Dodge Kemmer '09 pro golf adventures in Asia

Stanford golf alum (2009) Dodge Kemmer  shares his globe trotting pro golf adventures on the Asian tours in this report sent to Coach Ray on August 20th:

As far as off-seasons go, this one has been unusually warm.  After playing 11 events from January thru April, the schedule is pretty sparse until September.  I have been able to play a few; two Asian Tour events (Yeangder TPC in Taipei and King's Cup in Pattaya, Thailand) and two ADTs (Tiafong Open in Taiwan, and the Aboitiz Open in Manila).  However, the last few months are shaping up very well. Starting the first week of September, I will play somewhere around 10 more events to conclude the year.  

First up is the Japan Golf Tour qualifying stage 2 (I'm exempt thru stage 1 by virtue of my Asian Tour card) north of Tokyo Sept 5-9. Next I fly to Germany for first stage of European Tour qschool Sept 13-16.  Then there are at least 3 and hopefully 4 Asian Tour events, possibly beginning in Japan (Osaka) the following week at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup, and continuing with events in Korea, Indonesia, and Macau, to take us through mid-October. (I'll write with more leaderboard links as we get closer!)

In the previous four events I had moments of brilliance and moments that made me want to bang my head into the nearest tree.  At the Yeangder TPC, I calculated that if I had putted my season average from 4- to 8- feet (67.7%), on admittedly tricky greens, I would have won by 2. As it was, I made a mere 28.6%, and finished in tied-26th, 6 shots behind (71-71-70-70= -6).  I doubt if many or any guys putted well, but I only needed my average! 

The next week at the ADT was notable only for Typhoon Nepartak that blanket the island during round 2.  By some bizarre circumstance, our hotel experienced very little rain and even less wind the entire day, while the rest of the island was getting drenched and blown every which way. I missed the cut and got to go home early (only 1 day though- thanks Nepartak...)

After a couple weeks off, I headed to Thailand for the European Tour co-sanctioned Kings Cup.  The course was short and fun, but after my start of -3 thru 12, I never got anything going. Despite making the cut on the number, the weekend was even more of a struggle, and I finished in tied-70th, skyrocketing me to 272nd place on the Race to Dubai (of 273!).

And most recently, I got to play an event at Wack Wack Country Club in the heart of Metro Manila; easily in my top 5 favorite courses, and my favorite in Asia.  I finished tied-13, and flew back that day. Biggest experience of note was my uber taxi ride from the airport, which was $4.00 for a 50-minute journey.  Of course it was only about 5 miles, and that was considered light traffic!

As I mentioned, next up is Japan, and I leave September 3rd, right after watching The Cardinal put the beatdown of the century on K-state!  :)

Thanks again for all your support and enjoy the last few weeks of summer

Dodge

Dodge Finds Form in Asia

Watching my putt lip in on 18 in the final round of Asian Qschool Finals Saturday was a fitting and relieving way to end my two weeks in Thailand and my first trip of the year.  The putt was for eagle (the first one of the year) and a 6-under 65, my best round of the two weeks, to finish at -12 total and 2nd place alone.  It also capped off the nearly-linear trend of improvement through the 8 competitive rounds I played, slowly but surely knocking off the Kansas winter holiday-season rust.

Despite a 74-74 (+6, t46) start to first stage, nasty poison ivy-like, golf-ball size blisters on my ankles, and getting on the wrong bus at 5:30am to the course, I finished with 70-68 for +2 total and qualified for final stage 1-shot clear.  Top 40 and ties in final stage would earn Asian Tour cards for the 2016 season. With the tough side of the draw (hard course in the windy afternoon), I started final stage 68-71 (-3) in a tie for 29th.  Weekend rounds of 68-65 earned 2nd place honors and Asian Tour status for the coming season.  Here is a link with my translated and then translated back quotes: http://www.asiantour.com/2016/01/16/atqs-rd-4-what-they-said-2/

I can expect 12-15 starts, mostly in the fall, and am currently 5th reserve for the Singapore Open next week (featuring Jordan Speith), a $1M purse event to kick off the season.  If I don't get in, I'll play a couple events on the Asian Development Tour leading up to the Bangladesh Open February 10-13.

Ill continue to send tournament links in the days before and also post on facebook and twitter with daily updates.  Thanks for all your support!

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Dodge