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August 26, 2010

Hughes News & Views: Happy birthday, Chris Cassell

David Hughes The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — An interesting little item ran in Wednesday’s Tribune-Star sports section.

In case you missed it, it said:



“Terre Haute golfer Chris Cassell tied the course record at Hulman Links on Monday.

Cassell fired a 9-under-par 63 from the blue tees. Witnesses were Dave Nasser and Steve Jarvis.

Cassell, who recently won the Hulman Links Club Championship, posted one eagle, seven birdies and 10 pars. This score tied the record set by Tom Jones on July 19, 1992.”



Also worth noting, Cassell accomplished this feat on his 32nd birthday. (Facebook comes in handy again!)

Tying an 18-hole course record — especially somewhere as challenging as Hulman Links — is better than getting a chocolate cake with 32 candles any day.

This seriously was an awesome achievement, considering Hulman Links has been open to the public since 1978, but it was one that Cassell could see coming.

“The craziest thing, in the last few weeks, I’d had a 67, two 66s, a 65 and a 64 [all at Hulman Links],” he pointed out. “So I’d had a couple chances where it entered my mind.”

On Monday, Cassell got off to a great start by sinking a 2-foot eagle putt on No. 2. He followed that up with birdies on 4, 5 and 6, much to the enjoyment of Nasser and Jarvis.

“They were giving me a hard time,” Cassell admitted. “Dave had played with me when I fired a 65 last Tuesday, so he’s seen me do well lately.”

Cassell also birdied 9, giving him a 30 on the front nine.

“I was thinking, ‘Make four more [birdies] on the back [nine] and shoot 62 [to break the record],’ ” he mentioned.

Back on Aug. 11, Cassell shot his 64, which missed tying Jones’ mark by one stroke.

“I needed a 15-foot birdie [on No. 18] to tie,” Cassell recalled, “but it rolled right over the edge.”

This time, he wasn’t going to let that happen.

On No. 11, Cassell two-putted for another birdie, then he parred 12.

Then came the 213-yard No. 13, which was the only hole Jones bogeyed when he shot his 63 in 1992, Cassell said.

But no bogey for Cassell in 2010.

“I hit a perfect 5-iron about two feet to the left of the hole and tapped it in for the birdie,” he said.

Pars on 14, 15 and 16 left Cassell needing a birdie and a par to tie the record or two birdies to break it.

He got one of the birdies he wanted on 17. “I made about a 12-footer,” Cassell noted.

Could he also birdie the final hole to set the record?

Unfortunately for Cassell, not this time.

“I hit a 3-wood off the tee, but I kinda shoved it into the rough,” he explained. “I had about 187 yards [to go] and I hit a 7-iron right at the flag. I thought it was going to be perfect, but it landed on the front fringe and kinda died there. So it left me with a 30-foot uphill putt. I left it about a foot short.”

Cassell tapped it in for par and settled for tying the record, which included a 33 on the back nine.

Having once registered a 63 in practice at his college course in Bowling Green, Ky., Cassell wasn’t sure if this was his best round of golf ever. But if it wasn’t, it was pretty darn close.

“It was pretty flawless,” he acknowledged. “I only missed one green. I didn’t have a bogey.

“I’ve been playing so well lately. I’ve been hitting the greens and I’ve had so many birdie opportunities.”

Can he continue performing at such a high level for much longer?

“I hope so,” replied Cassell, who plans to compete in the Spaghetti Open on Sept. 11-12 at Matthews Park in Clinton and the Terre Haute men’s city tournament on the weekends of Sept. 18-19 and Sept. 25-26 at Hulman Links and Rea Park.

The boys golf coach at Terre Haute South High School and a physical education teacher at Sugar Grove Elementary School, Cassell credits one person for his recent run of success — his wife Ashley.

“If she didn’t let me play golf as often as I do in the summer,” Cassell explained, “I wouldn’t be able to play this well.”

• • •

• News flash — We interrupt this regularly scheduled column with some breaking news.

Chris Cassell called the Tribune-Star sports department Wednesday evening to report that he just tied the Rea Park course record with another 63.

Seriously.

His front/back breakdown was 30-33.

Sound familiar?

This time, however, his round included nine birdies and nine pars.

Witnesses were Steve Jarvis and Darrell Shouse.

If Cassell keeps this up, we might see him replace Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour before the end of the year (wink).



David Hughes can be reached by phone after 4 p.m. at 1-800-783-8742, Option 4, or at (812) 231-4224; by e-mail at david.hughes@tribstar.com; or by fax at (812) 231-4321.

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