It's been nearly 2 years since my last post and although a lot happened in the last 22 months, but I'm just going to talk about my last 5 months of tournaments. This past winter, I played a mini-tour in Arizona called the Dreamchasers Tour. The cheaper entry fees and guaranteed 3 rounds were what first attracted me to play. Eventually, other golfers started noticing the same things and they started getting as many players as the other mini tours, if not more.
1. Lone Tree GC - My first tournament since September '15, a full 4 month break. I had a lot of rust on my game and it showed.
2. Blackstone CC - 3 weeks of good practice really made a difference and it ended with a nice 4th place finish.
3. Wigwam Red (Heritage) - A frustrating week prior to the tournament bled into my golf and I struggled to find any momentum or any focus. My only birdie of the week was on the final hole of the final round. It seems impossible to go 53 holes without a birdie.
4. Moon Valley GC - I quickly put the tournament at Wigwam behind me and got off to a fast start - 65 in the first round. My 2nd round was pretty sloppy and frustrating, but I battled back on the final day and posted a solid 67 to sneak into the top-10.
5. Lone Tree GC 2.0 - Nearly 2 months after the first tournament at Lone Tree, I went into this tournament excited to see how much my game had improved since January. My first round 68 was nothing special, but the 2nd round 72 had a bit of a rollercoaster type feel to it. Lots of wind on the 2nd day made it play much tougher and I found myself +4 after 10 holes. However, 3 of my bogies were from 3-putts, not bad swings. That gave me some confidence and I birdied 3 of the final 8 holes to get almost all of those bogies back.
The final day was something really special. Another extremely windy day made the stroke average ballon to 73+, but I got off to a blazing fast start. Birdies on 1, 2, 3, 5, & 6 got me "in the zone" and a 25 foot par putt save on 7 kept me focused. A great 6-iron on 8 to 3 feet got me another birdie. On 11, I hit a prefect gap wedge to 6 feet and made the putt. The 12th hole was into a 25 mph wind and I hit 5-iron from 175 yards to about 20 feet, but rolled in the big-breaking putt. Five straight pars through 17 left me with the down-wind, par-5 18th. After a good drive, I had a 6-iron in where I played safely into the center of the green instead of flirting with the water. I left myself 25 feet for eagle and the putt somehow stopped on the front lip, overhanging the cup. I came up 1/2 millimeter from a 61 and a tournament win, but it felt so rewarding to have a great week and an amazing final round.
6. Golf Club of Estrella - I hadn't played the golf course prior to the first round and it showed with a few cautious and careful shots. I rebounded nicely in round 2, with a tidy 65, but the final round was a little bit sloppy and I finished 4th.
7. ASU Karsten Course - A week filled with messy and inconsistent play. Each of the three rounds had moments of brilliance and solid play, but those moments were too short and unsustainable.
8. Legacy GC - Tour Spring Invitational - The "biggest" tournament of the spring had a couple of things riding on it. The Dreamchasers Tour gives out bonus money for every 2 month stretch and going into the last event of April, I had a slim points lead over a couple of players. I played tight during my first round, unfortunately with that bonus money on my mind. Round 2 was much better, with no thoughts but hitting a good shot at my target. The result was a bogey free 62 that got me into contention. The final round was very similar to the 2nd day, but a poor finish (bogey on last 2 holes) left a bad taste in my mouth. Luckily I earned an extra $1000 for winning the March/April points bonus.
9. Ak-Chin Southern Dunes - A week of great ball-striking, great putting, and a great attitude all added up to a wonderful 6-shot victory. A fast start in the first round - birdies on 1,2, & 3 got things rolling and I continued to fire at pins and continued to make putts each day. On the final day, my 6 shot lead was 7 after a chip-in on 4. But my closest pursuer, Nathan Tyler, picked up a shot on 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10 to get within 2 shots. Nathan hit his approach to 10 feet on 11 and I missed the green. My chip rolled outside of Nathan's coin, but I made the par putt and he missed the birdie putt - still 2-shot lead. I birdied 12 and 13 to increase my lead to 3, but 14 was the real gut-check of the final round. On the drive-able par-4 14th, I found the green-side bunker, but Nathan hit a beautiful drive to about 15 feet. I thinned my sand shot over the green and into the back bunker, buried underneath a rake. I chopped my shot out of the buried lie, but it stayed in the bunker. Now, hitting my 4th shot from the bunker with Nathan 15 feet for eagle, I had a thought, "This is it. You've completely blown the lead." I took a deep breath to let that bad thought disappear and it did. I refocused on getting this next shot close. I splashed it out and it rolled down and into the hole - ho-hum par. Nathan missed his eagle putt and my 3-shot lead was 2, with 4 holes to go. After that amazing par save, I played great golf. A perfect drive on 15, followed by and 8-iron to two feet. I laid up on the par-5 16th after both competitors hit it into the weeds and I hit my 3rd shot from 65 yards to 2 feet. A smart 6-iron into the center of the green on 17 lead to an easy two-putt par. Another perfect drive on 18 and a 7-iron safely onto the green lead to an awesome 6-shot victory.
10. Troon North - Monument - Greens that were very bumpy made putting very stressful and frustrating. In the first round, I missed 3 putts that were less than 4 feet. I finally made some putts during the final round and managed to finish t-4th.
11. NorthStar Memorial Classic - Mississippi National GC - I had an ice cold putter all week in Red Wing and wasn't able to take advantage of some great ball-striking. I love that I didn't have a bogey on the front nine all week, but I just wasn't able to catch fire on the back nine.
12. Wigwam Gold - I captured another victory with some solid play at Wigwam Gold in Arizona. I birdied 1, 4, & 6 during the first round to take the lead and I never looked back. My only bogey of the first round was on 17. I hit what I thought was a great 2nd shot, but it went too far and into the back bunker. I made some really sloppy swings on 9 & 10 of the final round, but I quickly rebounded with a great approach shot on 12 and then a hybrid into the center of the green on 14 - and an easy two-putt for birdie.
My schedule for the rest of the summer is posted, with lots of Dakotas Tour events and a few Web.com Qualifiers. I will be better at posting updates with my results.
Neil
1. Lone Tree GC - My first tournament since September '15, a full 4 month break. I had a lot of rust on my game and it showed.
2. Blackstone CC - 3 weeks of good practice really made a difference and it ended with a nice 4th place finish.
3. Wigwam Red (Heritage) - A frustrating week prior to the tournament bled into my golf and I struggled to find any momentum or any focus. My only birdie of the week was on the final hole of the final round. It seems impossible to go 53 holes without a birdie.
4. Moon Valley GC - I quickly put the tournament at Wigwam behind me and got off to a fast start - 65 in the first round. My 2nd round was pretty sloppy and frustrating, but I battled back on the final day and posted a solid 67 to sneak into the top-10.
5. Lone Tree GC 2.0 - Nearly 2 months after the first tournament at Lone Tree, I went into this tournament excited to see how much my game had improved since January. My first round 68 was nothing special, but the 2nd round 72 had a bit of a rollercoaster type feel to it. Lots of wind on the 2nd day made it play much tougher and I found myself +4 after 10 holes. However, 3 of my bogies were from 3-putts, not bad swings. That gave me some confidence and I birdied 3 of the final 8 holes to get almost all of those bogies back.
The final day was something really special. Another extremely windy day made the stroke average ballon to 73+, but I got off to a blazing fast start. Birdies on 1, 2, 3, 5, & 6 got me "in the zone" and a 25 foot par putt save on 7 kept me focused. A great 6-iron on 8 to 3 feet got me another birdie. On 11, I hit a prefect gap wedge to 6 feet and made the putt. The 12th hole was into a 25 mph wind and I hit 5-iron from 175 yards to about 20 feet, but rolled in the big-breaking putt. Five straight pars through 17 left me with the down-wind, par-5 18th. After a good drive, I had a 6-iron in where I played safely into the center of the green instead of flirting with the water. I left myself 25 feet for eagle and the putt somehow stopped on the front lip, overhanging the cup. I came up 1/2 millimeter from a 61 and a tournament win, but it felt so rewarding to have a great week and an amazing final round.
6. Golf Club of Estrella - I hadn't played the golf course prior to the first round and it showed with a few cautious and careful shots. I rebounded nicely in round 2, with a tidy 65, but the final round was a little bit sloppy and I finished 4th.
7. ASU Karsten Course - A week filled with messy and inconsistent play. Each of the three rounds had moments of brilliance and solid play, but those moments were too short and unsustainable.
8. Legacy GC - Tour Spring Invitational - The "biggest" tournament of the spring had a couple of things riding on it. The Dreamchasers Tour gives out bonus money for every 2 month stretch and going into the last event of April, I had a slim points lead over a couple of players. I played tight during my first round, unfortunately with that bonus money on my mind. Round 2 was much better, with no thoughts but hitting a good shot at my target. The result was a bogey free 62 that got me into contention. The final round was very similar to the 2nd day, but a poor finish (bogey on last 2 holes) left a bad taste in my mouth. Luckily I earned an extra $1000 for winning the March/April points bonus.
9. Ak-Chin Southern Dunes - A week of great ball-striking, great putting, and a great attitude all added up to a wonderful 6-shot victory. A fast start in the first round - birdies on 1,2, & 3 got things rolling and I continued to fire at pins and continued to make putts each day. On the final day, my 6 shot lead was 7 after a chip-in on 4. But my closest pursuer, Nathan Tyler, picked up a shot on 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10 to get within 2 shots. Nathan hit his approach to 10 feet on 11 and I missed the green. My chip rolled outside of Nathan's coin, but I made the par putt and he missed the birdie putt - still 2-shot lead. I birdied 12 and 13 to increase my lead to 3, but 14 was the real gut-check of the final round. On the drive-able par-4 14th, I found the green-side bunker, but Nathan hit a beautiful drive to about 15 feet. I thinned my sand shot over the green and into the back bunker, buried underneath a rake. I chopped my shot out of the buried lie, but it stayed in the bunker. Now, hitting my 4th shot from the bunker with Nathan 15 feet for eagle, I had a thought, "This is it. You've completely blown the lead." I took a deep breath to let that bad thought disappear and it did. I refocused on getting this next shot close. I splashed it out and it rolled down and into the hole - ho-hum par. Nathan missed his eagle putt and my 3-shot lead was 2, with 4 holes to go. After that amazing par save, I played great golf. A perfect drive on 15, followed by and 8-iron to two feet. I laid up on the par-5 16th after both competitors hit it into the weeds and I hit my 3rd shot from 65 yards to 2 feet. A smart 6-iron into the center of the green on 17 lead to an easy two-putt par. Another perfect drive on 18 and a 7-iron safely onto the green lead to an awesome 6-shot victory.
10. Troon North - Monument - Greens that were very bumpy made putting very stressful and frustrating. In the first round, I missed 3 putts that were less than 4 feet. I finally made some putts during the final round and managed to finish t-4th.
11. NorthStar Memorial Classic - Mississippi National GC - I had an ice cold putter all week in Red Wing and wasn't able to take advantage of some great ball-striking. I love that I didn't have a bogey on the front nine all week, but I just wasn't able to catch fire on the back nine.
12. Wigwam Gold - I captured another victory with some solid play at Wigwam Gold in Arizona. I birdied 1, 4, & 6 during the first round to take the lead and I never looked back. My only bogey of the first round was on 17. I hit what I thought was a great 2nd shot, but it went too far and into the back bunker. I made some really sloppy swings on 9 & 10 of the final round, but I quickly rebounded with a great approach shot on 12 and then a hybrid into the center of the green on 14 - and an easy two-putt for birdie.
My schedule for the rest of the summer is posted, with lots of Dakotas Tour events and a few Web.com Qualifiers. I will be better at posting updates with my results.
Neil
