The First Event

Well, I just finished my first tournament as a professional, and it was certainly a week of many positives and negatives for me. It was very exciting to begin this new phase in my golfing career, and there is a long, uphill battle to fight as I move ahead!

I shot 78-75, and missed the cut by quite a few shots. The field is cut to the top 30% of players after the second round, so you have to be inside of the top 20 in order to make it through to play the final round, and to make money. It was a tough two days, but it was most definitely an eye-opener to what I need to work on, and what needs to improve greatly as I progress.

I did not drive the golf ball well at all over the two days. I was very nervous, and I let this get to me when I was on the tee boxes. I have always been a big believer that the driver is the most important club in the bag, as it sets your entire hole up, and I struggled all week. I was not putting committed swings on the ball, and as a result, was hitting the golf ball into a lot of places that you cannot score well from. This is something that I most definitely need to work on, and I need to gain the confidence to make good, committed swings off the tee. There were a lot of holes at Cypress Lakes that you could make birdies on, assuming you hit good tee shots, and I let those opportunities slip by due to my inconsistency off the tee box.

I also struggled a little on the greens, missing some putts that I should have made. I found myself getting a little timid, and not finishing my putting stroke, which resulted in leaving a lot of make-able putts short. I only three-putted one time, which was decent on the fast greens we were playing, but I missed a lot of make-able putts that could have helped my scores. I have been working hard on my speed control, and striking my putts solid, and I know this will continue to improve. I was very happy with my distance control with lag putts, but the short ones need to be hit with more authority and a little better speed.

I am very happy with how my attitude was over the past few days, even though I was very nervous, and struggling with my game. It could have been very easy for me to get down on myself, get frustrated, and throw in the towel, but I grinded from the second I put the tee in the ground on the first hole until I putted out on the eighteenth, both days. I am very happy that even though I got off to poor starts both days, I was able to grind it in without giving a lot of shots away the first day, and improve my score over the last 13 holes today. With a better start, I know I could have posted some good numbers, but even though I struggled, I am happy to know that my mental attitude was positive, and I did not give up.

As I look ahead, I am not sure if I will play in the next event on the Winter Series, which begins on Monday of this coming week. I want to be ready to play, and I want to be ready to compete, and I think it might be better to spend this week working on the things I need to work on, before I hit the final stretch of four events before the Christmas break. I have not decided one way or the other, but I have until Saturday night to make a decision on whether I enter or not. No matter what happens, I know that I am moving in the right direction, and I will only get more comfortable playing professional golf. I need to begin trusting myself more that I do belong out here, and that I do have the ability to play with these guys!

Take care everyone!
Stew