By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – In the middle of a brief downpour, on the climb to the highest point of the golf course, Daylen Tidd slashed a tee shot that dodged most of the rain drops and ignored the others while carving through them like a lightning bolt. Tidd could not follow the golf ball through the storm, but he knew where it was headed.
On top of the hill, 330 yards away by the designated scorecard route but shorter by the Tidd shortcut track, that tagged TaylorMade parted the waves of water and skidded to a stop just 10 feet from the flagstick. That thunderous blast set up a bold eagle that powered Tidd to the top of the electric leaderboard.
Tidd’s second eagle of the first round highlighted a 5-under 67 during the opening day of the Bedford Men’s City Tournament. Tidd settled for a one-shot lead over five-time champion Aaron Harrell during a low-scoring Saturday at Otis Park.
The best floated above the soggy pack as five players finished in red numbers. Michael Lewis, making his annual homecoming trip to compete in the summer classic, fired a career-best 69 to settle just behind the leaders, while defending champion Colten Girgis and Nick Bellush worked into contending positions with 71s. That’s a star-studded, top-heavy set of possible winners, promising an entertaining adventure as the 96th edition of the event started its four-round odyssey.
“My gosh, the competition here is so good,” Tidd said. “But it’s a good start, for sure.”
Tidd, a 2018 graduate of Bedford North Lawrence, has proven his explosive scoring ability in the past – both the low and high ends of the spectrum. When he’s at peace with his driver, he’s a threat to post serious numbers. He credited a new shaft, courtesy of equipment tinkering by former City champion Michael Tillett, with his success during the first round.
“I finally got one that is working very well,” Tidd said. “Anybody who knows me, if my driver is good, it will be a good day. Keeping that in play and giving myself good looks at birdie is the key.”
Tidd ignited his round with his first eagle, taming the too-short par-5 fifth with a wedge (from 137 yards) to three feet. He followed with a birdie on the sixth, made a rare one on the fierce 15th, then solved the par-5 17th. That made him four-under on the three par-fives, showing why length is such a weapon. His bogeys came on the eighth and 18th holes, the latter sending him home with a slight headache after beating himself up for the late slippage.
“My mindset for the first few holes, if I get through four holes at even par, that’s the ‘go time,’” Tidd said. “I need to keep my driver straight and trust. The big thing is trusting the shot. I get so timid on some stuff. I need to commit to what I see and just do it. Do what I think is right.”
He did that on the 13th tee. “I couldn’t see it, but I knew it was right at it,” Tidd said with a sly grin.
Harrell, slimmer this year but just as big a name on the leaderboard, was a birdie machine, carding six. Yet as hot as the putter was, his two bogeys (in Death Valley on the 14th and 15th holes that create the low point on the course, in more ways than one) were three-putt stumbles. Every golfer knows the love-hate relationship with the flat blade. Otherwise, Harrell had three birdies on each side, none longer than 20 feet.
“I don’t know exactly where it’s going like I have in the past, but the putter was working,” Harrell said. “If the putter is working – but most of the time it doesn’t.”
Everything else did. That’s why Harrell is such a threat to win this event. He is one of only five men with five titles (Don Gratzer, Ken Hackney, Gordon Jeffries and Michael Gratzer comprise the rest of the list). Nobody in the field has more experience.
“To me, that doesn’t mean a thing,” Harrell said. “It’s coming out and hitting the best shot I can, finding it and trying to hit the best shot again. A bad shot does not affect me, a good shot does not affect me. Whether it’s good or bad, you go find it and hit it again. You can’t win on the first day, but you can sure lose on the first day.”
Lewis, another BNL grad who grew up at Otis, was also a part of the eagle contingent. He holed out a 30-yard pitch shot on the second hole and carried that momentum all day with birdies on the fourth, seventh and 13th holes.
“I drove it well, and my wedge game was pretty good,” Lewis said. “I never really got out of position. I played really well, made some putts and put myself in good positions.
“I love coming home. More than anything, for the guys that move away and come back, it’s about the memories growing up here, seeing the guys you grew up with. That’s the best part for me.”
The Lewis eagle set the tone for the threesome that included Harrell and former Columbus East standout Austin Proffitt (72 with two birdies). They combined to play 7-under as a group.
Girgis fought through an inexplicable attack of the shanks to post his 71 (which started with birdies on the first two holes, plus more on the seventh and ninth holes). Bellush had three birdies on the back nine on his way to 1-under and a prime settling spot.
The second round is set for Sunday, and the field will be divided into flights for the final two rounds on July 18-19.
