Farmers Insurance Open (La Jolla, CA) - Practice

The North and South courses at Torrey Pines are playing long and tough. Even with dry conditions over the weeks leading up to this event, the rough is extremely long. Narrow fairways, long rough and firm greens all equal tough conditions. On top of all of that...the bumpy poa annua greens will test patience. It's going to be a difficult test but we are ready for the challenge.

We played the North course on Monday in a charity pro-am and then had a practice round Tuesday on the South course. Kevin hit the ball well and drove it awesome during both rounds. The bumpy greens made it frustrating practicing each day but it is something we have to deal with. We knew this coming to these events on the west coast but it still makes it tough mentally. Today we had our normal practice Wednesday. After Kevin's morning workout, we hit some balls and then worked on our putting. We took a break for lunch and then spent some more time on the putting green before calling it a day. We tee off tomorrow on the South course (number 10) at 9:50 with Ed Loar and Michael Block. 

Here is a link to an interview I had on Tuesday. A retired caddy that has a blog stopped me Tuesday morning and asked for an interview. He posted it last night so you can take a listen if your interested.

http://lpgacaddy.com/2014-farmers/

Humana Challenge - La Quinta, CA

The results don't show it but it was a solid week in La Quinta. One of my favorite spots on Tour, the weather was perfect every day and we leave town with a 48 place finish and 19 FedEx Cup points.

Kevin had a solid ball striking week. He fought the driver at times but hit his irons well. He ranked 12th in greens in regulation for the week and gave himself numerous looks at birdie. With rounds of 66,70,69,69 (14under), the results would have been much better if we just had an average chipping and putting week. Kevin has worked hard during the off season on his chipping but the new technique has his feel / touch off. He is hitting his chips and pitches solid with the correct trajectories but his distance control is off. We'll need to continue with reps everyday and all of that will take care of itself.

After the tournament, it was a short drive over the mountain to San Diego, CA for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. After playing and learning three different courses last week, we now will be playing two courses (North and South) here at Torrey Pines. I am meeting Kevin later this morning as he is playing a charity pro-am on the North course at noon.

Sony Open Recap

It was a week where we did lots of good things but just made too many mistakes. After 36 holes, Kevin totaled 11 birdies but had nine bogeys and one double to go with it. His even par total (72-68) missed the cut by one shot. With seven weeks off from competition, the mistakes could be summed up by being a little "rusty". His touch around the greens was a little off and led to nine missed up and downs and two three putts over the two days. For the most part, his long game was solid considering we come to a golf course that he has struggled on in years past. Considering everything, we leave this week in a good frame of mind and feeling good about the weeks ahead.

With the weekend off and next week's tournament in Palm Springs being played on three different golf courses, we both looked at changing our flights and heading out early. Kevin was able to make the change and left Hawaii yesterday (Saturday) but I could not get out. I'm still on my original flight tonight and will not be able to get to Palm Springs until Monday afternoon. Fortunately for me, my nephew, David, is stationed in the Army here on Oahu and I've been able to spend some time with him over the last few days. I guess there are worse places then Hawaii to be "stuck".

The Start of 2014 - Sony Open (Waikiki Beach, HI)

It's time to start 2014 and it looks like it came just in time. As most of you have been experiencing sub freezing temperatures, we start the year off in Hawaii. Kevin and I both traveled on Sunday but my day was a little longer then expected. I started out early with a 6am flight out of Charlotte only to arrive in Houston to learn that my flight to Hawaii was cancelled. After a 12hr layover, I finally arrived in Honolulu at 1:30am making it a 27 hour travel day.

After a few hours of sleep, I met Kevin Monday morning to begin our preparation for the Sony Open. Kevin worked hard over the break and is in great shape coming to Hawaii. We have struggled the past two years we played here but Kevin had two great practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was a nice light practice session in the morning and he is ready to get started. Our tee time today is 1:10 with Ben Martin and Wil Wilcox.

Mexico OHL Classic - Rounds One and Two

It has been a wild week so far. I'm losing track of what day it is. The weather delays on Thursday meant zero golf for us. Our first round started Friday morning. Kevin played solid. He is still struggling with the driver but he managed to keep it out of the hazards during the first round. With a solid iron game and putter, he shot a nice six under par (65). A quick 30 minute turnaround and we started our second round on the par three tenth with a tap in birdie. Unfortunately, as the round went on, the driver finally caught up to us. Two drives right into water hazards led to a bogey and a double and we made the turn at three over par. We made it to the third green when play was suspended for the day due to darkness. After a 4:00am wake up call, we were back in position at 6:45 and finished round two. A late bogey on the final hole kinda sums up how our year has been. From 136 yards, Kevin hit a nine iron 12 feet left of the hole that lands directly on top of a sprinkler head located on the fringe. The ball bounced about 40 feet away into an impossible up and down position. He did well just to make bogey from where we finished. We now are sitting at two under par for the tournament awaiting to see if it will be good enough to play the final two rounds. If so, we will begin round three late today and hope to get about nine holes in before dark.

McGladrey Recap / Mexico Update

As most of you know, we had a good week at Sea Island for the McGladrey. It was great seeing everyone that made it out and I appreciated all the thoughts and prayers. I am happy to say that last Sunday was my first pain free day since my fall seven weeks ago and I continue to feel great here in Mexico.

Last week at the McGladrey, Kevin finished t-20th with rounds of 65, 73, 70, 66. We struggled a little off the tee but we managed it well and Kevin hit his irons great. The middle two rounds were solid but we were just a little off on the greens with the reads. Kevin hit good putts but we were just slightly off and had a run of 27 holes without a birdie during the middle two rounds.

After the round on Sunday, I drove back to Charlotte, NC and met the family for the night near the airport. We were able to have a late dinner together and I flew out Monday morning for Mexico. I met Kevin on Tuesday and we began our preparation for the week. Even though the "rainy season" has officially ended, they are still getting a lot of rain down here and it looks like it will continue this week. Right now (Thursday morning), we are in a weather delay. Our scheduled tee time today was 12:05 with Scott Gardiner and Andrew Loupe but it looks like that will be delayed. With rain forecast all week it looks like it could be a long week.

McGladrey Classic - First Round

We had a great week of preparation. We met Monday around noon and spent a few hours practicing. Kevin's instructor was here for a few days but not much had to be done. They worked hard during the off weeks and Kevin is hitting the ball nicely. We spent most of our practice time around the putting and chipping greens. Kevin also worked with Fourteen Golf (Kevin uses their wedges) during the off week and had a few wedges built to help him with his bunker play. We spent some time Monday dialing in those wedges. We finished the day with a nine hole practice round with Blake Adams.

Tuesday we had the clubs re-gripped, played another nine hole practice round, and once again spent most of our practice on the short game. Wednesday Kevin practiced in the morning and then went off site and played. I'm staying at my brothers in Fernandina Beach, FL (about an hour away) so Kevin gave me the day off.

We showed up Thursday morning to a totally different golf course. The winds have been blowing about 25 mph all week but Thursday was dead calm. After a 1:50 fog delay, we teed off at 10:20. Kevin struggled starting the round and made bogeys on one and three. After a great par on the fourth from a bad lie in the rough, Kevin settled in and took advantage of the calm conditions. Great iron shots and great putting led to eight birdies over the next twelve holes. Sitting six under for the day in the 18th fairway, the 4 iron found the right bunker and we couldn't get it up and down. We finished the day with a nice five under par (65).

Because of the fog delay, the afternoon tee times were not able to finish the first round. Our revised round two tee time is 1:50 off of number ten. The winds have once again picked back up and it is forecast to blow 25-30 mph all day. It will take a lot of patience today and look forward to the challenge.