Hi everyone!
I have some catching up to do with my blogging! It was a pretty busy two and a half weeks of golf and travel. After I left Sarasota, I drove to Ft. Myers for the next Symetra Tour event. The FL heat still kept up with it being very humid and hot all during my practice rounds. My practice rounds were going well and I was starting to feel more comfortable with the course. There are a couple holes at Cypress Lake that are harder for my eyes to adjust to. I attended a dinner party on Wednesday night that was hosted for two sponsors of the tournament. It was fun to meet the people who were putting on such a great new event (Patty Berg Memorial). My first round was Friday afternoon and it was a lot different of a round than I had anticipated. I shot 80 which was now my highest score of the season. I was +6 on my front nine. During those holes I had a triple from a back second shot and a three putt. I kept giving myself chances for birdies but nothing was falling. The back nine went better with being only +2 but it was a tough day to accept my score. I wouldn't say that I played either, it was just a couple holes where I missed some short putts and where some simple golf mistakes occurred. As for my second round, it took about 8 hours to finish because of two rain delays. I felt that I was playing much better my second round but still managed only 1 birdie. I shot 76 but played a lot better than my score. The Patty Berg Memorial was now the first cut I had missed all season. It was frustrating because of seeing simple mistakes out there on the golf course being done. I had another great family for host housing which made things better. A thank you to Steve and Esther for opening up there home to me while I was in Ft. Myers.
My next tournament was Greenwood, SC. Since my friend and I had both missed the cut we decided to make the drive up on Sunday. It was about a 10h 30min drive. You'll have to look at my pictures to see how packed my car was for the drive! On our way we stopped at Keke's Breakfast Cafe....so delicious!! I would recommend it if you are near the north side of Orlando. We arrived in Greenwood that night of May 4th. We had an early turnaround the next day with practice round at 7:30am followed by a junior clinic at 12pm. The course, The Links at Stoney Point, was awesome. I really liked the layout and there were trees that weren't palm trees. It felt like a course back at home. I was happy to see what great new tournament we were about to have in Greenwood. Once my practice round was done, I then headed over to another driving range for the junior clinic. We worked with 8th graders and had stations for putting, chipping, and hitting. I enjoyed this junior clinic too because most of the kids in my group had never done anything with golf before. It was fun to see how happy they got when they did something well at the various stations. After the clinic was over we went back to golf course for a short practice session. It was an early night once it became 9pm. The next day was another 7:30am practice round because of a pro-am that afternoon. The practice round went well and I was feeling good about everything in my game. I felt comfortable out there and confident. That night there was a welcome party for all the players on at the golf course. The dinner was a lot of fun and it was such a beautiful night. We ate outside and the food was from various vendors in the city. You could tell that the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women's Health Classic was doing a wonderful job as their first time hosting this new event. My final practice day was Wednesday. I could only practice and not play because of two pro-ams taking place. I felt very confident at the range with my swing and my putting felt better than last week. I was definitely looking forward to the first round have a having a great week!
My first round was one that couldn't seem possible. I hit 13 greens and had 35 putts. My ball striking felt the best it has in a while but my putting had truly let me down. I had 3 three putts and triple from 67 yards out. I shot 77 and felt as though I should have shot 72. Emotionally that round hurt a lot. I missed short putts that I haven't been missing and I missed some birdie putts in the 10-15feet range that I would normally make. After my round and later that day, I could really see how it like a family out on the road. I had two friends that spoke to me after the round to help cheer me up and keep my confidence up. They also texted me later to make sure I stay positive and to keep thinking good thoughts for tomorrow. It goes along way having great friends on the road while pursuing a professional sport that is mentally and emotionally so hard. My second round went better but still only one birdie. I hit 12 greens that day. My ball striking was good again and my putting was better. I didn't miss any short putts like I did the first round. The wind picked up and that made for some tougher approach shots into the greens. Two birdies in 36 holes isn't very good especially when I see the great chances I am giving myself. Once Friday was over, I missed my second cut in a row. I was disappointed because my game felt great all week and it was except for about 5 holes. Every shot counts and I'm trying to figure out how to eliminate the simple mistakes.
I did enjoy my whole week in Greenwood and staying with my host family Bill and Sue. They have the best view on the golf course as you'll see in my pictures. I again, am so thankful for the wonderful people I met the past two weeks for host housing.
Since I didn't play as well as I was expecting, I drove up to Asheville, NC on Saturday night to stay and visit with my host family from last year. It was a great help to cut off two hours of my Sunday drive back home. I also had fun visiting with Robert and Pat since I decided to skip the Symetra tournament in Asheville to go back home and practice for my US Women's Open Qualifier next week. As I travel more and more, it's great to visit and catch up with people I met last year. It certainly helps to make traveling not as stressful. Even though Asheville is one of my favorite stops it was really hard to skip the tournament. I had lesson with my swing coach and I think we have my putting heading in the right direction! I played a practice round yesterday for my qualifier and am ready to put a couple more days of good practice in before playing Monday. Keeping my head up and staying positive, knowing that something good will happen if I keep working at my game!