One of the Longest Days I Can Remember

My Saturday began with a wake up call at 5:15 am. I got ready for the day and arrived at the golf course at 6:30. I didn't leave the golf course until 7:30 pm. I played 31 holes of golf, sat around for an hour waiting to see if I made the cut, and then waited another hour to begin my third round.

First let me explain the second round. I only played 5 holes on Friday before severe weather moved in and forced us to finish Saturday morning. We restarted at 7:45 am and I finished with an even par 72, but there was a lot of drama. My first 15 holes were normal but on my sixteenth hole (#7) I hit my third shot over the green and into some thick rough. I had a very difficult chip that would be down hill the entire way. Thankfully I had a good lie and hoped to just flop the ball barely onto the green and let it run to the hole. Unbelievably the ball did just that and dropped right into the hole for a birdie. At this point, I got ahead of myself and started thinking about the afternoon round. I three-putted number 8 from about 25 feet and then hit a poor approach and a weak chip on number 9. I was left with a 5 foot putt to make the cut. It was a severely breaking putt from right to left and the ball did an entire 360 circle before dropping in. What an emotional way to finish my second round and make the cut on the number.

Round three began with a double bogey, but I played well the remaining 8 holes on that side. Making the turn for my final nine holes of the day, I missed several quality opportunities to make birdies. The first four holes on the front nine I had no more than 110 yards into the hole for my approaches and I wasn't able to make any birdies. After making an amazing save for par on number 5 I made a mistake on 6 and put my tee shot in the worst spot; another double bogey. I followed that up with some more loose shots and finished with a 2 over par 74. The third round should've been much lower, but after a long day at the course my mind lost focus and it cost me a few shots. At least I've got one more round to put together 18 great holes.

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Neil