Many of you regular readers of this blog already know I finished 2nd at the South Dakota State Open. I shot a final round 65 and lost on the third playoff hole. I could stop here and simply enjoy the high finish. However, I'm going to be brutally honest. I choked my guts out during the last 6 holes.
My round started out great. I birdied 2, 3, 4, and 6. A violent lip-out on 9 had me turn with a 32. I then went crazy with birdies on 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15. That got me to -14 for the tournament and -9 for the day!
If I could have one shot over, it'd be my 2nd shot on 16. I hit a gap wedge that landed within 10 feet of the hole, but spun back 30 feet onto the fringe. I then missed the downhill 3 foot par putt. I also bogied 17 and failed to birdie the par-5 18th.
In the playoff, it got worse. After my opponent bogied 1 I had a 3 foot putt for the win. I missed in on the low side. We both birdied 2 and then he birdied 3 to win.
It's very unfortunate that I missed two 3 foot putts on the final 6 holes. I don't think I made a bad stroke, the putts just broke a lot! I played them both outside of the hole and they still broke across and missed.
Mentally I struggled down the stretch. I was cruising for 15 holes and the one bad break (spinning back off the green) rattled me. I also started thinking different thoughts. No longer was I thinking about the tempo of my swing, but rather the possibility of shooting 63 or lower.
The positive about the tournament is that I put myself in a position that I've never been in before. I admit that my nerves got the best of me, but I believe that I'll learn from yesterdays mistakes and hopefully not make them next time.
Today (Monday) I tried to qualify for a Nationwide event in Springfield, MO. I shot 70 and will most likely be 4 shots short. My downfall was on the greens. I hit the ball really close on the last 11 holes, but regardless of whether I kept it below the hole or not I couldn't get the putts to drop. Again, I don't feel like they were bad strokes. I started all of them where I wanted, but I misjudged the speed/break or both.
I'm about to get on the road. I'll be back in Minneapolis sometime Tuesday.
Neil
1 comment:
To Neil's family and friends let me introduce myself. My name is David Carr. I am an amateur golfer from Vermillion, SD and I played the first two rounds of the SD Open/Pro-AM with Neil. I was reading through Neil's comments about the tournament and I wanted to add a couple of thoughts.
First, I believe Neil has been too modest about his play on Friday (the 1st day). The conditions were AWFUL - 30mph winds and 94 degrees. Believe me - this is my home course. Also, the winds shifted about 6PM from south to north so that we had to play all four par 5's DEAD INTO the wind. There were no easy birdies on Friday. To be under par in those conditions required outstanding play.
On Saturday (day 2), Neil played the best round of golf I've ever seen anyone play in person. That was nearly flawless and was really neat to watch (and I've been playing since I was 12).
I did not see the final round as I was finishing my own final round. Nevertheless, 65 is 1 shy of the COURSE RECORD!!!
Anyway, I thouroughly enjoyed my 36 holes with Neil. You should all be proud of his performance and his play this weekend. I am. He conducts himself with class and professionalism on the course. His golf game is steady and solid. Frankly, I'd enjoy any opportunity to play with him again.
Neil- Thanks for a great pro-am. You have won new fans in Vermillion and I look forward to following you via your website. I hope that I'll see you on TV one day and I'll be able to say, "I played the pro-am with that guy" !!!
Cheers
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