SNOQUALMIE — In a region known for damp fairways and greens, a stretch of recent sunshine turned TPC Snoqualmie Ridge into an unfamiliar and certainly less forgiving golf course for Friday’s first round of the seventh annual Boeing Classic.
With long tee shots sometimes running through
fairways into the rough, and with approach shots occasionally bouncing on and then over greens, the field had the highest single-round scoring average (73.5, par 72) in tournament history. The previous high for the 50-and-over Champions Tour event was 72.974 for the 2008 first round.
“The golf course played differently than I’d ever played it before,” said Russ Cochran, who birdied four of the last five holes to finish with a 6-under-par 66 and the first-round lead. “With such great weather, I think the greens firmed up and the fairways firmed up.
“It was just a very tough golf course. … You had to be very careful out there,” said Cochran, who won the Senior British Open in late July.
Jeff Sluman, who likewise closed with four birdies in the final five holes, agreed. Although TPC Snoqualmie Ridge is probably known as much for its scenic views as for challenging holes, on Friday, “the golf course really played very difficult,” Sluman said. “It was as difficult as I’ve ever seen.
“You’ve got memories on this golf course of the ball hitting in (to the green) and spinning and kind of staying, but it just took really firm overnight. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just something we had to adjust to.”
With a wry smile, Sluman added, “We do have our names on our bags, so we’re supposed to be able to adjust.”
Just 18 players in the 80-man field finished under par. Just seven had scores in the 60s. A year ago those first-round numbers were 37 and 16.
“The greens were very firm, and they had a lot of pins in tough spots where if you got a little too aggressive, and unless you hit a perfect shot, you were going to pay,” said Sluman, who tied for eighth a year ago and tied for ninth in 2009.
One of the first-day casualties was Seattle native and fan favorite Fred Couples, who had a disappointing round of 1-over 73 with three birdies and four bogeys.
“It was nothing great,” Couples said. “I didn’t hit the ball that well. … There were a lot of people out there and it was a beautiful day, and now I just have to play better. It’s a hard course, and when the greens are that hard, you have to hit good shots.”
Couples’ caddy was his girlfriend, Midge Trammell, “and she saw some sloppy golf,” he said with a grin.
Venerable Hale Irwin, who turned 66 in June, had the day’s biggest shot when he hit a 207-yard shot across the water on No. 9 for a hole-in-one. Irwin finished with a 4-under 68 and is in a three-way tie for third.
Irwin is bidding for his first victory on the Champions Tour since January 2007.
“I don’t know if you ever expect to win,” Irwin said. “I think anybody that expects to win might be expecting too much of themselves. Let’s put it this way. I’m playing well enough to win.”
Also tied for third is defending champion Bernhard Langer, whose score included a one-stroke penalty on No. 4. Langer’s tee shot ended up under a tree and was covered by a leaf, and his caddy inadvertently stepped on the ball while looking for it, incurring the penalty.
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