July 16, 2007

MOUNT STERLING, KY — Pat Boland, who climbed Old Silo Saturday, was also able to climb up the Virtual Tournament Leaderboard after scoring 66 points on a very warm day in Kentucky. He joined the high scoring of Old Silo in Mount Sterling as Greg Garrett, Greg Long, and Chris Philipsen all shot in the 80's and all scored at least 65 points.

Unfortunately, the Silo grabbed hold of Boland's balls on the first 3 holes; twisting them into a painful double, triple, double-bogey start. The 7-strokes loss in the first 3 holes resolved itself into an incredible 15 finishing holes.

"As far as excuses, I will use car lag this time. The 6 1/2 hour drive from St. Louis had my muscular shoulders very stiff," said Pat Boland after Hole 2. Boland was able to par Hole 4, which was just over 120 yards. He jumped back into the longer holes with Hole 5 where another double-bogey found his scorecard. He settled down after a pep talk from Garrett and shot just 7-over to finish.

Garrett had a monsterous start shooting 1-over par through the signature hole 6. "The guy was draining everything," said Greg Long of his stellar start. "Garrett drained a 5 footer for par on Hole 2 saying, 'That was easy. 4-iron 4-iron, a chip and a putt'. The problem is he acted like the 30-yard hack off the tee with a 4-iron was an important shot in the sequence."

The Garrett-train was off the tracks starting at Hole 7. Garrett slid and slid as the course continued to punish him. "Boland was down and Garrett was up," said Chris Philipsen. "Then like a light switch, Garrett was down and Boland was up."

Speaking of Philipsen... Chris shot a 16-over 88 at Old Silo. The round was worth a foursome low 65 points. Greg Long shot 5-over on the par 5's, which he attributed to 5 different bunker experiences. He finished 10-over par and scored 73 points.

On Hole 16, named Old Silo, Pat Boland climbed the silo for a quick photograph. "He was best suited for the climb," said Garrett of the staged photograph. "His hat and build clearly represents Boland from a distance. He is also the strongest, which makes him an easy choice."

Old Silo Golf Club remains in the running to host the 2008 Carl Spackler Open Championship in June. There are 28 golfers with written commitments to the 8th major.