Dakota Dunes Open Round 1

For those of you following, you may remember last year at Dakota Dunes Golf Links on the Canadian Tour, I shot -17 and finished tied for 12th. Reliving some of those shots coming into this week, I was quite excited to build on that performance…perhaps too excited. Too much practice time on Tuesday had me spending all day Wednesday rehabbing my stiff and aching left knee. I entered today’s opening round with one goal in mind: to enjoy the day, keep my mind very quiet and worry free and stay patient. Because I continued focusing on achieving these goals, I finished by birdieing my closing two holes of the day to shoot -2, 70. I could have easily become frustrated at various moments throughout the day when my play didn’t live up to its potential. The most obvious moment came at the 7th hole (my 16th since I started on the back nine) when I hit a 340 yard drive that nestled underneath the lip of a bunker which rests in the right center of the fairway. That result led to a scrambling par effort instead of an eagle opportunity and I had lost a stroke to the leaders. I repeated to myself down the very difficult and long 8th hole that if I could hit a great approach shot, I could make up the lost stroke. A perfect 5 iron landed four feet from the hole like a butterfly with sore feet and after I made the short putt, a birdie had me under par. It was patience and the challenge I issued to myself on the approach shot that propelled me to birdies my final two holes. The 70 matches my opening score from last year, although today’s conditions were slightly more difficult. Looking forward to enjoying a great second round at 1:40 pm tomorrow!

SBO Results

After 2 days of playing in the rain, the clouds were blown away by the blustery, swirling winds of Fort McMurray. The winds blew through the narrow tree lined holes as as if being pushed into corridors of a building and then swirling in all directions. It was common today for me to select a shot with the wind blowing in one direction and by the time I was ready to play, the wind had shifted completely. After bogeying three of the first four holes, I regrouped to shoot even par for the day. My 72 hole total of -1 left me tied for 34th position, an improvement of 12 spots from last week. While I need to play par 5s better (usually my bread and butter) and find a way to make a few more putts on the weekend, this is definitely a step in the right direction. The course was one of the narrower and most penal venues the Canadian Tour has stopped at since I gained my tour card (I only hit driver 8 times in 72 holes all week if that is any indication). Thus, my advantage of being a long driver of the ball was removed. Despite this, I still managed to give myself a plethora of very viable birdie chances this week. This means my iron play is improving and my decision making is certainly getting better. All great signs. I take 3 weeks of competitive improvement into this coming week’s event in Calgary. I’ll take tomorrow off and rest my knee in Edmonton and be back in action Tuesday at Bearspaw Country Club. Another great week ahead!

Hope Drenched

It was a long, wet 3rd round today. Rain soaked the course from start to finish with 2 weather delays in between. All time compiled, the final round took just over 8 hours. It was a mental grind. I played the first 8 holes very solid making it through them in -2, then came the weather horn. Two and a half hours later, I teed up on 9. We made it 2/3 of the way down the par 5 11th hole before the rain had caused the second round of green submersion. Nearly two hours of waiting out the 2nd delay and I was back in position at 2 under par and 70 yards from the pin in the middle of the soaked fairway. It was here where the wheels came off. A dead chunked 60 degree wedge led to a bad bogey and 7 more holes of miscues. I finished the day with a disappointing score of even par, 72. The day had lots of potential, but I wasn’t able to sustain an upbeat tempo through the 4 hours of delays. I go into tomorrow’s 4th round at -1 for the tournament and will look to play great to add some momentum to the start of the next event.

Oil Open Round 2

Wild day at the Syncrude Boreal Open. The rain drenched the course during my opening 9 and thanks to some tremendous iron play from the wet, thick rough, (which doesn’t say much about my tee shots) I stepped onto the 10th tee at -2 for the day. The rain abated and the wind kicked up. Our group had fallen 2 holes behind the group in front of us and we were placed “on the clock” (when a rules official times each player and penalizes them if they take more than :40 for one shot). During the three holes we were timed, my swing began to unravel and an indecisive swing following an aggressive approach shot into a par 5 led to a double bogey. My energy had diminished and my faith in my swing with it. A few tentative shots left me 20 feet for birdie on the par 5 8th hole (my 17th). Knowing I was towing the cut line, the putt had to go in and I drained it! I thought I was clear of the cut at -2 for the tournament on the last tee. I then blocked a tee shot 20 yards into the dense trees and found it nestled between three tree trunks. With an unplayable lie and a small opening in the trees, the cut was getting sharper by the stroke. I managed to position my ball 15 feet from the hole in 4 strokes on the par 4 9th. I was sure I had to make the bogey putt to make the cut. I focused, believed and trusted the ball would find the bottom of the cup. After I stroked the putt and looked up, I was very relieved to see the ball fall over the center of the hole with perfect speed! A few fist pumps later, I had made the cut at -1 through 36 holes and began preparing for tomorrow: moving day.

Syncrude Boreal Open Round 1

The Canadian Tour stops in the oil capital of North America this week, Fort McMurray, Alberta, for the $150,000 Syncrude Boreal Open. Fort McMurray Golf Club features narrow holes carved through dense tree lines and attack flies larger than the horses they’re named after. A ball hit into the trees is doomed to be lost and for those crazy enough to go searching, they are at the mercy of the swarms of bugs that pounce like viscous piranhas. I started the tournament by shooting a -2, 70 on day 1. I hit solid shots off the tee and made a couple deft saves around the greens. To ascend the leaderboard tomorrow, I will need to hit my approaches closer to the hole and give myself a few more legitimate birdie opportunities. While I’m not yet healthy, I feel great about the progression of my game in the past month and look forward to a great week!

Canadian Open Qualifier

After the final round of the Western Championship presented perfect scoring condition that I wasn't able to capitalize on (I posted 72 for the day, -9 for the tournament), I drove 5 hours last night to Vancouver for the Canadian Open (5 million dollar PGA Tour event) qualifier today. The traditional layout of narrow, well framed holes and slick greens was sure to be a challenge in the windy, rainy conditions. With most of the 144 players comprising the field being Canadian Tour players, I would need to play a very solid round to advance (the top 22 moved on to the final monday qualifier). That's exactly what I did. I made a 15 foot birdie putt on the day's final hole to post -2, 70 and finish tied for 6th. I will advance to next month's final stage of Canadian Open qualifying and considering I've shot even par of better in five straight days of competition and my knees are finally beginning to feel normal, I am happy with the progression of the last week. Will write more in the coming days as I have this week off before a 5 week stretch of consecutive events. Currently sitting in Vancouver airport cheering on the Bruins....talk about dangerous!

Round 3 Western Championship

I stood on the driving range hitting the ball sideways this morning. The various pieces of my golf swing felt completely out of control and disconnected. As I walked to the first tee, my self pep talk was all about tempo and acceptance. If I could control the rhythm of my swing, I could indirectly control club positions and thus, my shots. If I happened to hit a few shots sideways, I would accept them and enjoy the challenge of scrambling from a tough spot. Well, 16 greens in regulation later (that's hitting the ball very well for all you non-golfers), a cold putter left me with a score of -2, 70 and -9 through 54 holes. Because the round had so much potential, I left the course disappointed; feeling like I had let a chance to get in the hunt (the leader is currently at -17) slip away. While that is certainly true, the larger picture indicates that I've made tremendous strides considering 2 weeks ago, I could barely walk and was convinced I wouldn't compete at all. I play tomorrow at 9:39 and will then drive immediately to Vancouver (5 hours away) for a Canadian Open qualifying round. It's been an exciting week and if a few putts fall tomorrow, a top 10 finish is very attainable.