At the close of competition of Day 1 at the USGA State Team championship at Carleton Woods in Houston, Texas, both the Men?s and Women?s teams enjoyed some success but found themselves in middle of the pack finishing in a tie for 27th and a tie for 31st respectively. On the Men?s side, Michigan was led by Russ Cunningham who shot an even par 72 followed by Tom Werkmeister and Greg Davies, both who shot 75. The best two of the three scores posted count so the team stands at +3. Cunningham?s par 72 was anything but a ho-hum boring 18 pars. Russ posted 5 birdies, 5 bogies and ?just missed 2 short birdie putts and had 3 other putts almost drop.? He described the round as an ?Up and down roller coaster ride?. His 6th hole typified the round. He thinned a 6 iron to the front of the green and then rolled in an 80 foot putt for birdie.
For the Women, Big 10 Coach of the Year, Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll led the way with an 80 while Joan Garety and Terry Delcamp both posted 85?s. All three players expressed a bit of frustration with their rounds. Stacy was quite philosophical about the round and stated, ?The course is really challenging and requires good shot making and knowledge of Bermuda greens.? Joan said of her round, ?The golf course is very demanding ? I hit some bad shots at the worst places which made it difficult to recover?.
Day 2 is moving day at this championship and both teams plan to move up in the standings. Terry Delcamp?s strategy includes, ?Tomorrow, I?ll play one extra club into the greens.? While the Michigan Men?s team is 10 strokes behind leader and host, Texas, the Women?s team trails Louisiana by 20 strokes.
Following play on Tuesday, both teams were treated to some Texas hospitality as Carleton Woods Club members, Gary and Pam Whitlock hosted the team to a wonderful dinner at their home just off the first hole of the Nicklaus course. The food and drink were superb, the hosts were extraordinary and the dinner discussion included expectations to improve the performance on Day 2 of the 3 day championship as everyone agreed that too many strokes had been left out on the course.
