Tour Championship - Third Round

During our warm-up today, Kevin felt something in his back during a swing with a 5 iron. He told me earlier this week that his back was a little tight but it was not hurting during the golf swing. Today, he said it felt comfortable through the wedges and 8 iron warm up but the second swing with a five iron is when he felt it.

We teed off at 12:15 with Joe Affrunti. The weather was perfect and the wind was not a factor today. I could tell he was favoring his back right from the start. He struggled all day trying to turn through the ball and had to rely on his timing to get the ball on line. We worked through it and managed an even par round (72). Brendan Steele had a great round to take control of the tournament at -14 under par but Kevin's -6 under total is still only 3 shots out of second.

After the round, Kevin decided not to practice and went to get some treatment on his back. Geraldine and I took the kids into downtown Charleston to the Science Center. They had a special Halloween night for the kids, so they put on  their costumes and had a great time.

Tour Championship - Second Round

We teed off at 10:14 with Bobby Gates. It was extremely windy but Kevin was able to get off to a great start. It all started with a 50 foot putt on number one for birdie to get us going. Solid ball striking and great putting produced 5 birdies on the first 6 holes. We miss judged the wind direction on the long par 3 ninth hole and his 3 iron ended up in a tough spot for an up and down. The bogey on 9 left us at 4 under through 9 holes and 5 under total. Two more birdies and one bogey on the back nine gave us the lowest score of the day (67) and put us at 6 under for the tournament. When the day ended, Kevin moved from t-24th to t-4th.

After the round, Kevin just wanted to spend a little time practicing. We hit a few putts, chips, and hit a few balls. Kevin's work yesterday afternoon paid off today as his ball striking was really solid during a tough, windy day. Looking forward to the weekend.

Tour Championship - First Round

Kevin teed off today at 11:40 with last week's winner David Mathis. We were able to shoot under par (71) but it was with a mixed bag of goodies. Kevin struggled most of the day with the driver, missing most of his shots out to the right. He hit it into four fairway bunkers but he was able to hit some great recovery shots. Our only bogey actually came after hitting a solid 6 iron from 188 yards that landed on a down slope on the green and bounced over the green. Kevin's short game and putting was great today.

Kevin had a lot of support today. He had lots of family and friends out and I even had a few friends come out. Mike Sarlo from East Hampton flew down for the week and Coach Rogers drove all the way from Morganton for the day. Geraldine and the kids arrived when we finished and will be here for the rest of the weekend.

Tour Championship - Daniel Island, SC (Monday)

After missing the cut last week in Jacksonville, I decided to spend the weekend at my parents house. I was able to play some golf with my Dad and help Mom out around the house. Kevin ended up driving back home to Aiken and spent the weekend home.

I woke up early this morning and drove to Daniel Island from Jacksonville. It was about a 4 1/2 hour drive and I pulled in a little after 10am. Kevin was planning on arriving around lunch so I went out and walked a few holes before he arrived. I met Kevin just before noon. He had some lunch, registered, signed flags, did interviews, etc, etc, etc. There was a lot of things for him to do before we started practicing. But that is all good!! It's nice to be ranked 11th coming into the Tour Championship and have to take care of a few business things.

After hitting some warm up balls, we played nine holes with William McGirt. Because of the layout of this golf course, the ninth hole does not return to the clubhouse. We played holes 1 and 2 and then skipped over to the 12th hole and played through the 18th. It rained on and off on us while we played. After the round we went to the putting green and worked on his stroke. Kevin worked with the "putting arc". He felt his stroke was getting too far to the inside on the back swing which was producing toe hits on the putter. The "arc" help him find the correct path. After putting for about an hour, we finished up on the range. Kevin is really liking how his swing feels. While we were on the range, the Tour blew the horn to suspend all play and practice due to a thunderstorm that was near the course.

Kevin gets a brand new BMW SUV to drive for the week that is provided by the Tournament. He is staying at his sister's house this week. I am staying will a long time friend, Kevin Sarlo, that has moved here to Daniel's Island from East Hampton, NY. Kevin's younger brother, Michael, was my best friend growing up in East Hampton. Michael will be flying down on Wednesday to spend the week. My family is also coming in on Thursday. It's going to be a great week!!!

Winn Dixie Classic - Jacksonville, FL

Looks like we will miss the cut this week with rounds of 73-69=142. We teed off Thursday at 1:35 with Brain Smock and Craig Barlow. Kevin was off to a solid start (-1 through 7 holes) when he drove his ball into the left rough on number 17 (500yd par 4). With an awful lie, we just tried to advance it down the fairway short of the green but the rough turned the club over and the ball went left into the water hazard. From here we went on to make a triple bogey and never recovered for the rest of the day. Kevin continued to fight his swing and unlike last week, his putter was not able to bail him out. We ended up shooting 3 over. As soon as Kevin finished and signed his scorecard, he was escorted to the clubhouse for a drug test. The PGA Tour randomly selects players for drug testing throughout the year. Unfortunately, since we finished so close to sunset, Kevin was not able to practice after the round.

Today, we teed off at 8:50. Kevin focused on his tempo today and the ball striking was better. Other then one horrible lie in the rough on the 6th hole, Kevin played solid all day. His drive on number 6 found the left rough and the lie was sooo bad, he only advanced a sand wedge 10yds. I was standing only 5 feet from the ball and could not see it. He finished the hole with a double bogey. Not giving up, he continued to work his way around, making 4 birdies on the back nine to shoot 69. Kevin mentioned to me today that he was not comfortable with his stroke and struggled with the reads on the greens.

In the big picture, even though Kevin did not have his A-game this week, we were still 3 under par for 34 holes. If not for two unfortunate lies in the rough, it would be a different story.  He said he felt much better with his swing and thought some of it could be fatigue. This is our fourth week in a row and have one more week left in the season. A little R+R this weekend will do him some good.

Miccosukee Classic - Miami, FL (Second Place)

My apologies to those of you that have missed my blog. My hotel last week did not have wireless internet and I did not make the effort to blog. However, it is nice to know that people are reading this and actually look forward to it. I have been getting emails and txt messages wanting to know what was going on. I'll try to make a better effort this week.

So, I'm sure all of you already know...Kevin finished t-2 last week in Miami. We had another great weekend shooting 71,67,67,67 for the four days. Kevin's ball striking was off, but once again, he showed his ability to score and leaned on great putting and short game to get him through the week. He lead the field in the putting stats and the t-2 moved us into the top 10 on the money list.

We are now in Jacksonville, FL for the Winn Dixie Classic. Kevin had his swing coach, Hugh Royer, come in on Tuesday. They had a great session on the range Tuesday morning and then we took it out on the course for nine holes Tuesday afternoon. We worked on getting behind the ball better on the back swing while keeping his lower body stable. Kevin has the tendency to straighten his right leg during the back swing which keeps his weight over the ball. From this position, he will slide his weight left (in front of the ball) on the down swing which produces left and right shots. Now, he is working on stabilizing his lower body while he tries to get his buttons of his shirt over his right foot. From this position, he is able to release his body keeping the club on the correct swing plane. We are all excited about the progress.

We tee off today (Thursday) at 1:35pm off of number 10. Looking forward to another great week.

Chattanooga Classic - Final Round

Kevin played well once again on Sunday. We teed off at 12:10pm with Jeff Curl. One bad swing with a 3 iron ended up in a water hazard and led to a double bogey on number 13. Other then that one swing, he hit the ball solid all day. After the double, Kevin stayed focused and made three birdies on the last 5 holes to shoot 4 under par (68). Our 15 under total finished t-11th for the week and we moved up one spot on the money list to 17th. It was a great week considering where we stood on Thursday night after one round.

After the round, we loaded up the cars and started our drives to south Florida. Kevin made it to a friends house (The Lastingers) in Valdosta, GA and I made it to my parents in Jacksonville, FL. We both finally made it to Miami this afternoon. A practice day tomorrow, pro-am Wednesday, and then we start all over again on Thursday.

Chattanooga Classic - Saturday

We teed off today at 9:21 with Kevin's good friend David Robinson. It was a great pairing for us and Kevin's game matched the pairing. We had the best warm up of the week and he carried that out to the course. Kevin capped off a nice front nine by making a downhill 40 footer on number 9 and made the turn in 5 under par (31). The shot of the day came on number 10 as Kevin holed a nice wedge shot from the fairway for eagle moving us to 7 under par through 10 holes. A three putt bogey on 15 stalled the bus but a great birdie on the long par 3 17th moved us back to 8 under for the day and that is where we finished. Kevin's 64 today tied the low round for the day and moved us from t-50th to t-11th.

After the round, Kevin let me go and I was able to take Geraldine and the kids to the Chattanooga Aquarium. After the afternoon at the aquarium, we met Kevin and Brittany for pizza. The kids had a blast and now after a little swim at the pool, we are all ready for bed.

We tee off tomorrow at 12:10. After the round, I will be getting into the car and heading to Florida. I am planning on driving 7 hours to my parents house in Jacksonville for the night. Monday will be spent driving from Jacksonville to Miami for next weeks tournament.

Chattanooga Classic

Kevin and I made it home Monday morning from California. He spent Monday and Tuesday in Aiken working with his swing coach before driving here Tuesday night. Our Wednesday was spent playing the pro-am in the morning and hitting balls in the afternoon. We're working on getting behind the ball on the back swing which keeps the club shorter and in control. We had a good practice session and he felt like the swing was getting better.

Our tee time on Thursday was 12:50. We played with Jason Schultz and Andrew Johnson. Kevin struggled with his warm up. He was not hitting it as solid as he was on Wednesday. But as we played the round, he fought through it and hit the ball OK. He was able to drive it well and keep the ball in position. We just struggled with the scoring shots around the greens. Two three putts and a few missed up and downs led to an even par round of 72.

Today, we teed off at 8am. Sunrise was not until 7:40 so our warm up was in the dark under the spot lights. This morning was not as cold as the past few mornings but it was still chilly. Kevin's warm up was much better this morning but he was not able to carry it out to the course. Yet, he once again showed his resiliency and shot a 3 under par 69 to make the cut on the number. Kevin's ability to grind it out when he does not have his best is remarkable. He has not been on his game the past few weeks but he always seems to find a way to give himself a chance. This afternoon was spent once again working on the range and hitting some putts. He had a very good session and we are looking forward to the weekend.

My family is coming in for the weekend. Geraldine and Alex picked Albany up from school and they are on their way here. Kevin's Mom and Dad came here yesterday and Brittany is also on her way here for the weekend. It is nice to be playing close to home and having the family.

Soboba Classic - Miss Cut / Traveling Home

Well, we waited all morning to find out we missed the cut by one shot. Second round play resumed Saturday morning at 7:15am with ideal conditions. It was about 11:30 when the second round was completed and too late to try and change any flights. Kevin decided to head out to the course to do some practicing. We spent a few hours on the range working on ball striking. Kevin spent the entire session working on getting the club "more up" on the back swing. When he did his drills, he hit the ball excellent. Kevin said this drill was nothing new. He has spent many hours working on this drill in the past. He had a lot of improvement by the end of his practice session. After our range session, we went to the putting green. Kevin putted very well this week so we did not work on anything. He just wanted to get some reps so we actually had a little putting contest.....which I lost $25 by the end of the day. (he bought my dinner so he actually lost on the deal!!!)

Today has been spent trying to get home. We are playing in Chattanooga, TN next week so we are both going home for a day. My original flight was scheduled to leave Ontario, CA at 7:10pm connecting in Phoenix to the red eye flight to Charlotte, NC arriving at 6:00am Monday morning. USAir allows me to travel stand-by on earlier flights at no charge. So when I woke up this morning, I called USAir and they told me that there was a flight leaving Ontario at 12:15pm connecting in Phoenix which will get into Charlotte at 9:30pm. They said space was limited but I should be able to get on. Well.....they were wrong. I was able to get on the flight to Phoenix but the flight to Charlotte was full. So...I have been in the Phoenix airport since 2:00pm waiting for my red eye flight leaving at 11:30pm. At this very moment, I have been in Phoenix for 6 hrs and have 3.5 hrs more until my flight. Fun, fun, fun...but I had to give it a try. It would have been great to make it home tonight so it was worth the effort.

As for Kevin and Brittany, they are scheduled on the red eye out of Ontario tonight and will get back to Augusta tomorrow morning. Kevin will spend Monday and Tuesday at home practicing and we plan on meeting in Chattanooga Tuesday night.




 

Soboba Classic - Round 1 and 2

The first two rounds have been filled with delays. Our first round on Thursday was scheduled at 11:50am. Kevin wanted to get out to the club early to get some extra practice in before our tee time.  We arrived about 10am but just before we started out to the range, a mid morning thunderstorm rolled in. Our tee time was postponed until 2:15pm. Sunset is early here so we were able to play 17 holes before play was suspended due to darkness at 6:30pm. Kevin struggled with his ball striking all day. He has not been comfortable with his swing since he arrived here on Tuesday. He hung tough and managed to keep it under par for the day.

Friday morning started early with everyone in position to finish round one at 7:30am. Kevin made par on 18 and finished with a 70 (-1). We had 45 minutes until our second round tee time so we went straight to the range to work on finding something that worked. Round two was much of the same ball striking as round one. Fortunately, Kevin is putting extremely well and he was able to shoot 69 (-2). Shortly after finishing our round, another thunderstorm moved in and play was suspended once again. They were finally able to resume play at 4:15pm. Half the field is still out on the course when play was called for the night.

So, as we go to bed tonight, we are sitting in 49th place. We will have to wait and see how it all shakes out tomorrow morning. Play will resume tomorrow at 7:15am and the cut will be made about noon when everyone finishes the second round. If we do make the cut, we will start round 3 about 12:30. A wise man told me one time to never wish anyone bad luck....just bad weather. So I'm hoping for windy conditions in the morning!!!