Today's Score: 76
Well, I went 35 holes without a 3-putt and on my very last hole today I 3-putted from 10ft for birdie. Not that it would of made any difference, but the fact that it came on the last hole from that close left a really bad taste in my mouth.
The day turned out to be better than expected in terms of the weather. The front that passed through last night brought in some colder temperatures and high winds, but not to the extremes they had predicted. I'd say on front nine the wind was gusting into the low 20's, but calmed down significantly towards the end of the day. As I started the round, I knew I needed to make birdies, but had to be patient because of the weather. I tried to attack the par-5 4th, but hit a really poor pitch shot from just in front of the green and came away with par. The next hole was playing straight downwind and after killing my drive I was 20yrds from the green looking at another good chance for birdie. This time, I hit what I thought was a good pitch shot but the ball hit and rolled out about 15ft passed the flag. Another par. The next hole we turned right back into the wind, and the knock-down shot I attempted to play into the green got swallowed up and finished short left of the green. Another failed up-and-down and a bogey 5. From there, it was the par-5 7th where I really began to get frustrated. Still playing into the wind, I hit two great shots to get pin high in two just off the green. It was as easy of a chip shot you could ask for and once again I didn't get it up-and-down. I guess after watching so many putts come to an abrupt stop after feeling like you just killed it, I continued to anticipate my chips reacting the same way. But for whatever reason, they all would hit and roll out and I just didn't leave myself close enough putts to convert the up-and-downs. So, I pared in for a +1 over 37.
The back was much of the same except I really began to struggle with my distance control. The wind began to swirl as it was dying down and many times I was left posing on a shot I thought was good only to watch it come up short of the green or fall well past the flag. Two more failed up-and-downs on the first 4 holes of the back nine and I was now +3 over for the day. I knew I needed to get to at least even par for the tournament if not under par if I wanted any chance of making the cut, which meant I needed to birdie just about every hole coming in. I gave myself three pretty good looks, but being late in the day and after 100 players walking all over the greens, they were nearly impossible to putt on. There were footprints everywhere and it seemed every putt I hit looked like that game plinko on the Price is Right. Without trying to divert all the blame away from myself, I'd like to believe this was the cause of the 3-putt I had on the last hole where the 1ft tap in coming back for par broke 3 times and never touched the hole.
So, I'm pretty disappointed in the outcome of this week. This course fit my game and I'm playing well enough to shoot good scores. I'm a little surprised that my short game was once again below average, but at the same time, I should of hit a few more greens in regulation. I had my opportunities throughout both rounds to get things going, and just wasn't able to capitalize. The good news is my confidence is as high as ever when it comes to my swing and I feel like I can play anywhere. I just need to tighten up the short game and everything else will take care of itself. I've got the next few days off before playing a practice round for the next event on Saturday and then the first round beginning on Monday.
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