THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 15, 1996 TAG: 9606150439
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICH. LENGTH: 64 lines
For 10 holes Friday, Carl Paulson was a player in the U.S. Open, not just a participant.
Never mind that the 25-year-old fledgling pro from Virginia Beach shot a 36-hole score of 13-over 253 and missed the cut by five shots. The odds on that happening were overwhelming the moment he signed an opening-round scorecard that read 78.
``I'm probably going to take some flak from the folks at home for that score,'' Paulson said, mildly and momentarily concerned, Friday afternoon.
Better they should remember what one of Paulson's playing partners told his coach, Cavalier G&YC head pro Butch Liebler, on the putting green after Thursday's round: ``You watch him hit it and you can tell. He's going to be a star.''
Friends will be friends, and there's lots of fine-tuning to be done for that prophecy to come true. Nonetheless, despite his garish final score, for 10 holes Friday Paulson was getting the better of Oakland Hills, not vice versa.
After opening with a two-putt par, Paulson drilled a tee shot down the middle on the par-five second hole. Figuring he was 235 yards from the pin, Paulson launched a 2-iron that hissed as it drew nearer the green.
A light landing, a short roll, and Paulson's ball stopped 8 feet from the cup. He sank the eagle putt and suddenly was just 6-over par for the Open, exactly where he predicted he'd need to be to make the cut.
He bogeyed Nos. 3 and 5, but got one back at the 356-yard 6th, and made the turn in 1-under. When he lashed a mid-iron to 8 feet at No. 10 and holed that for birdie, Paulson was 2-under for the day again, 6-over for the tournament.
The 6-over prediction didn't hold up, as the USGA's 10-shot rule pushed the Open's cut number all the way to 8-over par. Neither did Paulson's game, though heartless Oakland Hills had something to do with that.
At the par-three 13th, Paulson's tee shot flew the green, the ball burying in the rear bunker. That led to a double-bogey 5.
Three holes later, Paulson's tee shot split the fairway, but rolled into a plug mark. With less than half the ball visible, Paulson had no play but to gouge it forward, only about 20 yards. Where birdie seemed possible, suddenly bogey was made.
``After that drive at 16, the odds I'd make the cut were against me,'' he said.
When the Paulson braintrust breaks down his performance at Oakland Hills, they'll find some astonishing statistics to carry home. The key to contending in the Open, everyone swears, is driving it in the fairway. Paulson hit 12 of 14 fairways Friday.
But on the back nine, he hit only two greens from those fairways, and for the two days he played the last six holes in 10-over par. With two par fours over 465 yards, two more of 400, and a 200-yard uphill par-three, Donald Ross designed this course to end at its toughest. Tiger Woods was 9-over on the last five holes on Thursday alone.
What Paulson's closing-holes statistic says more than anything is that he has to get a little tougher hide, finish the good things he's started, if he's going to be more than a blip out here.
Every player needs a little seasoning. Consider this Paulson's first dash.
Moments after Friday's round ended, Paulson sidled over to his dad and told him to mark the dates of future Opens on his calendar.
This might have been his first Open, he said, but hardly the last. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Carl Paulson by CNB