Written by Flutie Fellow Andrew Roberts of Boston Sports Mania
If there was only one thing I could say to describe the current state of the USA Games Level V Golf Tournament, it would be that this is still anybody’s game. The Flutie Foundation sponsored golfers, Tyler Lagasse and Scott Rohrer, came to Seattle as the heavy favorites to win gold and silver medals, and Scott is currently leading the tournament by seven strokes. But Peter Condon of Washington, Brock Aoki of Utah, and Thomas Cleek of Missouri among other golfers have challenged Tyler and Scott through 2 days on a course with greens playing very fast causing many 3-putts and few 4-putts.
Peter Condon is currently in 2nd (+22) after shooting an 82 (+11) in both rounds. Tyler Lagasse is tied for 3rd with Thomas Cleek, and Brock Aoki is in 5th after starting Round 2 as the leader. However, Cleek, Lagasse, and Aoki are all within two strokes of 2nd place.
Scott Rohrer (middle) with his Round 2 tee-off group, including Thomas Cleek (left) and Chris Lussier (right)
Unlike Day 1, Tyler and Scott were not paired up. Tyler was paired with Tony Marino, and they started on Hole 3. Scott started on Hole 2 with Chris Lussier and Thomas Cleek.
Despite facing more putting challenges than yesterday, Tyler Lagasse did well again today, shooting an 86. “There were some putts that just didn’t break the way I wanted them to and other times it was just a case of the yips” (Tyler Lagasse). He had some very strong moments, like his birdie on the par 5 hole 11, and an excellent par save on Hole 18, which he said was his best hole.
On hole 18, his drive did not reach the fairway but he made 2 great shots to reach the green in 3 shots despite the long yardage he had to make up on the long and difficult 566 yard par 5 hole.
Tyler’s 2nd shot on 18 after failing to reach the fairway with his tee shot
Tyler did have some very nice drives and had little difficulty sticking the green when he needed to. He pulled out the driver more often, trying to play more aggressively than yesterday. I asked him why he used his driver more and he said, “I just had to be aggressive, I was getting a little bit emotional, I just wanted to push myself to be the best I can possibly be.”
Scott Rohrer played even better than he did in round 1, shooting a 76 (+5) to take the tournament lead. In response to my question about how he thinks he did today vs. yesterday, he said, “I played a lot better than yesterday, I’ve improved somehow over the past day.” He was very consistent, making par on each of the first three holes. Like Tyler, he birdied the 11th. However, he has no doubt in his mind that his best hole was hole 1, which due to the shotgun start on hole 2, he actually ended his round on hole 1. He had a huge drive on the 386 yard par 4 that nearly landed the green in one. He says it was his longest drive in the two tournaments he has played at Willows Run.
For some video footage from the day, including my stand-up live from Willows Run and my interviews with Tyler Lagasse and Scott Rohrer, see below:
Although Scott Rohrer has a 7-stroke lead, we have learned from this week to expect the unexpected and that the leaderboard can shuffle around very quickly. Someone who is in 4th or 5th right now could be the leader in their division by the end of the final round on the 4th of July. Who will take home the gold? Will Scott hold on to the lead for his third straight gold medal at the USA Games, or will Tyler or someone else catch him?
Read About Day 5 HERE>>