Written by Flutie Fellow Andrew Roberts of Boston Sports Mania
After the round, Flutie sponsored golfer and in 2nd place after round 1, Tyler Lagasse, had his article featured on ESPN.
Late last night (July 2nd) I created a more detailed round 1 recap as a video report that focuses on Flutie Foundation-supported Tyler Lagasse of Special Olympics Massachusetts and Scott Rohrer of Special Olympics South Carolina.
I had the chance to talk to both Tyler and Scott moments after they signed their scorecard. Even though my cameraman (my dad Ken) had his first technical difficulty with one of my interviews, the audio came through for you to enjoy. I also had the chance to quickly speak to the Round 1 Leader, Brock Aoki.
The voiceover text and video are below:
It was cold and damp as the golfers waited in their carts to begin. The carts were used to speed up pace of play. Tyler won the toss to tee off first.
Both Tyler and Scott bogied on the first hole as their nerves seemed still high for the start of the tournament. They both bounced back in Hole 2, with Tyler just missing a birdie and Scott making one from a couple feet away.
One of Scott’s most challenging holes was the Par 4 3rd hole. He took a penalty stroke for hitting out of bounds but recovered with a solid 2-putt to finish the hole.
Both parred the 4th hole with each of them coming within a foot of a birdie on 10 foot or more putts.
On hole 5, Tyler just missed par but still gained a stroke on Scott, who just missed his bogey putt.
On the 7th hole par 3, Scott came within inches of a birdie off a putt of over 20 feet and then Tyler’s par putt almost rimmed out but went in.
Hole 8 was shortened to Par 3 and they both parred, but it was their partner, Travis Curtis from Maine that dazzled on the Par 3 9th with a near hole in one.
On hole 11, both Tyler and Scott had chances for eagles with very long drives and solid shots with Scott landing on the green in 2 and Tyler on the back fringe. Tyler’s eagle shot got him within 10 feet but on his birdie attempt he rolled past the hole by a few inches. Scott’s birdie attempt reached the lip of the hole. A good hole for both golfers and the start of a strong back 9 stretch for Scott as he played 1 over for the final 8 holes.
Hole 12 was a very strange hole as Travis Curtis called for a rules official as his ball appeared to land in a divot-like hole on the green. Then there was a loud plane soaring over us as well. Tyler 4 putted the hole for a double bogey but then picked up his play and went 2 over on the last 6 holes.
On 13, all three golfers hit strong off the tee and landed within feet of each other. On Tyler’s second shot he landed at the very back of the green. Tyler’s putting came back strong when he hit a 50 foot putt within inches of the hole almost making a birdie and tapped in for par as did Scott.
On 14, Scott made a very exciting 20 foot putt for birdie, pumping his fist as the ball dropped in the hole. Tyler had a 3 foot birdie putt lip out of the hole after a tremendous tee shot but had to settle for a par tap in.
On 15 and 16, the tee shots of Tyler and Scott landed really close like they had on 13. Their scores were close too, as Scott had par and a bogey and Tyler was close to matching it, just missing a par putt on 16 to go bogey and par.
Hole 17 is Eagle’s Talon signature hole. It’s a par 3 over a lot of water and the tee was moved up. The green has 3 levels making putting difficult. Travis Curtis had his birdie putt just missed from 10 feet go in and out of the hole. Scott and Tyler each had very long putts for birdie and left themselves about 3 feet on either side of the hole. All 3 golfers got par.
The long par 5 18th hole was an adventure for all 3 golfers starting with Tyler’s tee shot got a lucky bounce off the cart path to avoid landing in a hazard area. Travis Curtis ended up with a 9 after getting in trouble with the water. In the end, both Tyler and Scott had 1 foot putts to end the round with a par but Scott’s putt just lipped out. Still, both golfers finished strong and within 2 strokes of each other. They hope to carry their momentum into tomorrow.
After the first round, Tyler Lagasse and Scott Rohrer are 2nd and 3rd on the Special Olympics USA Level V Golfer leaderboard. I had the chance to talk to both Tyler and Scott moments after they signed their scorecard. Even though my cameraman (my dad Ken) had his first technical difficulty with one of my interviews, the audio came through for you to enjoy. I also had the chance to quickly speak to the Round 1 Leader, Brock Aoki.
Read About Day 4 HERE>>