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.