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.

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.

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.

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. 

Mid-Atlantic Championship (Potomic, MD) - Round One and Two

Kevin missed the cut last week in Mexico and flew here on Sunday. Since I did not go, I drove up from Morganton Monday morning and met Kevin at the club for an afternoon practice round. The TPC at Avenel is playing long and tough. The rough is brutal and it will put a premium on hitting fairways and greens. This course was ranked the second most difficult course last year on the Web.Com Tour and this year will be no different.

With hot and humid conditions, Kevin's ball striking has been a little off so far this week. He was able to manage things on Thursday with a great short game, missing only one up and down opportunity. He made only one bogey, along with two birdies, for a one under par round (69). Friday's round was more like a roller coaster ride at the amusement park. Great shots where mixed in with poor shots. He made only three pars through 16 holes.  During that stretch, he had seven birdies, five bogeys, and one double. He finished the round with two solid pars on 17 and 18 and it all added up to an even par (70).

Kevin's one under total puts him in a tie for twelve place heading into the weekend. With the course playing so tough, we just need to keep plugging along. We understand poor shots will be penalized but good shots will also be rewarded. Its gearing up to be another fun weekend being in the mix. We tee off tomorrow at 11:10 with Tyrone Van Aswegen.

BMW Charity Pro-Am Week (Greenville, SC)

It was a long, exhausting week. This tournament was just close enough to home to commute, yet just far enough to where I probably should have stayed in a hotel. With a three course rotation, I had anywhere from an hour and a half to just over two hour drive each way depending on the golf course. While it was nice to get home, watch the kids softball and baseball games, put them to bed and sleep in my own bed; I had some early wake up calls. Fortunately for me, Geraldine and the kids came down Friday after school and we all had a great weekend in Greenville. It's always fun to see the excitement of the kids when they get to come out on the road with me.

My week got started on Monday. Kevin had a charity commitment in Aiken so he was not arriving until Tuesday. With two of the three courses new to us, I started out early Monday morning and drove just over two hours to The Reserve Club in Sunset, SC. I finished my course work there about noon and then drove over to Greenville to take a look at Chanticleer. I finished there about 5pm and made it home about 7pm for Albany's softball game.

Tuesday morning I drove back to The Reserve and met Kevin for a practice round. Thank goodness they were allowing us to ride carts for the practice round because this is the hardest and hilliest golf course I have ever had to walk in my entire life!! But, because of the cart, we were able to "buzz" around the course in about 2.5 hours and I made it home for some more softball. On Wednesday, we met over at Chanticleer. Mike Hostilo, Kevin's pro-am partner this week, joined us for the practice round. Mike is a longtime friend of Kevin's and played in this event with Kevin in 2010. Chanticleer is a tight, placement type of course that requires drivers, 3 woods, and even hybrids off the tees. We had a good practice round learning all the what's and where's to hit it.

When the tournament started, our rotation was Thornblade (Thursday), The Reserve (Friday), and then Chanticleer (Saturday). Thursday and Friday the weather was perfect. Kevin shot a nice 67 (-4) on Thursday and then blitzed The Reserve with an eight under par (64). Sitting at 12 under and heading over to the tight Chanticleer, we woke up to rain. After our warm-up in the rain, Kevin got off to a solid start, parring the first three holes. But as the rain quit, we ran into some trouble when we double bogeyed our fourth hole and then hit the tee shot into the water hazard on the par three next hole. Staring another double in the face, we walked up to the drop zone and Kevin holed out a wedge shot from 115 yards to save a par. From there on, he played five under par and finished the day with a three under (69). His 15 under total for three days had us in a tie for 6th heading into Sunday. Unfortunately, in the pro-am format, Mike and Kevin's team total of 27 under par fell just one shot short of making the pro-am cut where only 16 out of 168 teams made the cut.

Sunday's final round was played back at Thornblade. Starting the day in some light rain, Kevin came out of the gates playing well. He had an eagle on number two and followed that up with birdies on 5 and 7. He was 4 under through 7 holes but that's when the putter went cold. He continued to hit great shots but we could not get a putt to fall. After seven straight pars, Kevin went for the par five 15th in two and plugged a three iron into the face of the bunker, only about a yard from being perfect. He was able to hack that out to about 15 feet but once again he could not make the putt. Then after another great drive off the par 5, 16th, Kevin hit a perfect hybrid at the middle of the green. But for whatever reason, his hybrid that normally flies 235, flew 250 yards and went over the green into an almost impossible position. We not only could not get that up and down, we didn't even keep it on the green and finished the hole with a bogey. After playing those two back to back par 5 holes in one over par, Kevin walked off the 16th green extremely disappointed. We then finished the day with a sloppy missed up and down from just off the fringe on 18 and ended the day with a two under par (69). It was a disappointing way to finish the event but his 17 under total gave us a 14th place finish and moved him up the money list from 6th to 4th overall.

This week Kevin is off to Mexico. I am not able to make this trip with him. He will be heading down there on his own and will pick up a local caddy for the week. I'm confident he will do just fine without me. He is playing well and I look forward to getting back on the bag in a few weeks in Maryland. Once again, it was great to see everyone come out and support Kevin this week. The walking was tough and the weather wasn't great but its always great to see everyone. Thanks for all the support and I hope to see you all again real soon.

Athens, GA (Round Four) - Cancelled

The heavy rain continued through the night. When I woke up this morning, a steady drizzle was still falling from the sky. After some breakfast, I packed my bags and checked out of the hotel. While I was driving to the golf course, I received a text from the Tour stating tee times were delayed one hour. Since I already checked out of the hotel, I decided to just go out to the club and hang out. When I arrived, things weren't looking good when I saw caddy parking was under water and a river running through the ninth fairway. 

The official word came just before 11:00 that the golf course was not going to be playable and final round was cancelled. The tournament was going to be an official 54 hole event. Unlike the PGA Tour, the Web.Com Tour does not extend tournaments into Monday finishes. The only way the Web.Com Tour would go into Monday would be if over half the field completes the final round. Web.Com Tour policy states it will never start a final round knowing it could not be completed by days end. So that means our two under par total gives us a t-13th finish.

We are off again next week and then it is the BMW Pro-am in Greenville, SC. It will be a proam event played on three different courses on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The cut will be made after Saturdays round and then the final round on Sunday. Thanks for all of the support from everyone that came out this week. It was cold, windy and wet but it was nice to see everyone.