Today's Score: 74
Unfortunately, I was unable to break this trend I've got going with failing to hold it together enough in the second round to make the cut. I realize my goals are greater than just making the cut, but it is still one step at a time. For whatever reason, it seems as though I just keep coming up short; whether it be my swing, putting, course management or even just getting the breaks you need to shoot low scores. This week it was a matter of playing well, but just penalized enough on the few bad shots I hit and costing me crucial strokes.
I began the day swinging well; focused on hitting fairways and greens, waiting for the opportunities to make birdies. 3 pars in a row...solid start. On the par-5 13th (my 4th hole), I pulled my second shot just slightly left of the green and finished right up against a tree. I had to pitch out sideways left-handed and was unable to save par. +1 over thru 4. Two holes later, I 3-putted from a little less than 30ft for bogey. +2 over thru 6. I finished the side with pars and made the turn at +2 over. I was hitting the ball fine, but wasn't getting it close enough to the hole to really make a lot of putts.
I parred the first and bogeyed the second hole of the back nine. My drive nearly missed the fairway and ended up in the worst lie possible in the rough. (Last week I played the fasted greens I've ever putted on and this week I played a course with more/higher rough than I've ever seen. You'd of thought it was the U.S. Open) The best I could do was advance it 60 yards high and right with a wedge and again led to a third bogey. +3 over thru 11. On the par-4 3rd, I felt like my attitude really changed. I was determined not to give in and tried to stay positive as much as I could. Two great shots and I was able to convert about a 10 footer for birdie. +2 over thru 12. Again, I nearly missed the fairway on the next two holes and ended up with no second shot. One, I was fortunate to get up-and-down for par, but the other I was not. Back to +3 over. My second poor swing of the day came on the par-4 7th and for the fifth straight time ended up without a chance to hit the green. I was disappointed to say the least cause I felt like I was trying my hardest to finish strong. Even still, another bogey and now I'm +4 over thru 16.
The same situation as last week except this time there was a small chance that I could still make the cut if it somehow moved to +2 over. All I was thinking was birdie the last two holes and see what happens. I made the best swing of the day for me on the par-3 8th (my 17th hole) and nearly holed out for a hole-in-one. Birdie. One down, one more to go. For the last drive of the day, a solid shot ends up a yard off the fairway and yet again a near impossible second shot. 130 yards...pin tucked on the front right just over the bunker. I decided to go with the hard gap wedge and came up just a couple yards short. I had to go for it. The last blaze of glory came when the ball lipped out from the bunker and came to rest a foot behind the hole. Par.
I shot +3 over (74) today and grinded my butt off until the very end. The cut ended up being +1 over so I still would of come up one stroke short even if that ball would of gone in. However, I felt like if I could of had just one or two situations go my way I could of remained in contention. But, that's golf. You win some, you lose some. This time I can honestly say that I played well and fought 'til the end. I just came up two strokes short. Maybe next week.
As it stands, I plan on playing this coming up week in an Adam's Tour event in Texarkana, TX. I'm excited because Erika will be flying over to Houston today so we can meet up and travel together this week. I can't wait to see her and maybe she's what I need to score well next week. Thanks again to those who continue to read and follow along in this grueling process. I'm sorry if it gets hard to read these blogs that are continually filled with more bad results than good. I promise that I am trying my hardest and still have reason to believe that I can compete on the professional level. I know that looking at the big picture, I'm still pretty much in the beginning of my career. However, success breeds confidence and that's still something I've got to work on. Hope everyone is doing well. I'll have a preview for next week in a couple of days.
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