The 4th and final round of the ATB Financial Classic took place on the 4th of July. I sported the red, white and blue Pin High attire and believed I would make some fireworks. I lost my opening tee shot to the right woods and failed to save par.
Edmonton is a beautiful city with a massive gorge running through it's center. The gorge also guards the right side of the 3rd hole at Edmonton CC. I became a little more familiar with the landmark when I over cut my tee shot into the treacherous gorge. When I failed to convert a crucial bogey saving putt from 20 feet, I had lost three shots to par in the first three holes.
I hit two more poor shots on 8 and 9 leading to bogeys after failing to convert par saving putts. I closed my round solidly, but continued to miss likely birdie opportunities down the final stretch. 75 was the best I could manage on a day where nothing went right. If fireworks were lit, they backfired. This seems to be a reoccurring theme on the final day of play. I haven't been able to maintain a high level of play through 4 rounds of competition.
My body rotation gets a bit quick on the final day causing my downswing to get on top of the proper swing plane resulting in slices and pulls. In my last two day 4 final rounds, putts also have a way of veering away from the hole at important moments in the round.
The best way I know to overcome these final round disappointments, is to keep playing four round events. The more final rounds I play in, the more comfortable I'll become and I will break through and have success.
I don't feel the week has been a total loss though: I hit some great wedge shots, delighted a few fans with drives of epic proportion, tested out a new short putter in competition, and made a little money in the process. My host family, Barry and Susan Kuwalchuk, were absolutely amazing. Barry caddied for me, kept me relaxed and gave me some helpful perspectives. His energetic and very optimistic wife Sue was the best fan on the course!
Prior to last week, I hadn't planned to play this tournament at all. I was very fortunate to have this opportunity to compete and believe I'll be more prepared for success at the next event.
I leave today for the next Canadian Tour event, The Dakota Dunes Open in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
1 comment:
Mark, sorry I have not left a comment in while. I meant to you a text, and have been following closely on your blog. More often at cantour.com when you are playing. This effect sounded like a great experience for you. I know it didn’t turnout like you had hopped or planned, but that is okay. Time to refocus on the next event.
Hope you had time to see some fireworks. It rained all weekend here, 4 days, all day and night. Beane was visiting, but all that really happened was movies and a lot of video games.
Take care and good luck,
~ Bill
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