HANOVER – On the green in a best-ball tournament one player has a four-foot putt and his teammate has a 14-footer.
If the four-footer is for par and the other is for birdie it would seem logical that having a par in hand would free up the second player to take a bold run at the birdie.
But who should putt first isn’t that simple according to seven-time Tommy Keane Invitational champion Scott Peters, particularly if both putts are for par, or birdie, or even bogey.
“I never understood why the the guy with the four-footer goes first,” said Peters, who teamed with longtime partner Andy Hydorn to shoot 68 in Friday qualifying for the 44th annual Keane event at Hanover Country Club. “I always want to know that my partner is still in it, because if he goes first and misses that four-footer, now I’m all alone. I’ve got more pressure than usual.”
But there can be a down side to having the player with the shorter putt go first even if he makes his par while his parter with the longer attempt is going for birdie.
“If he goes first and makes it I may be more aggressive than usual on my putt,” said Peters, “and that would mean I’m putting differently than I would normally.”
That’s exactly how it played out for Mitch Cable on the 10th hole Friday after partner Mike Hathorn tapped in a par putt.
“I had like a 15-footer and hit just an awful putt because I wanted to make sure it reached the hole and I hit it too firm,” explained Cable. “I hit it too hard and it didn’t take the break.
“But I still prefer to see the ball in the hole. We’ll do that because we aren’t great putters. When you make the par it takes the pressure off.”
Although Cable’s birdie putt zipped past the hole on 10 that was one of the few opportunities he and Hathorn did not cash in on in as they combined for a 6-under-par 65 to lead the field.
“Mikey hit it really good,” said Cable. “Between yesterday and today’s round he ended up hitting 31 straight greens before he finally missed a green on 16.
“I just filled in the gaps. When we needed a par I made a par. I made a couple birdies. He made four. He played great again.”
The defending champion father-son team of Shane and Nick MacDonald finished one shot back of the medalists with a 66.
Jim and Andrew Jankowski – another father-son team – came in at 67 along with the pairings of Adam Pippen and Pat Pelletier, and Jamie Wallace and Rob Henley.
Each of the top finishers has its own approach to team play.
While Peters prefers to have the player with the longer putt go first and Cable prefers it the other way, Shane MacDonald has a singular approach playing with his talented son.
“I don’t care if it’s a one-foot putt but I never want to see Nick not in the hole before I have to go,” he said with his usual hearty laugh. “I don’t want any weight on my shoulders.”
Jake Obar, the 2006 Keane champion, for the most part comes from the Peters school of thought. “Typically I would take the long one first because I want that to be the same way I always putt,” he said. “But if you have a slippery downhiller that’s 10 feet and your partner has a three-footer for par, maybe it makes sense for him to go first, just because your putt is slippery. But that’s rare.”
What happens on the green is just one of the strategies that comes into play in a tournament like the TKI. There’s also the matter of who hits first on the tee.
For Cable and Hathorn that is a no-brainer.
“Mike thrives under pressure so he’s always hitting last,” the Cable said. “That’s the way we have done it forever. I go first and he goes second because he’s so clutch. It makes it easy for me. I don’t have to worry. I can spray it anywhere and I know he’s going to hit it right down the middle.”
Like Cable, Peters prefers to hit first on the tee. His mindset is to put aside the team dynamic when he’s in the tee box and simply play the game in front of him.
“I’ve always done that,” Peters said. “Part of it is that I play fast, but I just want to play the hole and don’t need any burden or benefits from knowing that my partner is either in the woods or two feet from the flag. It has always been a comfort to me going first.”
By contrast it’s a comfort to Obar – who shot 73 in qualifying Friday with Ben Gardner – that traditional partner Billy Vielleux went ahead of him on the tee when they teamed up.
“Billy is a pretty consistent golfer whereas I’m a little more volatile, shall we say,” Obar said. “He always hit first. You like to get that first guy in play.”
Of course, getting two balls in play is even better.
“There is a relentlessness to that,” said Peters. “If you are playing with people who are always having two balls in play that’s hard. It doesn’t always work out that way, but that’s sort of our mindset.”
There are also different approaches to reading greens in team play.
“It’s a personal thing,” Peters said. “I always want an opinion from my partner. It doesn’t mean that’s what I’m going to do, but I want to know what he thinks.”
For Obar it depends on the putt.
“Billy and I have an understanding that I’m not going to say anything to him, and he’s not going to say anything to me unless we ask,” he said. “Even if you misread a putt you are going to hit it better than you would if somebody puts a doubt in your mind.”
There is no one right way or wrong strategy in a tournament like the Keane as Hanover pro Alex Kirk sees it.
“Everyone can do it their own way,” he said. “Whatever works for their team is the best for their team. The cream always rises to the top.”
Which is why Shane MacDonald’s über-successful gameplan since he started teaming up with his son is to let Nick do the heavy lifting.
“We do whatever is the least amount of pressure on me,” he said, laughing again. “Whatever freaks me out the least is what we do because Nick can handle it.”
DIVOTS
Match play begins Saturday morning with one of the marquee matches pitting Scott Peters and Andy Hydorn against Scott’s sons Ben and Mike, who qualified with a 70. Winners will square off in the afternoon along with consolation matches.
Semifinal matches will be held Sunday morning with the champion crowned after in the afternoon final.
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