Asian Tour Round 2

Thanks to a simple and brief email from my coach - Paul Meyer, I made some putts and posted a 3-under 69. I've always over thought Bermuda grass greens. They really are way different than bent grass, which is up north, but I've played numerous rounds on bermuda and I've learned how to properly read the grain. It's just a matter of trusting myself and then making that confident stroke. Any doubt leads to a stroke that doesn't release and then the ball tends to hop instead of rolling.

I got out of my way on the chipping too. Yesterday my short game let me down, failing to get up and down for birdies or pars. Today I made a great save on my second hole (after a solid birdie on the 1st). The up and down on 11 was from 30 feet short of the green and I had to pitch he ball up on top of a tier. I've always struggled with pitches up a tier, regardless of the type of grass. That save, early in the round, felt great because it was a windy day and I started on the more difficult side (back nine).

Yesterday I said the caddies don't have to carry the bags, but my caddy carried for the last 6 holes today because her pull cart broke and started squeaking really loud. She just dropped it off to the side and picked up my bag. She's barely over 4 feet so I adjusted the straps as much as possible. I also dumped the 3 extra water bottles I was hoarding. She's a great caddie who didn't complain about the broken pull cart and she still managed to keep up with me. Anybody out there who has caddies for me knows I'm a fast walker.

Third round is Friday morning, tee times between 7:30 and 9:30 local time. Check results on the Asian tour website:

www.asiantour.com

I'm posting this from my iPhone as I wait for the shuttle back to my hotel. It's not going to be here for another hour and a half, but I'm watching the sun set in a place that could be mistaken for Jurassic Park. Very pretty site, especially without the dinosaurs.

One more note, the first two days I played with a guy from Korea (I assume South, but I didn't ask) and a guy from Chinese Taipei. To say there was a language barrier would be understating it. Everybody could say 'good shot', it in 2 days there has been very little conversing between the players.

Neil