by Kevin Merfeld
Monterey County Herald
July 23, 2008
Reprinted with permission of the author.

It could have been the ultimate psych out.

Just like you don't talk about an in-progress no-hitter, you don't talk about course records.

Especially when you are standing on the 10th tee.

Chad Vivolo had just finished the front nine of the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club last Sunday in 4-under 31, even though it was loaded with what ifs.

The former Stevenson golfer and son of head pro David had pared both par 5s and made another par on No. 8 despite taking a one-stroke penalty for an unplayable lie.

But still, Vivolo, who will start his redshirt sophomore year at Pepperdine this fall, walked up to the 10th tee with San Jose State golfer Drew Nottenkamper at 4 under, halfway home to the course record of 8-under 64 shot by Vijay Singh.

"What tees should we play, because I'm trying to break the course record," Vivolo said to Nottenkamper.

Since Singh set the course record, two holes had added tee boxes an additional 30 yards behind the original tips. No. 10 was one of them and No. 13 was the other.

So Vivolo and Nottenkamper agreed to play the new tees from the back marker on those two holes, with the course record in mind.

"Usually I say that and then I kind of question it two seconds later," said Vivolo about bringing up the course record. "It's like, 'Oh, should I have really said that?' But this time I really believed it."

After a morning of practice, Vivolo started with a blah first three holes that included three pars, one of them on the easily reachable first. But he quickly got things going with birdies on three of the next four holes.

Vivolo almost knocked a 4-iron from 219 yards out on the par-3 No. 7 in for an ace, lipping out and settling for a tap-in birdie. It would have been his second hole-in-one with that same 4-iron this July.

"When you hit it that close, you know you're on," Vivolo said.

His first hole-in-one came July 3 on the 224-yard No. 15 at Bayonet/Blackhorse. Vivolo needed the boost the eagle gave him on his scorecard that day, qualifying for the NCGA Amateur Match Play Championship by one after posting a 78.

But on this day, he could do no wrong. Even when he pulled his 3-wood tee shot on No. 8 into some hay, forcing him to take an unplayable lie, Vivolo hit a 6-iron stiff to just two feet to save par.

Vivolo kept the ball-striking clinic going, stuffing a 3-iron from 225 yards on the par-3 No. 9 to three feet and another birdie, which moved him to 4 under after his lowest front nine ever at the Shore Course.

"I was full of confidence," Vivolo said. "I was just pure. I was feeling it. Everything was in sync and in rhythm."

And then he stepped up to the plate and called his shot, bringing up the course record.

"I've been thinking a lot more positively recently, and I've been trying to call my shots and build myself up," Vivolo said. "When I was in high school I would kind of beat myself up and be my worst critic. I still do it now, but just recently in the last couple weeks, I've been trying to nestle into the positive."

I was a senior when Chad was a freshman at Stevenson, and we see-sawed between the second and third spot on our varsity team. Rob Grube, who went on to win a national championship at Stanford and is now playing on the Canadian Tour, was the clear No. 1.

But Chad was right behind him in terms of talent. He could mash the ball. He could make it do whatever he wanted.

But somehow, I hung with him. When we would finish a round with the same score, I was usually pretty happy with what I had grinded out. I never hit 12 fairways or 15 greens. I just managed my way around the course and figured out how to get out of trouble.

But Chad would come in shaking his head, telling our team stories that seemed as far-fetched as fishing tales. He'd tell us about how many putts he'd missed from this far, holding out his hands to varying lengths inside the leather.

It didn't seem possible. It wasn't like he was blowing up in these rounds, either. They were still somewhere in the 70s.

But then you'd play with Chad, and you'd start to believe his stories. He'd show flashes that he was, indeed, that good. We were all waiting for that round where he would finally put it together.

His first round in college could have been that time. After redshirting his freshman year, Vivolo played his first collegiate tournament on Oct. 15 of last year at the PGA West Greg Norman Course in La Quinta. And after 16 holes, he was leading the tournament, shooting out to 6 under. Even with a double bogey, bogey finish, Vivolo was still just one shot off the pace with his 69.

"Basically, I could see the potential," Vivolo said. "I was a little nervous, it was my first round, but it was just like the round I played on Sunday."

But Vivolo faded the final two days, shooting a pair of 75s, and he spent the rest of the season battling for playing time. He cracked the lineup in about half of Pepperdine's tournaments during his first season as the team missed out on the NCAA Championships in a playoff.

Sometimes Vivolo would be on, like when he played with Grube over Thanksgiving break at the Shore Course and shot a 66 to beat the four-time All-American by eight. But he couldn't ride that wave of confidence through Pepperdine's season, eventually missing out on the postseason.

Determined to reach his potential, Vivolo has focused on his short game and mental approach this summer. Just this past weekend, Vivolo plowed through the book "The 15th Club" by renowned sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella, detailing the inner workings of the now two-time defending British Open champion Padraig Harrington.

"I've just been changing how I approach the game, because what I was doing for a while wasn't working," Vivolo said. "So I'm finally getting over my stubbornness and making the necessary changes to get better as far as mentally and short-game stuff goes."

And so there he stood on the 10th hole at the Shore Course on Sunday, 4 under and already zeroing in on the course record in his mind.

He piped a drive 320 and then striped a rescue club 240, right at the stick, finishing up 20 feet short to give himself an eagle putt. He burned the edge but tapped in for birdie.

After lipping out a six footer for birdie on the next hole, Vivolo converted a birdie on No. 12, showing some course management and discipline by laying up on the par 5 and wedging it tight to get to 6 under.

"I layed up, which is not me," Vivolo said.

But it might be the new and improved Vivolo.

Even though Vivolo missed the green on No. 13, he got up and down to keep his bogey-free round alive. It was the only green he missed, not including No. 8, when he had to take an unplayable lie, but knocked his 6-iron stiff the next shot.

Vivolo poured in two more birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to tie Singh at 8 under. And after knocking his approach shot on the last hole to six feet, Vivolo had a look at 63 and the new course record.

"I was kind of sitting there, I didn't really dwell on it too much, but I knew it was for the record," Vivolo said.

His putt caught the hole, but didn't fall, and Vivolo tapped in for a 64.

But although the putt didn't fall, things might be finally falling into place for Vivolo.

"I've been waiting for everything to fall together for a while," Vivolo said. "Hopefully I can take this and build on it. I tend to progress and then regress. Now I'm trying to progress and progress and progress."