Luke Donald takes on Mark Crossfield (Part 3)
This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.
I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.
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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.
With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.
Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!
Club Junkie
Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast
The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.
Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.
If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.
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Club Junkie
Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie
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I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.
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Double Mocha Man
May 29, 2016 at 8:52 pm
I couldn’t bear to watch. Did Mark actually beat Luke?
Adam
May 29, 2016 at 11:25 pm
I don’t know if anyone will ever know. Seems like that 9 holes couldn’t go fast enough for Luke.
Philip
May 30, 2016 at 10:28 am
Was not really a competition from the first drive of Mark’s. He lost 3 and 2 if I’m correct. Mark even tried to create that last chance “winner take all” for the final two holes, but couldn’t quite pull it off. He seemed a bit off the entire 9 holes – was fun to watch – enjoyed it.
Double Mocha Man
May 30, 2016 at 11:13 am
That was one of the ugliest golf courses I’ve ever seen. Couldn’t they have played a better venue? Or maybe Mark’s been banned from most courses in the UK. Ah, better yet, maybe Mark was paying…
Lt
May 31, 2016 at 3:08 am
Looked better than half the links type in the UK. At least this place was nice and green, as opposed to the bone-dry and brown. It had some interesting bunkering, nice dog leg with strategic trees for depth illusion and also some water. For a course open to the public, it looked pretty nice. What would make that place difficult, if you noticed, are that the tee grounds and the greens aren’t elevated much. Very deceptive. I liked it.
RichM
Jun 2, 2016 at 8:59 am
It’s actually only round the corner from me and for a 9 hole pay and play course it’s not bad at all. The owner has put an awful lot of effort into it and compared to 10 years ago the difference is night and day. Not sure about the ‘ugly’ tag as it’s actually quite picturesque. It’s not the most challenging of courses and it’s certainly not long, but compared to some more prestigious courses I’ve played, the people running it care more about people enjoying the game than anything else.
There’s also a 9 hole par 3 course attached which has a couple of exceptionally pretty holes over water.