Golf is often a game of inches but never more so than at a place like Mystic Creek Golf Club with a course rating of 78.1 and a reputation for repelling less-than-perfect shots. And it doesn’t take long. Look no further than Isi Gabsa, who had the round of the tournament going on Saturday – 7-under par through 16 holes – until two minor tugs, shots that would have been okay most weeks, led to a bogey, triple-bogey finish.
“This course requires a lot of patience,” said Min A Yoon, who was 6-over par on Friday and came roaring back with a 5-under 67 on Saturday. Instead of fighting to make the cut, Yoon vaulted into a tie for 11th at 1-over par going into the final round.
“Yesterday I lost six shots on three holes,” the South Korean native said. “I only hit about five mediocre shots all day, but they went horribly wrong. Today, I only missed three shots all day, but I was able to get up and down for pars.
“Yesterday, I played defensive because this is such a difficult golf course. But today I felt as though I didn’t have anything to lose so I was able to relax and be more aggressive.”
No shot was more aggressive than her last full swing of the day, a 5-iron from the right rough on the ninth hole that came to rest 4 feet under the hole, setting up Yoon’s sixth birdie on Saturday.
“I tried to be smart,” she said. “When the holes were difficult, I played to the center of the greens. But when I had a shorter iron, I went at the flags. That paid off today.”
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