After a rough first day at the U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee Country Club, Bellevue’s Tom Brandes went into Friday’s second round with nothing to lose.

At the conclusion of Thursday’s first round, the amateur from Bellevue had posted a 12-over-par 82 round, one of 41 golfers in the field of 156 who couldn’t crack 80 at the Sammamish course.

With the cut following the second round, Brandes simply relaxed and played golf.

“I had nothing to lose,” said Brandes, 53. “I had already shot myself out of the thing. It was kind of like ‘hey, let’s just play.”

Brandes ended up shooting a 6-over-par 76, a much improved score. He credited his performance to the smaller crowd (he teed off early Friday morning, instead of in the afternoon like Thursday) and a little momentum – momentum that had to endure a lengthy fog delay.

United States Golf Association officials shut down play for two hours and 15 minutes. Brandes, who began his round on the 10th hole, passed the time by napping in the locker room amongst the other golfers before returning to the 12th hole when play resumed.

It didn’t take long for him to keep rolling. Brandes picked up birdies on 16 and 17 and finished the front nine at even par.

“A lot of it was that there wasn’t everyone out there; I got nervous with all those people out,” he said. “Especially with some of them knowing me. When you make a mistake, it seems exaggerated in your hometown.”

Brandes wasn’t so lucky once he hit the turn. Because of the lengthy fog delay Brandes reached the 1st hole in the early afternoon – long enough for a large crowd to congregate.

The highlight of the day for Brandes -and his caddy, friend Alex Stamey – came on the final hole of the tournament, hole 9. His home course, the Rainier Golf and Country Club in Seattle, was sponsoring the hole – meaning there were hundreds of his supporters waiting near the green.

Brandes lifted a nice shot onto the green, leaving himself a good 25-foot putt attempt.

“I just was thinking “don’t mess this up in front of all of these people,'” he said. “I hit it solid and it went in and the place blew up. I even started to well up a bit.

“I’ll never forget the roar when that putt went in,” he added. “My knees went weak.”

Brandes ended up missing the cut, which came in at 10-over. But he was extremely happy with the score, he said, and numerous professionals there noted a 76 to be a good score for as hard of a course Sahalee is.

“That was kind of redemption for myself,” Brandes said of the round. “Redemption for myself, my caddy and my fans. They were counting on me to play like I know I can play.”

Earlier in the week he noted that the experience was really the main thing he was worrying about.

“For us, the qualifiers, the work is really done to get here,” he said. “We’re just happy to be here.”

Brandes admitted to being a “fan” his first go-round at a Senior Open, the Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. That wasn’t the case this time – not even with such stars as Fred Funk, Fuzzy Zoeller, Tom Watson, Tom Kite and Seattle’s own Fred Couples competing in the event.

“This year they weren’t like rock stars to me,” Brandes said. “They were fellow competitors.”

Brandes even ate lunch Thursday with eventual-champion Bernhard Langer, who followed up his win at the Senior British Open in Scotland two weeks ago with a three-stroke victory over Couples at Sahalee Sunday. Langer shot a bogey-free round 67 to clinch the title.

Brandes, who had high praise for Langer, said he and his family were hoping to see Seattle-native Couples win Sunday. Brandes, who attended Seattle University, has numerous college friends who attended O’Dea with the golfer and said Couples was one of the most friendly professionals at the event. Brandes even played Thursday’s round with a visor sporting Couples’ autograph under the bill.

“He’s a very impressive golfer,” said Brandes, who like Couples, is self-taught. “He has a tremendous amount of talent.”

Brandes said he’d like to play in next year’s Senior Open in Toledo, Ohio, but it isn’t really on his radar. Not true for the rest of his family: wife Susan, son Peter, a senior at Bellevue High School and daughter Kate, a Washington State University graduate.

“It’s on my wife’s radar, my kids’ radar, my brother’s radar,” Brandes said with a laugh. “For me, the pressure’s off. I’ve done it twice, which is more than most guys get to do in their lifetime.”