Welcome to the 2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, which is being conducted at Shadow Hawk Golf Club, with The Houstonian serving as the companion course for stroke-play qualifying. The Houstonian is actually adjacent to Shadow Hawk. Both are private clubs south of downtown Houston. Former President George Bush is one of the founding members of Shadow Hawk and there are pictures of him throughout the clubhouse.
As for the weather, it is humid, but not stifling. Many of you who have been following the news this summer know that Texas has suffered from a drought and temperatures have consistently been over 100 degrees. Hopefully we can keep the temperatures manageable for this week's championship.
Golf is underway at both courses. The first groups from the morning wave are currently making the turn. Look on the website for nine-hole scoring for stroke play. Once match play begins on Monday, we'll have hole-by-hole scoring.
One player, Michael Barbosa, almost was out of the competition before it began. The St. Petersburg, Fla., resident, who earned his spot in the field by qualifying for this year's U.S. Open at Congressional C.C., showed up at the first tee of The Houstonian four minutes after his scheduled starting time. He thought his tee time was 9:40 a.m., not 9:10. USGA officials were able to find him in the practice area and get hiim to the tee with a minute to spare. Under the Rules, players have a five-minute grace period to get to the tee before they are officially disqualified. Barbosa was still assessed a two-stroke penalty for his tardiness, but at least he could continue in the competition.