In case you missed it, John Rollins lost his grip on the Buick this weekend at Torrey Pines. He found a way to bogey holes 16 and 18 and lose the tournament to the grateful Nick Watney. A continent away, in Georgia, young Morgan Hoffman did exactly the same thing at the Jones Cup, a top-notch amateur event on Sea Island, gift-wrapping a belated holiday present for Kyle Stanley. What Stanley and Watney showed us was the simple and time-honored rule of love, business and sport: opportunity knocks. Just hang around long enough and you’ll get your shot. Watney won in regulation while Stanley had to go to a playoff for his trophy. Rollins and Hoffman revisited the madness of the leader: everyone is out to get you, including you. Get out of your own way and you’ve got more than a fair chance at the victory.

In case you missed it, Rollins made one par from holes 12-16, playing them one over. Just when you thought that his eagle 3 on 14 would put him over the top, he followed it with bogey-par-bogey to let Watney and others back into the chase. Hoffman did even worse over the final three at the Jones Cup, leading by five. He played 16-18 at +4, making mistake after mistake to let Stanley back into the tournament.

As the 2009 club season dawns over the next three months, get in a lot of early tournament practice and give yourself a chance to not only hang around, but to also take a lead or two and try to reinforce it. Don’t try to protect or preserve it, reinforce it. No lead is ever too safe.

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