2012 World Championships Diary.

5th August: Tied 6th. Karl finished the 2012 US Kids Worlds in a Tie for 6th Place, with a very deserving Michael Thorbjornsen from the USA taking the title by 1 stroke ahead of South Africa's Martin Vorster. Karl shot rounds of 71, 75 & 72

Many thanks to everyone.

4th August:  The 3rd and Final round starts today. We've been incommunicado these past 3 days due to not having internet and Karl's schedule being too hectic.

Round 1 started 2 hours late due to Thunderstorms with Karl in the peneltimate group. After 3 holes and sitting at 1-under, the field had a 3-hour break due to thunderstorms. Karl's first hole back was a delicate Par 3 which, but as the rules stipulate  there is no warm-up during weather delays and Karl's Tee-Shot went staright over the flag and disappeared into thick greenside rough just 1-yard off the green and 6 steps from the flag. He racked up a double bogey on that hole, but then quickly got his game back to Birdie holes 17, 18 & 1 before Bad Light brought play for the day to an abrupt halt on the Tee on Hole 2 (another Par 3).

Whilst the early starters from Day 1 had finished their rounds on Day 1, the boys who hadn't managed to finish their rounds managed very little sleep before rocking back up at 7am to complete anywhere from 1 to 8 holes from the 1st round. Karl had 8 holes to go and despite the stop-starts and the day-old greens which made converting Birdie Putts extremely difficult, Karl put together a 1-under 71 for Round.

A few hours later he was back at the course beginning Round 2 in stifling afternoon heat with the same playing partners as Round 1 due to the field not being able to be reset due to the weather delays. This meant that the players who got the smooth greens and cooler condiions in Round 1 also got the same conditions in Round 2 and also had a good night's sleep. The scores from Round 2 pretty much showed how badly the late players who'd had to complete their 1st rounds early before commencing Round 2 in the afternoon were affected.

A mentally and physically tired Karl battled on throughout the day, but as with so many other players in the same boat, he made multiple errors which were out of character to record a 3-over 75.

As such, Karl starts the final round today 9 strokes behind the leader (who with no negative connotations) quite literally enjoyed the "luck of the draw" with having been able to play 2 consecutive uninterrupted morning rounds. Realistically, Karl's shooting for a place on the podium and that would be be a proud achievement given the circumstances. Scores can be seen here.

29 July: Just 4 more days before the 2012 US Kids Worlds.Karl's playing a round each day with the top players. One of the great things about golf is that these kids can so competitive with each other on the course, yet as soon as they're off the final hole they head for the games room and shoot some pool together. 

Karl's shooting some good scores and hasn't peaked yet due to a lack of range time. We've been patiently waiting for the heat wave to end, and now that it has, we can fine tune a few things over these coming days.

26 July: Karl had a great practice round at Little River Resort, the course for this years 10 years boys at the US Kids Worlds. The course is in magnificent condition, so scores should be low this year.

26 July: Karl's spending his mornings practising for next week's US Kids Worlds here in Pinehurst. The local hospitality here is always a feature of why we come back every year.

Pinehurst Golf Club did an interview with Karl yesterday and that story can be seen here.