Mondays With Mike Bradshaw: Tournament Season in RI
So I wonder how many of you enjoyed the Tour on TV this past weekend? It was nice to have a live sporting event to watch—and definitely a bit different to see the openness of the golf course without fans and grandstands throughout.
Tournament golf is back–and not only on the tour.
The RIGA hosted their first event of the 2020 season today and they started out right at the top of the food chain. The first of three qualifiers for the 2020 RI Amateur took place this morning as the best of RI golf try to earn their spot in the preeminent amateur event in Rhode Island golf. Two additional qualifying events take place over the next week or so to complete the field for the July event at Pawtucket CC.
And here at the Kirkbrae, our first major of the season is well underway as the first round matches of the Men’s Four-Ball took our largest men’s event from 32 teams down to 16 on Saturday. Kirkbrae’s version of Bracketology will continue to whittle down the field for the next 4-6 weeks to determine the 2020 Champions.
So, it’s pretty clear that we are in full-flight Tournament season, no matter what level of the game we are talking about. TV or no TV, super-large paycheck or no check at all–the stakes are the same (in some ways) for all of the events. Players trying to play their best when it matters the most to them.
It is amazing this game we call golf and how similar it can be from the top levels to the bottom. I mean, we can’t play tennis at Wimbledon or pitch from the mound at Fenway–but you can surely play the same courses the best players play in the most revered of events.
And the results may not be the same, and the numbers may be bigger, but we all play the game trying to do our best—and hopefully can do so when it means the most….