Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

~~Happe~ning5~in Mo-;--torcyc~ling ...Ja§on "'Birdie'" Pridmore Almost anyone in the AHA Superbike paddock knows that Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki's Jason Pridmore is a scratch golfer. Those who've doubted his links abilities have paid the price, literally. On Sunday, September 2S, Pridmore was on a mission in the final round of the inaugural Mission Viejo Championship in Mission Viejo, California. Pridmore opened on Saturday with a 68. He was paired with first-round leader Daniel Wax, and he got a chance to witness Wax's shot-making firsthand, including a birdie-birdie-birdie start and a final tally of Sounder-par 67. "He's got tons of talent," said Pridmore. "I was really impressed with his swing and the shots he pulls off time after time." BO 77 157 But Pridmore had some ideas of his own about who would walk away with the win come Sunday. Sunday's final pairing of Wax, Pridmore, Eugene Choi (who double-eagled the 7880158 18th hole on Saturday) and Justin Gray saw a battle develop between Pridmore and Wax, with Wax striking first with birdie at No. I to extend his overnight lead 858/ to 2. Pridmore answered that with a birdie on the tough par-4 2nd, and when 9 Wax 3-putted, they were all square. Pridmore birdied Nos. 3 and 5, and his lead was 2; then he extended it to 3 when Wax bogeyed No.6, the short par-4 that tempts you to hit driver, at 29S yards, but where environmental areas around the green cause most people to think better of it and lay up. Wax gained a stroke back with a birdie at the ninth, but, as he prognosticated during the round, 'This course really suits Jason's eye." Starting with No. I I, Pridmore must have really liked what he saw, because he made four straight birdies - and this run occurred on a stretch of holes that could just be Arroyo Trabuco's version of Amen Corner. The 11th is a lBO-yard par-3, and the 12th is the longest par-4 on the course, at 49S yards. Granted, it's downhill, but a massive environmentally sensitive area guards the right side of the hole from tee to green like the border patrol. Standing on the water-guarded par-3 13th with a four-shot lead in hand, Pridmore had the perfect chance to be defensive - if he was a defensive kind of guy. He laced a 5-iron to six feet. Drained the left-to-righter for birdie. "This guy's lighting it up," whispered Wax as Pridmore was about to stroke the putt. (Wax would finish with a 74 for 141, tied with Justin Gray, who fired a solid 72 on Sunday after a 69 at Saturday.) Pridmore grabbed his fourth straight birdie at No. 14, then birdied No. 16 for good measure. This wasn't just a tournament victory like he got at the Camarillo City Championship last weekend in sudden-death. This was the round of a lifetime (Pridmore said it was his best tournament round ever) and certainly the best individual tournament round in the five-year history of amateurgolf.com's Tournament Series. The fact that he didn't equal the course-record of 64 didn't seem to bother him. The fact that he made a bogey did. "It would have been great to playa round without a bogey, but I'm not complaining," he said. "He's tough, mentally, no doubt about it," said close friend lincoln James, who was by Pridmore's side after a ruptured spleen left him in critical condition at a race in Birmingham in April. Pridmore says that James may have saved his life by insisting that he be moved to the hospital after 45 minutes at the track. This doesn't stop the two pals from constantly giving each other a hard time. "Of course, he had to go and bogey the 17th hole while I was watching him, and screw up tying the course record," joked James. 768C 155 /t- 80 Pete W/odkowski of amateurgolfcom contributed to this story. Pridmore gets ready for oction at Road Atlanta, 88 OCTOBER 19,2005 • CYCLE NEWS ~ DN5 Jason Pridmore was one stroke off the Arroyo Trabuco course record during the amateurgolf.com Mission Viejo Championship, taking the win by eight strokes,

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