EVERETT (Aug. 10)—About the only thing FC Spare Tire teammates Tim Farley and Steve Lassiter had in common on Sunday was their unplanned matching blue polo-khaki shorts/brown saddle shoes combination.
They may have looked the same, but on the course of play at the Third Annual FC Spare Tire Golf Invitational Event Lassiter was 22 strokes better as he shot a 104.
Lassiter, with his new club grip, parred two and bogeyed five and surely would have shot below 100 had he not “toed” occasional balls of the end of the club head. “It’s funny how putting the ball in the fairway leads to better scores,” he observed after four.
At the ninth hole was the first of his few three-putts. He also noted shots during the first three holes looked and felt better than any on his previous 18. His best hit came after a Snickers bar off the tee at 10, a 339-yard hole that he spread out 185.
Both Burger and Farley hadn’t played in a year, but Burger had the day to remember as well with his 113, a full 25 strokes better than his 2007 result.
After the first nine and a 61 score, Burger noted he was playing better than he ever had. While he did clank at least three trees on the afternoon (“Squirrels love Phil,” Lassiter chuckled), Burger’s drives were solid all day, approach shots were decent and his putts were commendable all afternoon.
“That was fun,” Burger said afterward. “It’s probably the best round I’ve ever shot. It’s probably also the first time I’ve ever beaten anyone, too.”
From the first topped ball off the first tee, Farley was in for a long afternoon. Of 18, maybe two were hit decently off the tee all afternoon—why he would pull his head to never hit the sweet spot is beyond him. Fairway drives were schizophrenic at best, and getting onto greens took work—but three-putting at the least as a norm proved troublesome. It wasn’t until the drive off 10, after a tallboy of Pabst Blue Ribbon, did he get a nice tee shot into the air. And only once did he par—that on the 505-yard 15th par five.
“I even lost two balls on the course,” Farley said. “I’ve never lost two balls on this course. That implies I had two balls on the course, of course.”
Lassiter’s Uncle Walt got the better of the three in the foursome as his 93 was tops on the day.
The tee time was for 11:30 a.m. but was delayed about 15 minutes thanks to a clogged Sunday afternoon course on a humid, dry and warm afternoon without a drop of rain in sight.
