Day One At I.L.C.R.I.C.C. Spreads Field Thin as Thom Opens Up a Four Shot Lead

By Quetzel Miller III
23 July 2007

Cedar City, Utah - For many, the British Open is a good test of their golf abilities. But for some, it is merely a tune up for the true major: the International Lesser Cedar Ridge Invitational Closed Classic, this year beginning one day after the Open Championship concluded. Because of the immense distance between the two tournaments, and the difficulty in rescheduling either, each participant in this week's I.L.C.R.I.C.C. skipped out on the Open Championship.

"Money wasn't the issue - I just didn't want to show up on the first tee a few hours after I got off the plane," Jim Archibald responded to reporters questioning his decision to skip out on the Open Championship.

With the much anticipated lone group of the tournament teeing off at 7:15, it was decided that the crowds would be kept from the players view, so as to not distract them.

The return of Thom Archibald to this year's Classic after a two year absence proved many critics right. "The [Classic] was much more of a toss up without Thom in the field," mentioned Eddie Archibald, a newly invited participant to the Classic. It began on the first hole, with Thom taking a one shot lead after missing a short eagle putt and settling for birdie. Little did he know, the exact same thing was going to happen on three of the remaining par fives. He continued his round with birdies on 2, 4, and 5, parring the others. Standing 4 under par on 9 tee, he had a comfortable lead, but flirted with disaster as his two iron ricocheted off the out of bounds fence lining the left side of the hole, leading to his first bogey of the championship. From there, a similar miss on the tenth tee led to another bogey, but he quickly responded with back to back birdies on the par three eleventh and the par five twelfth (after missing a ten footer for eagle on the latter). Jim had been playing right with him after falling behind quickly at the beginning, but could never find the spark needed to cut into Thom's lead. Since Thom had last made an appearance at the Classic, the course had been redesigned, and two of the new holes cut into his lead, as he bogeyed each. Standing on the 600 yard par 5 15th, he
proceeded to lace a driver down the left side of the fairway, approximately 360 yards from the tee, and then put a 4 iron 15 feet away from 240 yards out. Once again, the putt was a near make, and he settled for birdie. He finished birdie, bogey, birdie, with 18 giving him a very similar near-eagle, for a 4 under par 69. Jim played him stroke for stroke down the stretch, but ended 4 back with an even par 73. Eddie was well back with a round close to bogey golf, leaving plenty of ground to make up.

"I just made a lot of putts that I wouldn't normally make, and only missed a few I should have made," said Thom, who birdied 9 of the eighteen holes played Monday.

The way Thom has played recently, he could easily come back to the field, but he seemed to find his way pretty easily Monday.