Mayakoba Classic - Second Round

We had our chances today. Kevin got off to a great start - birdies on the first three holes to get us back to two over for the tournament. He did not feel great during our warmup and he told me before we teed off that his back was tight. After our warmup, I was surprised with the start as he came out hitting it close on all three holes. But as the round went on, he was really having trouble turning and getting his body to respond to the things he was trying to do. When this happens, his body and arms are out of sync. A poor bogey on the 7th hole from 115 yards and then a three putt for par after hitting the par 5 8th hole in two shots killed the momentum. He hit another great shot to 4 feet on the par 3 tenth to keep us in the game but we were unable to convert the birdie putt. He kept fighting but a tee shot left into a water hazard and then right into another water hazard on holes 13 and 14 closed the door on our chances for making the cut. We finished with an even par round of 71 for a 5 over total. The cut fell at even par.

Kevin was not pleased with his ball striking but I feel the two days can be summed up by lack of scoring. Yes, he struggled with his back and ball striking but we also left too many shots out on the course. I felt like we left at least three shots a day out there just on and around the greens. When the ball striking is off, we need to find a better way to get the ball in the hole. It can also relieve the pressure on the long game. Even though we had four penalty shots over the past two days, those two or three shots around the greens each day would have kept us around for the weekend.

After the round, Kevin and I talked about the next few weeks. He will not get into the Honda Classic next week, so he has to Monday qualify to get into the event. We both agree it would serve him better if he just went back to Aiken and took a week to get better. Our next start will be Puerto Rico in two weeks. We both changed our flights and will be leaving Mexico tomorrow. Kevin is heading home and I'll be heading to Fort Lauderdale, FL. My car is in Fort Lauderdale so I'll pick up my car and drive back to NC on Sunday for the week.  

Mayakoba Classsic - Round One

We got off to a poor start today. Three over through 3 put us in a tough position. With the wind blowing a steady 20mph all day, we had a difficult time getting the ball close to the hole. Kevin's ball striking was not as solid as the practice rounds and the windy conditions magnified the loose shots. We made the turn at 3 over but poor tee shots on the 3rd and 5th holes led to bogeys on our back nine. Kevin's back tightened up on the back nine. He mentioned to me with about 6 holes remaining that his back was starting to bother him. We finished the day at 5 over (76). After the round, Kevin was taking by a Tour official for random drug testing. Each day, a few guys are selected for testing and today was his turn. We spent the afternoon working on a few things on the range, chipping and putting. We will need a good round tomorrow!!  

Mayakoba Classic - Mexico (Practice Days)

Mayakoba is about 40 minutes south of Cancun. I arrived Monday about 1:30 and Kevin was already practicing. After a quick lunch we went out for a nine hole practice round. Kevin was home last week and hurt his back while practicing on Tuesday. An MRI on Wednesday showed a bulging disk and an annular tissue tear. Two cortisone injections, exercise, and stretching will help reduce the inflammation and hopefully manage the pain. Kevin was a little stiff starting out but I was very impressed how well he was hitting it. We spent extra time chippping and putting and finished up just before sunset. Kevin never complained and he seemed to be pleased with how his back felt.

We woke up early on Tuesday for an early morning practice round. After a nice warmup, we played the back nine. Kevin continued to hit it well. He is focusing on getting into the perfect posture to help relieve the stress on his back and he is hitting it solid. After the nine, we worked on some more short game. Not wanting to overwork the back, our day was done by noon.

Today, we were not in the Pro-am. After a morning workout, we went out and had a nice lite practice session. Kevin said his back feels fine. He looks comfortable and he continued to hit it well today. We have not had to work on anything new and we just continue to build on the things he and Rickey have been working on. We tee off tomorrow morning at 7:50 off of number 10.

ATT Pebble Beach Pro-am - Final Round

The unusual format of the pro-am put us out in foursomes today. We were paired with Sean O'hair, Arjun Atwal and John Merrick. Kevin once again drove it awesome. He led the field this week in driving accuracy. (that should solidify his belief on the things he and Rickey Sullivan are working on. Going from last to first in driving accuracy is pretty impressive) We ended up shooting one over par on a very difficult scoring day. Pebble's greens are so firm and fast it was very difficult to get the ball in the correct positions. We had tough up and downs and had to putt defensive most of the day. Our opening nine was almost a carbon copy of our first round at Pebble. We bogeyed the 15th with a three putt and then backed that up with another bogey on 16. But Kevin kept fighting and birdied number 1,2 and 5 to get it back under par for the day. Bogeys on the 7th and 8th to finish the day left us disappointed on a day that "could have been". But, we finished t-39th and know that we are well on our way to bigger and better things.

Kevin is not in the field next week. He was able to fly back home tonight with Mr Rice on his private jet. (we played with Mr Rice during our practice round on Tuesday). As for me, the caddy, I am sitting in San Jose airport waiting for my 7:15pm flight to Phoenix. Then I get to wait 2 hours for my red eye flight that leaves at 12:15am and arrives into Charlotte at 5:50 am tomorrow. But I wouldn't trade for the world. I don't care how, just get me home. I'm looking forward to a week at home!!!

ATT Pebble Beach Pro-am (Spyglass) - Third Round

Mission accomplished. We're playing on a Sunday. Our round of even par 72 was an up and down day. Kevin continued to drive the ball extremely well, missing only one fairway, but we struggled a bit with the irons. A bad break with the lie in a greenside bunker on our second hole and a poor 8 iron on our third hole put us two over par early. Kevin steadied the ship and he was able to get it back to even par through 10. Some great up and downs kept us in the game at even par and then a great three wood to six feet led to an eagle on our 16th hole. It was short lived as we missed the green and then three putted the next hole for a double bogey. A nice up and down for par on the last hole kept us at 3 under par for the tournament, one shot inside the cut number. We tee off tomorrow morning at 8:01. I am scheduled to fly home tomorrow night on the red eye but all of that can change with a top 10 finish. We are not in the field for next weeks event but a top 10 finish here will get us into that field. I would love to have to change my plans!!

ATT Pebble Beach Pro-am (Monterey CC) - Second Round

The Kiz that I have come to know and love showed up today!!! We finally had the round we have been looking for all year. The ball striking and putting was solid all day. Kevin hit every fairway and only missed two greens. Those two greens were missed with a 2 iron hybrid and a 3 iron. He was tested in the middle of the round with an eight foot par putt on 7 and then another six foot par putt on 8. He made both to keep the momentum up and shot a nice 4 under par on the back nine to shoot 65 (5 under) for the day. Tomorrow we play Spyglass and tee off number 10 at 8:33am.

ATT Pebble Beach Pro-am (Round One - Pebble Beach)

Our 10:12 tee time off of number 10 met us with perfect weather. The wind we had earlier in the week left the course playing firm and fast. We played our practice round at Pebble on Tuesday and the greens were much softer then today. On a day when it was tough to get the ball close, Kevin's ball striking was very good. He drove the ball extremely well but three bad bogey's on holes 15, 6 and 7 summed up the day. On 15, we made bogey from 115 yards after a perfect drive. On the par 5 sixth, we made bogey from the middle of the fairway after going for the green in two from 212 yards to the front of the green. And then on the par 3 seventh, we missed the green short from 90 yards. Even though Kevin continued to struggle with the putter, missing quite a few opportunities, these three holes cost us three to four shots at the end of the day. Forget about the putts he missed, our 2 over par 74 could have been an under par round of 70 or 71 on a very difficult scoring day. It was the highest score we should have shot, so we need to take that as a positive considering where we were the past few weeks. We walked off the golf course today with the thoughts about cleaning up the round rather then searching for something that will work. I continue to be very encouraged with the progress. We are off to Monterey Peninsula tomorrow. Teeing off at 9:28.

Pebble Beach Pro-am (Practice Days)

We had three great days of practice. After a few days off at home, Kevin and I both flew in on Sunday. We met up Monday morning and played a practice round at Spyglass. Kevin started working with Ricky Sullivan last week in Charleston, SC and Ricky came out to Pebble for the week. They changed Kevin's address position by lowering his center of gravity in his setup. He maintains that position throughout the swing and has the feeling of swinging more level with his chest through impact. Kevin is hitting the ball extremely well. After the round, we returned back to Pebble and worked on the short game. An adjustment with his right hand grip started producing the pitch and lob shots Kevin was looking for and then some work in the bunker with "less hinge" in the backswing completed a very productive day.

On Tuesday, we played Pebble Beach with amateur Joe Rice and celebrity (singer) Darius Rucker. Mr. Rice played with Dustin Johnson (two-time defending Champion) the last two years. It was an extremely windy day but Kevin's ball striking held up in the windy conditions. We had a great time as Kevin's girlfriend, sister, and brother-in-law all arrived for the week and met us on the back nine.

Today we played Monterrey CC with Tommy Gainey. Another golf course with great views along the water. Kevin continues to hit it well. The bumpy greens have Kevin a little rattled so after a short session on the range we spent the rest of the day on the putting green. Kevin felt his hands were getting a little too high and Ricky felt that Kevin was not striking his putts with enough "authority." He thought Kevin was stroking his putts too soft and the ball was not rolling very well off of the putter. They worked on increasing his grip pressure slightly and then maintaining that pressure through the entire stroke. The ball instantly starting rolling better and it was staying on line even though the ball was bouncing.

Tomorrow we start at Pebble Beach at 10:12.