Memoirs From Q-School
Memoirs From Q-School
There were happier times, when the lessons of life were not so sharp and immediately felt. When a simple hush was all you needed to send you back onto the right track. However that does not happen here, on the hot plains of Bloemfontein, where the sweat of the players seemed to evaporate in the 38 plus degree heat, before it was even allowed to drip to the dry earth.
90 holes was all it would take, 5 rounds, 10 nines and 357 shots later and you would have earned your place to tee it up alongside the pros of the Sunshine Tour. However did you know this teeing off on the first practise round, over a week ago, did you know that that first round 69 was all that was needed and four more rounds of 72 and you would be smiling instead of holding back the tears so many felt on Saturday? Nope you did not, and you could never have imagined that would be the case. You still had to play 90 holes, each a new challenge of mental and physical prowess, and each would be a step backward or a step forward. Sitting there on Saturday afternoon I could appreciate how simple the result was and all that was needed to reach that magical 3 under, but walking through those 90 holes, each dropped shot felt like an extra link was added to a chain wrapped around my ankles, 3 under could not have been further away. And I was merely the caddy, the stresses piled onto my mate I could only understand when he looked my way, before another deep breath washed his angst away and he would step forward to swing the chosen club once more.
Mutters could be heard around the club house, as the early starters on Saturday waited for the rest of the top 60 players to complete their round. Golfers speak about “the number”, a magical self-envisioned goal post that if you could reach its safety, you should be able to rest easy. Q-School is different, that number can shift in three holes, so many players feeling the stress of their own future, one bad shot quite often leads to the bogey train that has its ending station in despair and depression. Whilst others come alive, making a few early birdies to put themselves back on the number, back on track and taking that step forward. That number on Saturday morning, was 3 under. The players making it on the cut line the previous evening all sat three shots back on level. Three birdies back, to reach the safety of the top 30, but would the mark stay? With birdies to be had around the course, tucked pins were in the minority and with more than a few giving the players a good look at birdies, it could be safely assumed the number would be moving to 4 under and an extra shot would need to be found. At least that was the feeling of more than a few, as their rounds came to completion and their combined scorecards of the five rounds said they were 2 or 3 shots below par, it was easy to believe that they had missed their dreams by the closest of margins. A lip out on the closing hole and Tyron Roelofz who started the day on 3 under had to hand in a signed card of 72 and to him that looked more like a large red cross than anything else, his goal post a four under. Shaking his head, he walked off to find a bench to wait out the hours until his worst fears could be confirmed.
Others trundled in, heads hung low their dreams left out on the course and a hard year ahead before another chance could be taken. Whilst others showed smiles shining and hoping they knew where the goal post would finish. In an hour or two they would know that number as 357, it did not matter that they were 12 shots off eventual winner Hendrick du Plessis, as this is a tournament like no other and each of those 30 spots is a winning ticket.
So for now the 33 who received their tickets wait for the train that will take them to their first event the Dimension Data Pro-Am at Fancourt, and the others remain on the station hoping their train will be on time next year.
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