Saturday, May 19, 2012

Byron Nelson - Third Round

Blow wind, blow. We woke up this morning to wind blowing 20mph and gusting up to 30mph. Because there were more then 78 players making the cut, tee times were split off the 1st and 10th tees in threesomes. We teed off number 10 with Chris Riley and Roberto Castro. Kevin continued to hit it well but it was extremely difficult to get shots close to the hole. Good shots in conditions like today were ending up 20-30 feet from the hole all day. We were only able to convert two birdies with our three bogeys that gave us a one over par (71).

Our two over total leaves us t-53rd but only four shots from a top 20. Because the size of the cut, the Tour made another Saturday cut to the top 70 and ties. Now with less then 78 players for tomorrow, all tee times will be off number 1 in twosomes. We tee off tomorrow at 8:14 with Gary Woodland. The forecast for wind tomorrow is 10-15mph. A solid round will go a long way. 

Friday, May 18, 2012

Byron Nelson - Round Two

Things got off to a rocky start today. After making a nice par on ten to start the round, we found trouble on 11 which got us off to a horrid start. It all started with a disagreement with our club selection off the tee which was then magnified by a poor shot from the fairway bunker into the water hazard. The sequence of events caused a bad exchange in communication with each other. It put us both in bad attitudes and we struggled for the rest of the day.

After taking a drop, we failed to get the ball up and down from just off the green and made double. More missed up and downs on 13, 15, 2 and 3 put us at six over for the day through 12 holes and in danger of missing the cut. With his back against the wall, Kevin made two birdies and a few nice up and downs coming in to finish the day at 4 over (74) and inside the cut number.

With the wind blowing a steady 20-30mph, it was a tough day for everyone both physically and mentally. But as tough as it was, we need to work on patients and the understanding that we don't have to be perfect. After the round, we worked on the short game and then headed over to the range. We finished the session with some putting before we called it a day.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Byron Nelson Championship - Round One

Kevin played well today. He did not feel good with his swing all day but he worked through it. He drove the ball well and managed a great short game. He has been working hard on his chipping and putting and it was fun to see some putts falling as we finished the day with no bogeys for a 3 under par round of 67.

After the round, we headed to the range and worked on the swing. A slight adjustment to his setup position helped with getting the club in a better position on the downswing. Now his body and arms are working properly again and he started to hit it great. We finished the day with a few putts before we called it a night.

We tee off tomorrow morning at 8:30 on number 10.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Byron Nelson Championship (Dallas, TX)

My plan was to take the 15 hour drive to Dallas on Sunday but all that changed when I woke up Sunday morning. I woke up early and something was telling me not to drive. I went downstairs, turned on the computer, saw the bad weather across Tennessee, went to US Airways.com and decided to buy a plane ticket. Now that I was flying, I was able to spend Mother's Day at home and I flew out early Monday morning.

I landed just before Kevin in Dallas, so we met at the airport. He was going to spend the day working with his putting instructor, Pat O'Brien. Kevin wanted to work with Pat out on the golf course. Since the Monday pro-am was going, we headed over to Texas Star Country Club and played 18 holes. We had a great day as all three of us played and Pat was able to see Kevin's routine and habits during the round. They made an adjustment with his left hand grip position and also with his thumb position on his right hand. It was the perfect way to get a lesson and we had a very productive day.

Tuesday morning we played a practice round with Garrett Willis, Andres Gonzales and Stephen Gangluff. Kevin's tempo was just a little off but he rolled it great all day. After the round, we went to the range and he starting hitting it fine. We finished the day with some putting matches with Garrett Willis and Tommy Gainey.

Tomorrow we are heading over to the Nike facility (The Oven) for some practice.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Wells Fargo Championship - First Round

Its been a long day today so just a quick little blog. Kevin hit the ball great today. We hit 17 greens (T-2nd) but took 35 putts (T-148th). Once again we could not get the putts to fall. Kevin's even par round (72) keeps us in the game. All we need to do is see a few putts fall and the momentum will change quickly.

After the round, we had some lunch and then went to work on the putting green. After some putting, we spent time chipping before we called it a day. Traffic was bad getting out of Charlotte so it took me a little longer to get home. When I walked in, Alex was ready to go play golf so I took him out to the club and we were able to get five holes in before dark. From there, we headed over to watch Albany's first softball game of the season. We finally made it home about 9:30, took showers, and got them tucked into bed. Now its time for me to get some sleep.

We tee off tomorrow at 2:25 on number one. Thanks to everyone that made it out today. Looking forward to seeing more of you all tomorrow and on the weekend.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC) - Practice

It has been an easy week so far for the caddy. Kevin played in an off site Pro-am on Monday and did not arrive to Charlotte until late Monday. We met up Tuesday morning at Quail Hollow for our practice round. Kevin's instructor is here with us this week and he brought one of his students, a University of South Carolina standout, Katie Rose Higgins. Katie Rose was the "caddy's caddy" today. She carried the bag and had the full experience walking inside the ropes, learning from Kevin's practice routine.

We had a great day playing with Zach Johnson, Ryuji Imada, and Tommy Biershenk. Kevin continues to hit the ball great. Quail Hollow was playing extremely firm and fast for a Tuesday practice round. We are not use to seeing the course play this firm and fast this early in the week. Usually the course firms up as the week goes on, so if this trend continues, we will be playing on some of the toughest conditions we have seen all year. Kevin is still having a few issues with the putter so, after the practice round, we headed over to the putting green and worked on a few things that Rickey suggested. The ball seems to rolling better so he will continue working on these things on Wednesday.

Since I am making the one hour commute this week from Morganton, Kevin told me to stay home Wednesday. Kevin and Rickey spent the day practicing and running through our normal Wednesday practice routine. We tee off Thursday at 9:00am on number 10 with Brian Harman and Frank Adams.