We spent Sunday afternoon in Salt Lake City practicing and getting ready for this week. We both flew out Monday to Kansas City but I did not arrive until 8:00pm. Kevin got in early and went out to the golf course for some practice. He ended up wanting to play nine holes, so thanks to my roommate, Benji Thompson, he had a caddy for the nine holes. When I arrived Monday evening into Kansas City, Kevin text me saying we were 9th alternate for the PGA Tour event in Jackson, MS.
He said to plan on going if we got into the event.
I met Kevin at the golf course this morning at 7:00am for an early nine hole practice round. By the time we finished our nine holes, we moved up to the third alternate for Jackson. Since Kevin had an off site commitment this afternoon, we hit a few balls before he had to leave. It wasn't long after Kevin left the course when the call came in to tell him we were in the field for Jackson. So I headed back to the hotel, bought a flight, packed, and headed back to the airport.
I'll get into Jackson tonight about midnight and will met Kevin sometime tomorrow. I'm excited to have this opportunity and I'm looking forward to a great week.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Utah Championship - Second Round
Everything was much better Friday for the second round. Teeing off of number ten, Kevin started the day with birdies on 10, 12 and 13. The good start fed his confidence and even though he still wasn't totally comfortable with everything, he was hitting it solid and it was going where he was looking. The momentum slowed with disappointing pars on the par 5's number 17 and number 1 as we made the turn. Knowing we needed to get it to five under to have any chance of playing the weekend, making pars on those holes was putting the squeeze on. Kevin kept hitting good shots and giving himself looks at birdie. Knowing we needed a birdie on the last to have any chance to make the cut, Kevin hit a perfect drive and approach to 10 feet. He made the putt to shoot five under (66) but still fell one short of the cut number. Even though we missed the cut, we still can take a lot of positives from the week. We just need to build off this week and move forward.
On Saturday we went to Park City, Utah and played golf at Promontory Golf Club with Scott Parel and Benji Thompson. We played a little match (pro/caddy teams) that turned out all square. We had a great time and it was a fun way to spend the day. Since we both are not flying out until Monday, I will be meeting Kevin today at the course for some practice. Keep building on this week and give it another try next week in Kansas City.
On Saturday we went to Park City, Utah and played golf at Promontory Golf Club with Scott Parel and Benji Thompson. We played a little match (pro/caddy teams) that turned out all square. We had a great time and it was a fun way to spend the day. Since we both are not flying out until Monday, I will be meeting Kevin today at the course for some practice. Keep building on this week and give it another try next week in Kansas City.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Utah Championship (Salt Lake City)
It has been a while since my last blog. The kids finished school during the week of Wichita, so I decided to pack the family up and bring them along for the Raleigh and Evanville, IN events. While it is always great to have them out with me, it's also hard to find the time to blog. After Indiana, we had the week off, so we decided to head down to Jacksonville, FL for a few days to see my parents. My Dad is doing much better and has most of his strength back. It was great to get down there and visit for a few days.
I met Kevin here in Salt Lake City on Tuesday morning. We both flew in Monday night but Kevin's luggage was delayed and didn't show up until Tuesday morning. We hit balls in the morning and then played an afternoon practice round. With the high altitude here, the 7000 yard golf course does not play very long but the narrow tree lined fairways puts a premium on ball striking. This course has five par 5's and six par 3's and most of the par 4's are not driver off the tees. With this combination, the scores will be low this week.
Unfortunately for us, Kevin's ball striking has been off since we arrived. We all know that we are going to go through times when the ball striking is not up to par and we will just need to rely on the short game to get us through the week. But what makes it difficult this week is the high altitude. When you are not hitting solid shots in this altitude, not only is the direction off but it is impossible to get the correct yardage. Shots that are hit solid will stay in the air about ten percent longer at this altitude. When a shot is miss hit, it does not produce enough spin on the ball and it will not be able to stay in the air. So even a short iron could have up to a 15-20 yard gap depending on how solid the strike was during the hit. So, with all that said, it has been a tough week for us out on the golf course.
We teed off yesterday for the first round at 7:10 with Dusty Fielding and Gavin Coles. After a tough front nine and a bogey on the 11th put us three over par for the day, Kevin managed to string three birdies in a row on 12, 13 and 14 to get us back to even for the day. A three putt on the 15th stalled the momentum but he was able to get one more birdie on the 17th hole and a great up and down the last gave us an even par round (71). It's definitely not the score we wanted but at least it still gives us a chance heading into today's round. Golf is a funny game. A little confidence and momentum will go a long way and you never know when it will show up. We just need to keep working hard, try to keep his spirits up and trust what we are doing. We tee off today at 12:10 on number 10.
I met Kevin here in Salt Lake City on Tuesday morning. We both flew in Monday night but Kevin's luggage was delayed and didn't show up until Tuesday morning. We hit balls in the morning and then played an afternoon practice round. With the high altitude here, the 7000 yard golf course does not play very long but the narrow tree lined fairways puts a premium on ball striking. This course has five par 5's and six par 3's and most of the par 4's are not driver off the tees. With this combination, the scores will be low this week.
Unfortunately for us, Kevin's ball striking has been off since we arrived. We all know that we are going to go through times when the ball striking is not up to par and we will just need to rely on the short game to get us through the week. But what makes it difficult this week is the high altitude. When you are not hitting solid shots in this altitude, not only is the direction off but it is impossible to get the correct yardage. Shots that are hit solid will stay in the air about ten percent longer at this altitude. When a shot is miss hit, it does not produce enough spin on the ball and it will not be able to stay in the air. So even a short iron could have up to a 15-20 yard gap depending on how solid the strike was during the hit. So, with all that said, it has been a tough week for us out on the golf course.
We teed off yesterday for the first round at 7:10 with Dusty Fielding and Gavin Coles. After a tough front nine and a bogey on the 11th put us three over par for the day, Kevin managed to string three birdies in a row on 12, 13 and 14 to get us back to even for the day. A three putt on the 15th stalled the momentum but he was able to get one more birdie on the 17th hole and a great up and down the last gave us an even par round (71). It's definitely not the score we wanted but at least it still gives us a chance heading into today's round. Golf is a funny game. A little confidence and momentum will go a long way and you never know when it will show up. We just need to keep working hard, try to keep his spirits up and trust what we are doing. We tee off today at 12:10 on number 10.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Air Capital Classic - Round Three
Kevin hit the ball the best he has all week but we didn't get anything out of the round. Playing in perfect conditions, Kevin started the day with two early birdies on number two and four. A bogey on the seventh after getting a poor lie in the rough off the tee, led to the only bogey on the front nine and we made the turn at one under par.
The back nine started poorly after the tee shot on number ten caught some trees on the corner of the dogleg and dropped straight down into the long rough. With very little options, none of them very good, we tried to get the ball around the front, right side of the green. Unfortunately, it did not come out as planned and the adventure began. The ball caught a tree and then after a few sloppy pitches, we tapped in for double. Running a little hot, Kevin stepped up on the drivable number 11, hit it 335 yards and had a 30 footer for eagle. After a two putt birdie there, we had another two putt birdie on the par five 14th and had it back under par for the day. That was short lived when on the very next hole, his drive landed in the middle of the fairway, directly on top of a sprinkler head and shot about 50 yards through the fairway into the high rough, under some trees. From there, he was able to get the ball into the back green side bunker but was not able to get it up and down to save par. We finished the day off with a great up and down for birdie on the par five 18th and shot one under par (70).
The four under total puts us in 32nd heading into the last day. With thunderstorms in the forecast, the Tour has split the tee times off the first and tenth holes. We will be teeing off number ten at 8:11 with Richard Johnson and Si Woo Kim.
The back nine started poorly after the tee shot on number ten caught some trees on the corner of the dogleg and dropped straight down into the long rough. With very little options, none of them very good, we tried to get the ball around the front, right side of the green. Unfortunately, it did not come out as planned and the adventure began. The ball caught a tree and then after a few sloppy pitches, we tapped in for double. Running a little hot, Kevin stepped up on the drivable number 11, hit it 335 yards and had a 30 footer for eagle. After a two putt birdie there, we had another two putt birdie on the par five 14th and had it back under par for the day. That was short lived when on the very next hole, his drive landed in the middle of the fairway, directly on top of a sprinkler head and shot about 50 yards through the fairway into the high rough, under some trees. From there, he was able to get the ball into the back green side bunker but was not able to get it up and down to save par. We finished the day off with a great up and down for birdie on the par five 18th and shot one under par (70).
The four under total puts us in 32nd heading into the last day. With thunderstorms in the forecast, the Tour has split the tee times off the first and tenth holes. We will be teeing off number ten at 8:11 with Richard Johnson and Si Woo Kim.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Air Capital Classic - Round Two
We definitely had the wrong side of the draw his week. The guys this morning had it much easier with calm conditions. This afternoon, the wind picked up and started blowing consistently 25-30 mph. Also, with the wind blowing from the south, it made it very difficult to hit fairways because most of the holes played with a cross wind.
Kevin played solid today. Five birdies with three bogeys brought us in at two under (69). Not bad considering two of the bogeys came on three putt greens. In all fairness, both three putts came on very difficult, lengthy putts. All in all, it was a good day.
After the round, we were both exhausted from dealing with the conditions, so Kevin decided not to practice. We tee off tomorrow at 9:20.
Kevin played solid today. Five birdies with three bogeys brought us in at two under (69). Not bad considering two of the bogeys came on three putt greens. In all fairness, both three putts came on very difficult, lengthy putts. All in all, it was a good day.
After the round, we were both exhausted from dealing with the conditions, so Kevin decided not to practice. We tee off tomorrow at 9:20.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Air Capital Classic (Wichita, KS) - First Round
After a few hot and very windy days of practice, we teed off this morning in some cooler conditions. The winds completely turned 180 degrees and blew out of the northeast this morning. After three days of practice in a strong, 30mph, southwest wind; today was very interesting as we had to figure out and trust the clubs and new lines off the tees.
Kevin's game today was just plain vanilla. We didn't do anything special. Hitting 10/14 fairways, 13/18 greens, 4/6 up and downs with 30 total putts, Kevin finished the day with a one under par round (70). The biggest mistake came on the par three, 12th. Playing into the wind and just needing a solid shot, Kevin hit a fat five iron that failed to carry the water hazard. Absolutely irate for making a double bogey, it lit a fire under his ass. He stepped up and finished the day off making four birdies on the last six holes.
Not feeling completely in sync with his swing, we headed out to the range after the round and just worked simply on smoothing out the takeaway. He gets a little anxious out on the course and sometimes "snatches" the club away which then gets the arms and body out of sync. Just trying to keep the thoughts simple, he started hitting the ball much better this afternoon.
The forecast for the rest of the week is back to hot and humid conditions. The wind will also pick up and move back to the southwest direction we had during the beginning of the week. We tee off tomorrow at 1:20 off number ten.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Mid-Atlantic Championship - Round Three
It was another roller coaster day. After starting with two solid pars, the next 16 holes was an adventure. We had two eagles, three birdies, six bogeys and two doubles. The grand total came to a three over par round (73). It moved us from a tie for 12th into a tie for 21st with one day left. I know these last two days have been crazy looking at the scorecards but it's really all because of the type/style of course we are playing. It's the type of course that if you don't hit a good shot, making a par is next to impossible. But at the same time, it's fair because if you do hit good shots, birdies and eagles can be made.
The Tour has moved up the tee times tomorrow because of the threat of afternoon thunderstorms. Tees time will be split tees starting at 7:22am. We will be teeing off in the second group on number one at 7:34 with Tyrone Van Aswegen and Billy Mayfair.
Kevin has the final stage (36 holes) of the US Open qualifier on Monday in Rockville, MD. We will be playing the North and South Course at Woodmont CC. I'm hoping the early start tomorrow will allow me enough time to go over to Woodmont and get in some course work. I played this qualifier back in 2005 but I do not remember much about the courses. I'm actually really looking forward to Monday because I have some great memories from Woodmont. It was the last time my dad watched me compete as a professional and he actually caddied for me here in 2005 at the age of 74. He has been pretty sick lately, spending last week in the hospital ICU, so I'm sure it will be pretty emotional for me walking around here one more time.
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