From: "Paul S. Rovner" To: "Paul Rovner (E-mail 2)" Subject: FW: Pre-Season Report Date: Thursday, July 18, 2002 8:30 AM -----Original Message----- From: Hoelke, Dan (HNA) [mailto:Dan.Hoelke@hjheinz.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 11:22 AM To: 'Scott Woods'; Hoelke, Dan (HNA); edrossner@rittenhousetrust.com; provner@RITTENHOUSETRUST.com Subject: RE: Pre-Season Report I am busy, but had to take time out to read yet another excellent email.....hopefully the Philly contingent receives it.... -----Original Message----- From: Scott Woods [mailto:nittanylion96@hotmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 11:16 AM To: dan.hoelke@hjheinz.com; edrossner@rittenhousetrust.com; provner@RITTENHOUSETRUST.com Subject: Pre-Season Report Gentlemen, As you can see I've gone back to my hotmail account... when faced with the option of getting messages through with SPAM or having to rely on Dan's response to get the messages through SPAM-free, I've chosen the lesser of the two evils. So, we'll have to rely on Dan having a light day at the office in order to get these reports through. Believe it or not, the Myrtle Beach Birdie Championship is fast approaching as we are now only 64 days away. Get your asses out on the course and get in shape, but more importantly make sure your knickers are pressed because it's almost time for MBBC VI. For those in Philadelphia who did not get to see the first Myrtle Beach Birdie Champion Showdown this weekend because of blackout restrictions, you didn't miss much. It was a lackluster performance by both Woods and Hoelke as they battled an extremely hilly course, temps. in the upper 80's and the often bitching Bob Hoelke throughout the round. Hoelke managed to win the birdie portion of the challenge with the only birdie of the day. Woods had few opportunites and was never a factor. Amazingly though, Woods and Hoelke tied in overall score and it is believed that Woods had more pars then Hoelke (the scorecard was thrown out shortly after the round so this remains unconfirmed). Despite the lack of birdies and the rather uninspired play of both players, ABC officials vowed to air the Showdown again next year wherever it is held. In any event, the pre-season events of the past two weekends have had some interesting effects on the odds for the MBBC: Dan Hoelke Opening Line: 2:5 Current Line: 3:2 Stormin' Dan Hoelke remains the heavy favorite to repeat as the Myrtle Beach Birdie Champion. His performance this weekend in the Showdown did not instill a lot of confidence in the bettors, but, he did fire the only birdie of the round and had several other opportunites. In his press conference after the round Hoelke also suggested that he may be changing his game to adopt the Scott Woods approach to the MBBC: overall score does not matter, only birdies count. In other words, Hoelke has suggested that he may give up his attempts to shoot in the 70's and low 80's in order to concentrate on making birdies. Hoelke has shown signs that he will be concentrating more this year then he has in year's past on winning the MBBC. After last year's record setting 8.5 birdie performance, Hoelke has adopted the confidence and swagger of a champion and vowed to move that birdie total into double-digits. The scary thing is that many people believe that Hoelke is capable of doing just that, especially if he can get his putter as hot as it was in last year's final round at Grande Dunes. The only reason that Hoelke's line has moved in the last few months is because bettors were staying away from the 2:5 line which offered no opportunity to make any money. As usual, Hoelke should be the most prepared for the MBBC as he will play several rounds in Hilton Head, S.C. next month and will also continue to play every Tuesday at a course 2 minutes from his house. Hoelke also holds a huge advantage in thatas the 2001 MBBC he has the right to select the site for the first round of the 2002 MBBC. Hoelke has indicated he will not reveal the location until all competitors arrive in the Myrtle Beach International Airport. Many believe Hoelke will elect to return to Grande Dunes, the site of last year's electric final round in order to fire birdies and get out to an early lead and set himself up for a chance to reach double digits. If Hoelke is hot from the start, look out, because it could be another record breaking performance and the MBBC may never be in doubt. A HUGE factor in this year's MBBC will be whether Hoelke's clubs actually arrive in Myrtle Beach from Pittsburgh. Hoelke has had his bags lost on a few occassions most recently in March after the MBBCGA winter meeting in Las Vegas. Hoelke will once again be flying U.S. Air and considering their track record for losing baggage, Hoelke may be without his weapons for a round or two. Scott Woods Opening Line: 8:1 Current Line: 4:1 Momentum is swinging toward Woods as we get closer and closer to the MBBC. Woods impressed the oddsmakers this weekend with his no-birdie round of 91 on a difficult golf course and without a King Cobra Driver to use. Especially promising was Woods' putting as he drained several putts of around 10 feet. Unfortunately those putts were for pars and bogies, but oddsmakers are confident those will become birdie putts come August. Especially crucial was an 8 foot putt that Woods made on the 18th green to save bogey and win a $10 bet from another member of the foursome demonstrating his ability to drain putts under heavy pressure. The former champion remains a favorite among bettors based merely on the fact that he is widely considered the best putter in the MBBCGA. Bettors point to the fact that Woods is the only member of the MBBCGA to have fired back to back birdies (a feat he has accomplished twice) and it is this spurtability that makes him extremely dangerous in the MBBC. While Woods would like to get off to a quick start, his track record is as a slow starter. He gains momentum throughout the tournament and it is this steady approach that has made him the four time champion. He will have to be more aggressive if Hoelke gets out to an early lead because he can not afford to let Hoelke get too big of a lead. In addition, Woods has taken a "me against the world" mentality to this years MBBC. Woods has commented that he does not like the other members of the MBBCGA especially his biggest rival, Hoelke. In fact, this year Woods will not be traveling to the MBBC as he usually does with fellow members Drossner and Rovner, but has instead elected to fly by himself to Charlotte before the foursome takes the flight together from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach as required by the MBBCGA. Woods has indicated that he will not sit with the other members and will not talk to them and will NOT give Rovner his bag of peanuts or Goldfish as he has done in years past. Paul Rovner Opening Line: 30:1 Current Line: 12:1 Yes, you read that line correctly. Despite struggling in a warm-up round a couple of weeks ago, betting on the Rover has become extremely heavy. Rover has become this year's darkhorse and despite the fact that he only managed 3 birdies last year, many believe this could be the year that he puts it all together. Rovner put fear in the hearts of the other members of the MBBCGA last year when he fired two birdies in the opening round. He struggled the rest of the trip but many believe that two birdie performance is a sign of exactly what Rovner is capable of. Rovner admitted recently that his nerves got the better of him last year when he found himself on the top of the leaderboard. Unable to sleep and concentrate on anything but the fact that he was on the top of the world's most prestigious competition, Rovner was unable to fire anymore birdies and quickly found himself in third place. Rovner intends to learn from his experience of last year and believes he is now better prepared to handle the pressure of being on top of the leaderboard having been there last year. In addition, last year Rovner demonstrated an ability to birdie on any kind of hole having fired his 3 birdies on a Par 3, Par 4 and Par 5. In year's past Rovner was considered completely incapable of birdying a Par 5 or long Par 4's as he was unable to string together consecutive quality shots. He was only considered a birdie candidate on Par 3's which significantly limited his birdie opportunites. That has all changed over the past few seasons and Rovner has become a legitimate factor in the MBBC. Rovner's biggest asset is his short game which will enable him to stay in contention with Woods and Hoelke. Rovner must again birdie early in order to gain confidence. The key, however, will be to avoid the several round drought that he experienced last year and should he find himself on top of the leaderboard, to endure the birdie onslaught that will come from Woods and Hoelke. Surprisingly, bettors are extremely encouraged by word that Rovner is taking lessons and completely changing his swing. It can often take golfers a year or so to adjust to a new swing, but many believe that Rovner's game can only get better with a new swing and it could be the difference maker in making him the 2002 MBBC. Eric Drossner Opening Line: 50:1 Current Line: 150:1 Drossner appears to have lost all confidence in his game and accordingly bettors have lost all confidence in him. After his most recent warm-up round, Drossner commented that he felt like he was playing like a woman and he predicted if things did not get turned around quickly, it could another long and unproductive MBBC. Some believe that Drossner is exaggerating his struggles in order to psych-out his opponents and that he will still be a factor in August. Others believe that Drossner actually is a woman. A recent report revealed that at a company outting when given the option of playing golf or tennis, Drossner elected to play tennis. When told of Drossner playing tennis, Scott Woods commented, "As far as I know there is no Myrtle Beach Ace Championship, but he's a non-factor in the Championship anyway, so he can do whatever he wants. I don't care. That guy fucking sucks!" This incident is being investigated by the MBBCGA and could result in a heavy fine for playing a non-golf event. Drossner did indicate that he has been taking several lessons through his work, but bettors have heard this story before and are not buying into it. Drossner must get off to a good start in the 2002 MBBC. Many believe he still has the ability to compete for the championship, but he just needs to gain a little confidence in the early going. _____ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: Click Here