

 

+9 through 10

 

 

[_Hawk3y3_]

On top of puking/dry heaving every hole, he is having some pretty crappy luck. Hardest hole on the course coming up.

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 2 406 yd par 4

 

Shot 1 lined up left like he wanted to cut it and drew it into a swampy death area left of the fairway

Drop for shot 2

Shot 3 roped it just short of the green

Shot 4 putter from 3 yds off the green comes up just short

Shot 5 tap in for bogey

 

+10 through 11

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 3 185 yd par 3

 

Shot 1 middle of the green, 20 feet pin high. Good shot.

Shot 2 scared the hole, but had a bit of pace. 4 feet by.

Shot 3 in the hole

+10 through 12

 

He can barely stand, the poor guy

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 4 372 par 4

 

Shot 1 hooked it left, immediately dropped his driver and walked straight to the players bathroom to his right to puke again. Missed the penalty area by mere feet. Needs to get lucky with the kue, as he's just found the thickest rough on the course.

Shot 2 must've found a lie. Sand wedge to 30 feet. Excellent shot from out of position. 

Shot 3 very fast putt just burns the edge

Shot 4 in the hole

 

+10 through 13. Par streak detected. He looks ready to faint.

[_Hawk3y3_]

Just got to chat with him a bit as there's a backup on 5 tee. He was hyperventilating and stated that he feels worse now than either of the 2 times he had covid. I just reminded him that he didn't have to play golf at the highest level when he had covid.

 

Tough tee shot upcoming. Lots of balls in the water here on 5 today.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Well he's currently tied with Jerry Springer. 

 

Hope he can hold it together and feel better tomorrow. 

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 5 505 yd par 5

 

Shot 1 he wants to draw it off a fairway bunker, it never drew. It was a yard from being perfect, and is now in a fw bunker. 200 out and far enough back from the lip to go for it if he wants.

Shot 2 ball above his feet, bailed out right with a 6 iron. Greenside bunker. All in all, not the worst.

Shot 3 ANOTHER downslope bunker lie. Give me a break. Hit an absolute beauty with a foot too much pace, so it rolled down a slope to 30 feet instead of stopping at 6 feet. The awful luck continues.

Shot 4 perfect speed, bad read. 3 feet.

Shot 5 in the hole.

 

+10 through 14. 3 really good golf swings that hole, none of them rewarded with favorable results. Story of the day.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Just saw Monte on the broadcast, as he's paired with Strickland who is T2. 

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 6 487 yd par 4

Shot 1 launched into the no divot zone. Great drive.

Shot 2 bad swing. Airmailed the green, is now short sided off a downslope. Only positive is that he's in the walkway to 7 tee, so the grass is trampled and the lie is OK.

Shot 3 heard him tell Jef he would be lucky to get this one on the green. Wide open 60* only advanced about 3 feet and didn't make it out of the rough. 

Shot 4 same type of shot, but closer to the green. Rolls out to 20 feet.

Shot 5 3 inches short right in the jaws.

Shot 6 in the hole.

 

+12 through 15.

[GolfTurkey]

Too soon for a 4-handicapper joke?

 

I kid, I kid, that’s totally brutal that Monte is so sick and I hope he feels better and kicks some butt tomorrow.

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 7 231 yd par 3

 

Shot 1 hole high in left rough. Another downslope. Another impossible. 39 feet away would be fantastic. Oh, and I got a good look at the lie as well. Take a guess...

Shot 2 super flop attempted, went right underneath the ball. Faked out his playing partners by looking off in the distance as if he hit it a mile and got both of them to bite. At least he hasn't lost his sense of humor.

Shot 3 lie is now the worst of the day, not possible to keep it on the green. Chip goes over the other side.

Shot 4 pitch to 15 feet.

Shot 5 putt hits the lip and doesn't go down. 3 feet by.

Shot 6 in the hole.

 

+15 through 16

[aswile]

On 6/28/2023 at 4:07 PM, MonteScheinblum said:

Talked to Harrington for a bit.  He said you guys should listen to me more.

 

Had a nice convo with Fred Funk.  He was envious of my speed and hair.  
 

Someone wasn’t prepared with their phone to document it😜

Some of them might come close to the speed, but ain't no one growin' that kinda hair...

 

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 8 391 yd par 4

 

Shot 1 iron off the tee finds the fairway bunker. Fried egg. He very clearly doesn't even have the energy to take the club back right now.

Shot 2 blast out into the fairway

Shot 3 tried to get cute with a front pin from 125 and came up short. Ball in the fairway, can putt it if he wants.

Shot 4 putter to 3 feet

Shot 5 lip out

Shot 6 in the hole 

 

+17 through 17

[_Hawk3y3_]

Hole 9 431 yd par 4 

 

Shot 1 crushed. 60 yds by his playing partners and perfect. He unleashed some frustration on that one.

Shot 2 flighted wedge that comes up short in the creek.

Drop for shot 3

Shot 4 wedge over the green into a bunker 

Shot 5 nearly back into the creek in front of the green

Shot 6 topped putter shot barely makes it on the green

Shot 7 putt from 12 feet that just misses

Shot 8 in the hole

 

+21 by my count

[bobfoster]

7 minutes ago, _Hawk3y3_ said:

Hole 9 431 yd par 4 

 

Shot 1 crushed. 60 yds by his playing partners and perfect. He unleashed some frustration on that one.

Shot 2 flighted wedge that comes up short in the creek.

Drop for shot 3

Shot 4 wedge over the green into a bunker 

Shot 5 nearly back into the creek in front of the green

Shot 6 topped putter shot barely makes it on the green

Shot 7 putt from 12 feet that just misses

Shot 8 in the hole

 

+21 by my count

Leaderboard has him +16 after 17 (not updated yet). So think it will be +24.

Edited June 30, 2023 by bobfoster