Gallery by Heather Belcher
Daniels – Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
Fortunately for Todd Duncan, he was both on Sunday.
Trailing by two strokes heading into Day 2 of the Mountain State Golf Classic, Duncan fired a round of 67 – 5-under par – at the Cobb Course at Glade Spring, taking a two-stroke lead over reigning champion Davey Jude heading into Monday’s final round.
Playing on his home course, Duncan seemingly caught all the breaks he needed including avoiding a costly out of bounds ruling on No. 15 – a hole he triple bogeyed with a five-stroke lead on the back nine of last year’s tournament – and smacking a tee shot on No. 4 that ricocheted off a tree and onto the fairway, resulting in one of five birdies on the day.
“Me and Davey talked about how we were both going to go for the green (on No. 4),” Duncan said. “It’s a hole where you can really get it and it’s perfect yardage for a full driver. I hit it and I kind of pushed it a little bit and I knew that it wasn’t going to be good. I don’t know if it would’ve gotten out of bounds but it was breaking 70 yards left and ends up in the middle of the fairway and I end up making birdie. I feel like I got a lot of momentum going my way and I birdied the next hole so that was definitely a big swing. In golf you have good breaks and bad breaks so you juts have to take them when you get them.”
When given second chances Duncan made the most of them all day.
The WVU golfer avoided bogeys throughout the afternoon, though a disastrous tee shot that veered left on No. 15 threatened to derail the round. Seeking a ruling, Duncan was forced to play two different balls in the event of the worst. Fortunately for the 2020 champion he received the news he was hoping for when a tournament official ruled in his favor when he reached No. 18.
“I just knew it was going to be a little challenging playing the white tees,” Duncan said. “A bunch of trouble comes into play way more off the tee. You feel like it should be easier but then again it can be harder because you hit something a little longer and it goes and you’re starting to bring trees into play like I did on 15. Anything like that can happen. It was kind of a grind and I really didn’t have everything I wanted today but I got it around the golf course.
“I played solid on the front nine and paced it on the back nine. I got a little mad on 15 because I felt like I knew the ruling but then again I didn’t know at the same time so it was good to hear the news once I got to 18 that it was inbounds.”
Duncan’s day came at the expense of Jude who bogeyed twice on the back nine, feeling as though he left several birdies on the course.
“Today was very adventurous,” Jude smiled. “I didn’t hit it very well and missed every putt on the whole golf course you could miss. It’s probably the worst day I’ve had in a while so I’m still in it. I missed about a foot putt on 10 and 13 and didn’t take advantage of the par 5 holes. I had good position on three of the four and made one birdie out of the four. It just wasn’t what I needed today at all.”
Vaulting within striking distance of Jude and Duncan was Wyoming East grad Patrick Smith with a round of 69 for composite score of 6-under for the tournament. Battling through back soreness, Smith did enough early to overcome three bogeys over the last six holes.
Smith birdied Nos. 1, 5 and 8 and stroked an eagle on No. 12 to give himself breathing room.
“So 12 was a good one for me,” Smith said. “I finally hit a driver somewhat straight and hadn’t done that all day. I had been in the fairways and was using wedges with good looks and taking advantage of that. On 12 I hit a good drive down the middle. I only had 143 yards which was just a smooth wedge and hit it right there in the middle for about 15-20 feet. It was a good hole for me.
“Once we made the turn the back started to ache a little bit,” Smith said. “I started to loosen some tight swings because I couldn’t really turn much on the back but you don’t really need to from the whites. I played okay but I’m definitely disappointed with the finish. I definitely need some rest tonight.”
The tournament will finish up Monday on the Cobb Course with Duncan looking to seal the deal and put last year’s nightmarish final round behind him.
“I lost in probably the hardest way I could’ve lost last year,” Duncan said. “I gave it to him pretty much. It wasn’t good. It was mentally exhausting and I made one bad mistake and it was like a domino effect in the next three holes. I think it’s just going to be about making pars. If you’re in the lead they can’t catch you if you’re making pars, unless they make birdies, but you’re playing with them on the final day so you know you can play differently. You just play a little more conservative and hit greens. Birdies are going to come when they come. I’ve matured a little bit from last year and I’m juts going to take a deep breath when stuff like that happens and realize what the easiest shot is and where I can make the lowest number.”
For a full list of scores and standings please visit here.
