PARKER — Bill Loeffler didn’t want to use a naughty word to describe the yin and yang of his two days at Colorado Golf Club, but sometimes, nothing else will do.
“This game is so (expletive),” Loeffler, the co-owner and general manager of Highland Ranch Golf Club said after his 10-over-par 82 Friday. “I hit the ball so well (Thursday) that I thought I’d turned a corner, but the minute you think you’ve got it, that’s when you know you’re dead.”
On Thursday, Loeffler, one of 42 club pros in the field, shot a 3-under 69 and stood in a tie for fifth. When he missed a 15-footer for birdie on the ninth, his last hole Friday, he stood at 7-over and was outside the cut line.
While some supporters were lamenting his fate, Loeffler’s wife, Sandy, remained optimistic.
“I’ve seen this happen too many times,” she said.
And indeed, as the last players completed their rounds, the mark for moving into the top 70 and ties in the tournament — the benchmark for competing in the final two rounds — shifted.
Finishing at 7-over also kept Lakewood resident Ron Vlosich around for the weekend. Among those who fell short were former major champions Sandy Lyle and Andy North and Denver resident Mark Wiebe.
Quick learner.
Taiwan’s Chien Soon Lu speaks almost no Eng- lish, but, through an interpreter, he was spot-on when asked about the key to playing this week.
“The only way to play this course is to put the driver in the fairway,” said Lu, who enters today’s round tied for fourth at 4-under. “Otherwise, you’re in big trouble.”
Moving around.
A Friday walkup crowd that was four times larger than expected caused up to 30-minute delays in shuttle bus service moving fans from the public parking lot to the golf course.
“We want to get across that we’ve addressed the problem,” said championship director Jeromy Manser.
Tournament officials will double the number of shuttle buses. Anthony Cotton and Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
