Hello Friends,
I am back. After a long 3 1/2 weeks of travelling and playing tournaments, I'm back home with a week to relax. My long tour started in Michigan where I failed to qualify for the Western Amateur. After that I helped the Wisconsin amateurs beat the Wisconsin pros in the Nelthorpe Cup. After that I travelled to Pinehurst, North Carolina to play in the North South Amateur. I qualified for the match play, but lost my first round. Just getting to the match play was a success because after a first round 76, I was in 111th place. I needed to get to 63rd to make the matches. The second day I played Pinehurst #2 and shot a 1-under par 70. I had a putt at 69, but just missed it.
After North Carolina, I travelled up to Detroit Lakes, MN to play in the Pine to Palm Tournament. I qualfied with 70-67 good enough for a tie for fourth. Unfortuantely I lost my first round. I shot a 68, but that wasn't good enough. I ended up losing in 23 holes.
From Detroit Lakes, I droved to Sheboygan, WI for the Wisconsin State Open. I opened up the tournament with a 1-under par 71. I was very happy with that round because I hadn't seen the course before my round. The second day I struggled and shot a 76. The pins were very difficult for that round and it made me very defensive on my putting. The final day is a 36 hole marathon. I started the day with a 2-under par 70 and finished the tournament with an even par 72. I played well that last day, but in both rounds the other two guys in my group beat me. It's not often that you shot 70-72 on a Pete Dye golf course and get beat by everybody in your group. My 1-over par total of 289 was good enough for T-8th and 3rd low amateur.
That's all for now. I'll update after the Nebraska State Open, which is in a month.
Neil
Friday, August 19, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
Minnesota State Open
Hello Friends,
This past weekend I played in the Minnestoa State Open and something amazing happened. I started the weekend off with a 2-under par 70. I played well during this round, but struggled on the back nine. My front nine consisted of three birdies and no bogies, but on the back nine I made a few to many bogies and I couldn't make birdies. Coming back Saturday morning I was in a good position to make a move. I started the day 2 shots off the lead and after 3 birdies in the first 7 holes I was making that move. Unfortunately after teeing off on the 8th hole the siren blew to get us off the golf course. After a 4 hour rain delay we went back out on the golf course. After the rain delay I was a different golfer on the course. I struggled with the driver and made a lot of mistakes the last 11 holes. I finished the second day with a 2-over par 74. This left me at even par through 2 rounds, 10 shots back of the leader. Due to the long rain delay, not everybody finished their second round so they had to come back early Sunday morning.
I got up not knowing my tee-time and when I got to the course I found out I probably had 2 hours until the final round started. I wasted sometime and when I teed off I didn't feel anything special about the day. Even through three holes, the round was very boring. I failed to birdie a short par 5 and walked to the fourth tee even par. The next shot turned on a switch and started a run of 10 birdies in my final 15 holes. The shot was a 2-iron on a 220 yard hole. I hit it to less than a foot. It was right at the pin the whole time and when it landed I had a feeling it might dissapear. I ended up about 10 inches right behind the hole. I then birdied the next two holes and finished the front nine with birdies on 8 and 9, good enough for a 31. On the back nine I birdied the first par 5 and then made a nice birdie on number 13 after hitting a fairway bunker shot to 10 feet. I then birdied the other par 5 on that side to get to 8 under. Number 15 was my only test for par all day. I hit a good drive, but it bounced two yards into the rough. I hit it to 20 feet above the hole from there. My first putt ran 5 feet by. I made the comeback and that was the only time I didn't make a birdie or tap in for par. I birdie 16, chipped it to a foot on 17, and walked to 18 tee 9-under par for the day. I hit a bad drive, but had a shot and put the gap wedge to 8 feet. The putt was the only time I was nervous all day. I hadn't thought about what I was shooting all day until I reached the 18th green. I wanted to end with one more birdie, but the putt I had was an eight footer that slid from left to right. Like I had done all day, I took a deep breathe and gather myself enough to roll in the putt. My reaction wasn't a fist pump or a cheer, but rather an exhausted sigh of relief. I finally did it, I finally went extremely low in a competitive tournament. Not only did I beat my career best 65 by three shots, I also beat my career comptetive best 66 by four shots. I had never had a round where you're "in the zone" for 15 holes. My group helped me with that. They didn't get in my way and certainly didn't jinx me by talking about how well I was playing. They simply left me alone and let me play golf.
I finished the day 2 shots back, but I was alone in second play and low amateur for the tournament. It was an amazing day that started off like nothing special, but one shot changed that and turned it into a day I'll never forget.
This past weekend I played in the Minnestoa State Open and something amazing happened. I started the weekend off with a 2-under par 70. I played well during this round, but struggled on the back nine. My front nine consisted of three birdies and no bogies, but on the back nine I made a few to many bogies and I couldn't make birdies. Coming back Saturday morning I was in a good position to make a move. I started the day 2 shots off the lead and after 3 birdies in the first 7 holes I was making that move. Unfortunately after teeing off on the 8th hole the siren blew to get us off the golf course. After a 4 hour rain delay we went back out on the golf course. After the rain delay I was a different golfer on the course. I struggled with the driver and made a lot of mistakes the last 11 holes. I finished the second day with a 2-over par 74. This left me at even par through 2 rounds, 10 shots back of the leader. Due to the long rain delay, not everybody finished their second round so they had to come back early Sunday morning.
I got up not knowing my tee-time and when I got to the course I found out I probably had 2 hours until the final round started. I wasted sometime and when I teed off I didn't feel anything special about the day. Even through three holes, the round was very boring. I failed to birdie a short par 5 and walked to the fourth tee even par. The next shot turned on a switch and started a run of 10 birdies in my final 15 holes. The shot was a 2-iron on a 220 yard hole. I hit it to less than a foot. It was right at the pin the whole time and when it landed I had a feeling it might dissapear. I ended up about 10 inches right behind the hole. I then birdied the next two holes and finished the front nine with birdies on 8 and 9, good enough for a 31. On the back nine I birdied the first par 5 and then made a nice birdie on number 13 after hitting a fairway bunker shot to 10 feet. I then birdied the other par 5 on that side to get to 8 under. Number 15 was my only test for par all day. I hit a good drive, but it bounced two yards into the rough. I hit it to 20 feet above the hole from there. My first putt ran 5 feet by. I made the comeback and that was the only time I didn't make a birdie or tap in for par. I birdie 16, chipped it to a foot on 17, and walked to 18 tee 9-under par for the day. I hit a bad drive, but had a shot and put the gap wedge to 8 feet. The putt was the only time I was nervous all day. I hadn't thought about what I was shooting all day until I reached the 18th green. I wanted to end with one more birdie, but the putt I had was an eight footer that slid from left to right. Like I had done all day, I took a deep breathe and gather myself enough to roll in the putt. My reaction wasn't a fist pump or a cheer, but rather an exhausted sigh of relief. I finally did it, I finally went extremely low in a competitive tournament. Not only did I beat my career best 65 by three shots, I also beat my career comptetive best 66 by four shots. I had never had a round where you're "in the zone" for 15 holes. My group helped me with that. They didn't get in my way and certainly didn't jinx me by talking about how well I was playing. They simply left me alone and let me play golf.
I finished the day 2 shots back, but I was alone in second play and low amateur for the tournament. It was an amazing day that started off like nothing special, but one shot changed that and turned it into a day I'll never forget.
Chipping on #17
Chipping on number 17 the final day. It was the one of two greens that I missed all day, but the only time I had to chip. I hit it to one foot and tapped in for my par.
Tee Shot #17
Tee shot on number 17 the final day. It was a 4-iron on a 230 yard par 3. My ball landed near the hole, but bounced over the green. I guess I had a little adrenaline pumping.
Walking
Walking during the final round. I had a great group and they stayed out of my way letting me shot the 62. They treated my like a pitcher throwing a perfect game, they just left me alone. I owe Robbie and Eddie thanks for that.
Flop Shot Day 1
Hitting a flop shot on number 7 the first day. The ball can be seen in the upper right corner. I successfully got the ball up and down.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Wisconsin State Amateur
Hello Friends,
I've posted several pictures from my most recent tournament, the State Amateur. I finished the week tied for 7th with a four round total of 289 (+1). My four rounds were 71, 75, 69, 74. Despite not winning, it was a successful week. Going into the tournament, I felt very confident and hoped that I could play well enough the first three days to give myself a shot to win it on the final day. I definately gave myself that chance. I was three shots behind in a tie for fourth as the final day began. Unfortunately the course was playing very difficult the last day and it was not easy to make up shots. Finishing top ten in the State Amateur was a first for me and it was a good experience to play in the second to last group on the final day.
To start the week out, I play very solid and shot a one under 71. However, one of my playing partners shot a 65 so my 71 got overshadowed. On the second day I hoped to move up the leaderboard, but instead I struggled to shoot a 75. I had triple bogey early in the round and despite my best attempts to come back from it, I could not do any better than three over par. After two rounds I was nine shots back, but still felt like I could win if I shot two rounds in the sixties.
The third round was by far my best round of the week. Driving, putting, chipping, and ball-striking were nearly flawless. I got off to a quick start with three birdies in my first 6 holes and continued with a birdie on 10. Unfortunately my round took a dramatic turn for the worse on number 12. I tried to hit a 2-Iron in the fairway, but I pushed it into the right woods and it kicked into the river. I took a drop and could not punch it out of the woods. I then successfully punched out to the fairway and played a wedge to 15 feet. I just missed the putt for a six and tapped in for a 7. I knew I had climbed way up the leaderboard and I wiped all of that work out with one hole. Thankfully I was able to put the triple bogey behind me rather quickly and get back to playing the way I had the rest of the day. On number 15, I knocked a 7-iron to 3 feet and made the putt for birdie (see picture). Then on the next hole I hit an approach to eighteen feet and made the putt, which probably broke close to eight feet. I almost had my back to the hole on the putt, but the ball fell in on its last revolution. A lip out on number 17 and a good two putt on 18 got me into the clubhouse with a 3-under 69 and a three round total of 215 (-1).
Coming out on the final day, I had accomplished one of my goals for the week. I had a chance to win on the last day. I grinded throughout the entire day despite not hitting it my best. The pins were in very difficult positions and the greens had dried out by the afternoon so they became very fast. I tapped in on 18 for a 74, good enough for a tie for 7th.
Throughout the week I was very impressed with my putting. The greens were very sloped and the pins were in very tricky spots which made it tough to get the ball close. I made plenty of 10-20 footers for pars and birdies and manged to get through the week with only one three putt. It is nice to see the hard work I have done on my putting pay off.
Take care, I have the Minnesota State Open next.
Neil
I've posted several pictures from my most recent tournament, the State Amateur. I finished the week tied for 7th with a four round total of 289 (+1). My four rounds were 71, 75, 69, 74. Despite not winning, it was a successful week. Going into the tournament, I felt very confident and hoped that I could play well enough the first three days to give myself a shot to win it on the final day. I definately gave myself that chance. I was three shots behind in a tie for fourth as the final day began. Unfortunately the course was playing very difficult the last day and it was not easy to make up shots. Finishing top ten in the State Amateur was a first for me and it was a good experience to play in the second to last group on the final day.
To start the week out, I play very solid and shot a one under 71. However, one of my playing partners shot a 65 so my 71 got overshadowed. On the second day I hoped to move up the leaderboard, but instead I struggled to shoot a 75. I had triple bogey early in the round and despite my best attempts to come back from it, I could not do any better than three over par. After two rounds I was nine shots back, but still felt like I could win if I shot two rounds in the sixties.
The third round was by far my best round of the week. Driving, putting, chipping, and ball-striking were nearly flawless. I got off to a quick start with three birdies in my first 6 holes and continued with a birdie on 10. Unfortunately my round took a dramatic turn for the worse on number 12. I tried to hit a 2-Iron in the fairway, but I pushed it into the right woods and it kicked into the river. I took a drop and could not punch it out of the woods. I then successfully punched out to the fairway and played a wedge to 15 feet. I just missed the putt for a six and tapped in for a 7. I knew I had climbed way up the leaderboard and I wiped all of that work out with one hole. Thankfully I was able to put the triple bogey behind me rather quickly and get back to playing the way I had the rest of the day. On number 15, I knocked a 7-iron to 3 feet and made the putt for birdie (see picture). Then on the next hole I hit an approach to eighteen feet and made the putt, which probably broke close to eight feet. I almost had my back to the hole on the putt, but the ball fell in on its last revolution. A lip out on number 17 and a good two putt on 18 got me into the clubhouse with a 3-under 69 and a three round total of 215 (-1).
Coming out on the final day, I had accomplished one of my goals for the week. I had a chance to win on the last day. I grinded throughout the entire day despite not hitting it my best. The pins were in very difficult positions and the greens had dried out by the afternoon so they became very fast. I tapped in on 18 for a 74, good enough for a tie for 7th.
Throughout the week I was very impressed with my putting. The greens were very sloped and the pins were in very tricky spots which made it tough to get the ball close. I made plenty of 10-20 footers for pars and birdies and manged to get through the week with only one three putt. It is nice to see the hard work I have done on my putting pay off.
Take care, I have the Minnesota State Open next.
Neil
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