Mike Fagan led the qualifying round of the One a Day Dick Weber Open in Fountain Valley, California. The top 24 is filled with big names including Walter Ray Williams, Amleto Monacelli, Tommy Jones, Bill O'Neill, Robert Smith, Pete Weber, Ryan Shafer, defending champion Norm Duke, who seems to have recovered sufficiently from his ankle injury that forced him out of the TOC, and Mike Machuga. And I'm happy to see Bryon Smith back in the hunt at #20. I was always impressed with Smith's stylishly smooth game but haven't seen or heard from him in several years. Notably, Chris Barnes finished in 50th place. I hope this has nothing to do with what happened last Sunday. Barnes bowled brilliantly to make it as far as he did in the TOC and has nothing to get down on himself about.
In watching some of the qualifying today on Xtra Frame, the lanes looked really tough even if Mike Fagan didn't think so. I saw guys like Brian Voss and Mika Koivuniemi struggling like mad just to hit the pocket. They and a lot of other guys and a few gals were going high and crossing over constantly, and when they tried to adjust for this, they often ended up with washouts.
The first round of round robin match play is about to begin, and I'm going to be watching and reporting on it in my next post.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
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