Adam's Tour (Beaumont, TX) - Beaumont Open - Second Round

Score: 76

I'm late again on this post because after missing the cut I decided to make the drive back to Cut Off, LA where Erika's family lives. She was there recovering from sinus surgery that she had done on Tuesday so it was good to be able to help take care of her. Everything went well and she's already feeling better so we're thankful for that.

Yesterday was quite the adventure. The day started much like the first round with a 2 hour rain delay except this time I never teed off. I had finished my warm-up and was about two groups away from beginning my round when the officials blew the horn. When we did finally restart, it was yet again more struggles with my swing. For the first nine holes, I hit the ball as crooked as I have all year. I shot +7 over (43) on the front and had to dig deep to find the motivation to make the turn and keep playing. Nothing was going my way and I just felt completely lost out there. Not a fun place to be.

This is where it gets confusing. From the very first shot on the back nine, everything changed. It was like all of sudden the ball decided it wanted to cooperate and I began hitting fairways and greens like whatever was going on during the first nine holes didn't happen. I made 4 birdies and 2 bogey's (both of which should of been avoided) and finished at -2 under par (33) to end the second round. A difference of 10 less strokes from the front nine to the back......craziness.

Where I particularly get confused is that I didn't do anything differently. I made it a point before I began the round to commit to every shot and swing aggressively. No more scared or "steered" swings. And that's what I did. Why it worked for only half the round beats the heck out of me. I do know that it cost me a chance at shooting a good score and making the cut so I'm certainly frustrated in that sense. I need to make sure that in my future practice sessions I'm able to come up with a "plan B" to fall back on when things aren't working on the course. +7 over par in nine holes is unacceptable and I'll do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen again.

The Positive: For the second straight week, my putting improved. I did have one 3-putt this week, but for the most part, it was better overall. I'm starting to make some putts in the 10-20ft range which helps keep the round going. I made some good par-saving putts as well. If I can keep improving that part of my game and get my swing back on track, I think that will be the combination I've been looking for. I did hit balls late this afternoon once I got back to New Orleans and was able to hit on something that was working REALLY well. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's a swing thought I can continue to work on and come out of this minor "funk" even better than before.

I've got the next week off and then I'll be heading back to Texas for two Hooter's Tour events back-to-back. That's it for now.....thanks for reading this far.....I know it was a long blog. Hey, it was a long two days.

Adam's Tour (Beaumont, TX) - Beaumont Open - First Round

Today's Score: 71

Due to a three and a half hour rain delay, we didn't begin our round until 4:30 this afternoon. Exactly four hours later, our group finished up on #18. After a quick bite to eat for dinner, I'm finally back in the hotel room just before 10:00. Since it's going to be a later night than I would of liked, I'm going to keep this post short and sweet.

I started off the day very poorly. A lot of bad swings and shots way offline. I managed to keep my score at +2 over par through the first 5 holes. Not great by any means, but it could of been worse. From then on, things slowly began to turn the other direction. I hit a few good shots and made some putts. I finished the back nine with 3 birdies and 1 bogey to finish at even par for the first round.

Not a bad score, but I'm getting lapped by the field. As I mentioned yesterday, the course is short and there are a lot of birdie holes out there. The guys that played this morning really had a big advantage playing in ideal weather conditions. I think the scores in my wave are a little higher considering we played half the day in the rain and had to deal with the long delay early in the afternoon. Needless to say, I've got to put together a really good round tomorrow if I'm going to make the cut. That's all there is to it.

My tee time tomorrow is 9:00 off #10.

Adam's Tour (Beaumont, TX) - Beaumont Open - Preview

This week's Adam's Tour event is being played in Beaumont, TX at Beaumont Country Club. This is easily the best conditioned course we've seen all season. From the moment I walked up to the putting green, I could tell they had done a great job of getting the course in shape for the tournament. 45 holes of practice round play later and I have to say this course is probably my favorite so far. I really like the layout.

As I mentioned, I've played 45 holes in the last two days of practice rounds so I feel like I've got a pretty good idea on how to play this course. Its pretty short in terms of overall yardage and offers a decent amount of room if you hit a shot offline. However, the rough is thick and the greens are small and fast so hitting the fairways will be a big advantage to making birdies.

The total size of the field this week is 87 players. With the recent changes the Adam's Tour has made to their tournament structure, only 35% of the field will make the cut. Also, the purse's are slightly smaller now due to the lack of participation so we're playing for a little less money. But, it's still good experience and we're still going by the philosophy of "any check is a good check."

My tee time tomorrow is 1:00 off #1. Should be another hot one.....

Adam's Tour - Capital One Classic (Houma, LA) - Second Round

Today's Score: 76

I'm a little late getting this blog posted. We had a 2 hour rain delay yesterday which pushed everything back and I wasn't able to get anything written up last night. I guess you could say I wasn't rushing to write about this round either.

For the second straight week I have managed to play two rounds of golf back-to-back in completely different ways. Thursday's round I was swinging the club well, hitting shots like I wanted and pretty much in control of my game. Today, the exact opposite. The golf club felt foreign in my hands, I had no control over the ball and I was searching the entire day for a swing thought that would help me turn things around.

Fortunately, I was able to grind out a -1 under par (35) on the front nine. I'd say I definitely got the most out of those first nine holes as I could because things were shaky from the very beginning. On the back nine, the wheels finally came off. I still thought that there was a chance I could get it around similar to what I did on the front, but my lack in confidence proved to be too much to overcome. I made double bogey on #10, bogey on #12 and double bogey on #15 for a +5 over par (41) to finish the day.

I know that the changes that I've made in my swing after working with Brian the last couple of months are still relatively new. Being able to trust yourself and commit to what you know is right is a lot tougher to do under pressure than it is hitting on the driving range. Days like the second round I feel like half of me wants to swing like I used to and the other half is trying to swing the club the new way. So, I basically get stuck in this bubble and I get caught battling back and forth between the two. With that being said, I'm still 100% committed to the work that we've done and I think the results and successes I've had since making these changes is proof that I'm on the right track. It's just going to take time before everything becomes natural and I'm able to play multiple rounds in a row like I want and not fight my swing in competition from one day to the next.

So, no check this week, but I will be able to take some good out of this tournament. I think that I just might of found a legitimate thought in my putting that I can take forward. For three straight rounds (two plus the pro-am) I didn't have any 3-putts and finally started making some. If nothing else, I'll take that because I know that's going to be the most important thing going into this stretch of tournaments coming up. I'm confident that my swing will work itself out and I'll be able to trust myself more and more under pressure.

We're back in New Orleans now. Just a quick stop as I'll be on the road tomorrow heading to Beaumont, TX for the next Adam's Tour event. I'll have a preview of that event on Tuesday. 'Til next time......

Adam's Tour - Capital One Classic (Houma, LA) - First Round

Today's Score: 72

First and foremost, I did not have a 3-putt today so I'm very excited about that. I was fortunate to have a friend of mine (Jason) come down and caddie for me. It never hurts to have a second pair of eyes helping you read the greens....especially someone who I consider to be a very good putter.

Today was another solid first round to start a tournament. I began the day with a birdie on #10....a hole that has been my nemesis in year's past. From there, I played a little conservative making 7 pars in a row, but I was hitting good shots and giving myself chances for birdies. On #18, my first poor swing of the day was a drive that found the water left off the tee. I managed to hit a great 5-iron into the green to about 10 feet but failed to save my par. So, I turned at even par and was feeling good about my game.

Starting the back nine, things got a little shaky for the first couple of holes. I hit a poor second shot into #1 that ended up plugged in the greenside bunker. That lead to a bogey (5). Then I caught a flier out of the rough on my second shot into #2 which finished about 20 yards over the green. It was a near impossible up-and-down and lead to a third consecutive bogey. I wasn't too worried at this point. I think having more competitive rounds under my belt has helped me stay calm and know that I can make a few birdies and get back on track. And that's exactly what happened. I was able to birdie both par-5's coming in and just nearly missed birdieing another hole after hitting a wedge to about 5 feet.

Overall, it was consistent round of golf. Even par isn't anything to jump up and down about, but it does keep me in contention going into tomorrow. The rain has made this course play a little longer than normal so there hasn't been any really low scores yet. If I can clean up a few of the unforced errors that I made today, I feel like there's a round in the 60's out there for me to go get. My tee time tomorrow is 12:40 off #1. Hope everyone is doing well and staying out of this heat as much as possible.

Adam's Tour - Capital One Classic (Houma, LA) - Preview

This week's tournament is called the Capital One Classic being played at Ellendale CC here in Houma, LA. This is a course I'm very familiar with and feel confident playing. I've always said this was one of my favorite courses in Louisiana so I'm happy to be participating in this event.

So far I've been able to play 9 holes on Monday, 9 holes on Tuesday and 18 holes today. I was scheduled to play in the pro-am today, but they didn't have enough teams sign up so a handful of pro's got paired together in what basically turned into a third practice round for me. We were, however, involved in the skins challenge which includes all pro's playing today so that kept things interesting throughout the round. I started on #10 and made 5 birdies in the first 8 holes so there's a chance I might of picked up a little cash on the side if any of them hold up.

For the second day in a row, we've seen the afternoon showers unload quite a bit of rain on the course. It had been a while since this area had seen any rain so the course should be able to handle the moisture and drain rather quickly. Other than that, Ellendale is in as good of condition as I have ever seen it. Once again, I'm excited about this week and look forward to building on last weeks performance. My tee time tomorrow is 8:10 off #10.

Adam's Tour - Mary Bird Perkins Open - Fourth Round

Today's Score: 75

Well, today was not the finish I was hoping for. The swing that I was fighting all yesterday got the best of me today. It was a battle from beginning to end and this time the best I could do was a +3 over par round of 75. It's frustrating to know what I was doing wrong and not being able to correct the problem. There were times when I would hit a shot the way that I wanted to, but for the most part I struggled committing to the swing that I know works. I don't have the answer as to why I slowly lost trust in the way I was hitting the ball. I guess when you're not used to playing four rounds of competition in a row it takes some getting used to performing every day of a tournament. What I do know is that I was still able to put myself in position to shoot a decent score but once again my putter let me down. This time a total of four 3-putts throughout the round prevented me from possibly putting together a score similar to yesterday. These posts are probably beginning to sound like a broken record if they haven't already.

Looking back at the tournament as a whole, I'm pleased about shooting three consecutive scores under par and putting myself in position to have a solid finish. Going forward, I've got to do a better job of getting more out of my rounds when I am playing as well as I did the first two days. During both of those rounds, I hit 32 of 36 greens in regulation, made 9 birdies and was only able to come away with a -3 under par total. If I can take advantage of days like that then one off day out of a four round tournament won't be as costly. But again, the biggest issue is putting and the only thing that's going to allow me to have the results I'm shooting for.

So, all I can do is continue to practice and try to improve. There's not a whole lot of time however as my next event starts on Thursday of this coming week. It's another Adam's Tour event that is going to be held in Houma, LA at Ellendale C.C. I'll be heading down that way either Monday or Tuesday to get in couple practice rounds. Hopefully, I can carry over this momentum into next week and have an even stronger showing.

Side Note: I want to mention that these last two rounds I had Erika caddie for me on Friday and Mickey (her brother) caddie today. They were both a huge help to me as the heat was certainly a factor all week. Having them there with me made me feel good and I'm lucky to be apart of a family that supports me so much. So this is a big thank you to them.

Adam's Tour - Mary Bird Perkins Open - Third Round

Today's Score: 71

If there was ever two completely different ways of shooting 71 it would my round yesterday and today. Yesterday, I played well all day and today was just terrible....both days turned out to be a -1 under round of 71. Funny game. This was one of those days where I'm glad there are no pictures as to how I ended up shooting the score that I did. Trust me....it wasn't pretty. From the very first hole, all the way to the end, I was fighting my swing and really struggled to keep the ball in play. I never once felt comfortable and couldn't seem to get into any sort of a rhythm. Fortunately, I was able to grind out a score under par and keep myself in position finish well in this tournament.

Just for the record, I did have one 3-putt today but this time it was for a par as I hit the par-5 18th in two. So, I've still got that going for me which is annoying. I'd hate to have a round without a 3-putt....it just wouldn't feel right.

Tomorrow is a new day. If I can slap it around like I did today and shoot under par, then I should be able to put together a round in the 60's if I can get back to what I was doing the first two days. I've moved up ever so slightly into a tie for 23rd place currently, so tomorrow I'm first off #1 at 8:00.

Adam's Tour - Mary Bird Perkins Open - Second Round

Today's Score: 71

After shooting a -1 under par round of (71), I've made my second cut of the season on the Adam's Tour. It was another solid day on the links. I played the entire front side without really missing a shot. I pulled a drive slightly on the 9th hole, but other than that, I was executing shots just like I wanted to. The front nine consisted of 3 birdies and 1 bogey.....the bogey coming from a 3-putt on the 5th hole. Again, it was not a very difficult putt and should of been pretty routine. It was even more disappointing considering the 5th hole is a tough par-3 that requires a good shot just to hit the green.

As I made the turn, everything seemed to carry over to the back nine. I was swinging well and giving myself opportunities for birdies. However, on holes #12 & #13, I ran into a little bit of trouble. On the 12th hole, I flat out topped my tee shot no more than 100 yards. I can't remember the last time I topped any shot let alone a tee shot. It was definitely a humbling experience. Fortunately, I was able to give myself a chance for par from about 5ft but failed to convert the putt. Then, my tee shot on the 13th hole found the water left. It wasn't that bad of a shot really, but I just pulled it slightly and it bounced a few times into the lake. So, after making back-to-back bogey's I erased what I had done on the front side and I was back to even par for the day. From then on, I got back on track and was able to make one more birdie coming in.

Overall, it was a good day. I'll admit things were a little nerve racking considering I felt like I was bouncing around the cut line all day. In the end though, the cut dropped to -1 under so I was able to get in with a little room to spare. It feels good knowing that I'll be able to play two more rounds. Kind of a relief actually cause it's been a while since I made my last cut. Hopefully, I'll be able to carry over the way I've been playing to the next couple of days. Once again, the day my putter decides to make an appearance I might actually be able to shoot a low score. I'm currently in a tie for 25th place so I'll be looking to move up the leaderboard even more tomorrow. My tee time tomorrow is 8:18 off #10.

Adam's Tour - Mary Bird Perkins Open - First Round

Today's Score: 70

If you would of told me that I was going to shoot -2 under par in my opening round today I would have of been quite pleased. Unfortunately, the 3 bogey's I made today were from two 3-putts and a bogey from 100 yards out on the last hole. So, apart of me is still a little disappointed. I played well all day from tee to green hitting 7 fairways and 14 greens in regulation. The maintenance crew has narrowed up the fairways on every hole; no more than 10 yards wide in some areas. Therefore, hitting a fairway takes an absolutely perfect drive. And 3 of the 4 greens I missed were less than a couple feet away from being on. Judging by that, I'm very pleased with how I hit the ball throughout the round. The big question is still, "when is my putting going to finally show up?" Again today I had 31 putts plus 3 more from just off the green as I just mentioned. In my head, I count that as a total of 34 putts which falls under the category of "UNACCEPTABLE!"

This was a textbook round of about a 67, but when you have 34 putts, it becomes a 70. Overall, it's a solid start to the tournament and I'm pleased that I put myself in position to do well this week. As I wrote about last time, this course is going to give up a lot of good scores. It's playing relatively easy as the course is in great shape and the weather (aside from the heat) is good for golf. That means tomorrow I need to put together a round similar to today and hopefully get a few more putts to fall. I've got to clean up the 3-putts....especially when looking at an 8 footer for birdie like the one I had today. My tee time tomorrow is 1:00 off #1.


Side Note: I forgot to mention that yesterday's blog was the 100th post since starting this page back in September of last year. I just want to say thank you to those who continue to read my blogs and support me in this journey as a professional golfer. This is an extremely tough career path and without everyone's support, success would not be possible. Thank yall again so much.

Adam's Tour (Baton Rouge, LA) - Mary Bird Perkins Open Preview

Well, the first round of this weeks Adam's Tour event starts tomorrow and I'm ready to get back to competition again. This has been one of the longest breaks so far between tournaments so I'm even more excited for tomorrow's round. Another reason I'm looking forward to this week is because we're in Baton Rouge, LA. It's a city that means a lot to me and it feels good to be back here. The course we're playing is called Santa Maria Golf Course which we really never played much while I was on the golf team at LSU. But, it's a very fair layout and is susceptible to low scores. I've been able to put in three practice rounds in the last week; one of which being the pro-am which I played in this morning. This is one of the biggest tournaments of the year and because of that the pro-am they put on today had a really big turn out. I felt like it was very well run and I was pleased to participate in it.

I feel good about this week. I've played 6 full rounds in the last week and a half and haven't shot worse than 72. The other four were a 67, 70, 71, 71 and 68. My putting has shown up at times so if I can carry all that over to this week I would expect to shoot some good scores. The forecast shows that is should be a relatively dry week for golf, but definitely going to be feeling the heat. My tee time tomorrow is 8:30 off #10.