Farmers Insurance Open (Torrey Pines) - Second Round

We shot even par 72 today. The ball striking was average but we still had plenty of opportunities. We needed to make a few putts today but that did not happen. We miss read too many and when we finally had the correct line, the speed was off. Our three over total of 147 was four shots off the cut line.

We are not in the field for next week's Tour event in Scottsdale, AZ. Kevin will have to Monday Qualify. Our plan is to play tomorrow morning in a Pro-am on the North Course and then we will take the six hour drive over to Scottsdale. Kevin's good friend, Scott Brown, is also coming out to try the Monday Qualifier. Kevin will meet up with Scott tomorrow night and then we will play a practice round together on Sunday.

Farmers Insurance Open (Torrey Pines) - First Round

We play two courses this week at Torry Pines. The South Course is the course that the US Open was held and is the "more difficult" of the two courses. The lower scores are typically shot on the North Course.

Today we played the South Course and was paired with Andres Gonzales and James Oh. We still fought the driver today but it is was better. Kevin grinded it out the entire day but it was all spoiled by a poor 18th hole. On the par 5 18th, the drive went left and all we could do was advance it about 140 yds down the fairway. After a nice lay up down the fairway, we hit a 6 iron well right of the green. A nice pitch to 5 feet but 3 putts later - adds up to a double bogey 7 to finish the day. We shot 3 over par 75.

After signing the scorecard, we headed to the range. Our session went well. We will need a good one tomorrow. We tee off the tenth tee on the North Course at 9:20.

Bob Hope - Fourth Round

Another solid day of ball striking with the exception of the final tee shot on 18 that led to a double bogey. We shot 2 under 70. The day was much like the third round. I feel like he is finally back to feeling comfortable on the golf course. All we need to do is clean up a few swings and sharpen up the short game. This game is hard enough but when you add in working on swing mechanics, it is near impossible. We have worked hard and cleared that hurdle.

One of Kevin's amateurs today was a Doctor from Canada that I played with on the Canadian Tour. I represented a Medical Supply Company called Mentor from 2000 through 2002. I played with him at the Vancouver Open and I also did an outing at his club in Kelowna, BC. His caddy this week was another Doctor that I also played with on that day. Talk about a small world!!!

Bob Hope - Third Round

It's getting closer. Our scores are not showing it but we are getting closer. We were only two swings away from shooting an easy 4 under par. Kevin's even par 72 included a 9 iron that plugged under the lip of a bunker and a driver pull hooked out of bounds. Both of these swings led to double bogeys. The two swings plus a few more putts and the easy 4 under turns into a 7 under round. That is how close it is. Kevin is still frustrated with the poor swings but considering how it was a week ago in Hawaii, we need to focus on the positive. It's a long year that is just beginning. 

Tomorrow we will be playing the Nicklaus Course at PGA West.

Bob Hope - Second Round

We woke up this morning to a wind advisory. When we showed up to the course, the wind was already blowing a solid 15-20 mph. Kevin had a good warm up session on the range. The stuff we worked on last night was something that he can feel and it showed today. Kevin's ball striking was very good all day with the exception of a few shots early in the round. We ended up shooting one under 71 but only made one putt outside of 10 feet on the eighth hole. Kevin gave himself plenty of opportunities. It was the ball striking round we were needing so he could finally start feeling comfortable with what he is working on.

After the round, we went back to the range to continue working on the same stuff. It was nice to get to the range and work on maintaining something rather then trying to find something. Kevin has kept a great attitude the past 12 days during a very frustrating time. There is no quit in this kid and he has worked his tail off. 

Tomorrow we move over to PGA West and play the host Palmer Course. We will need two great rounds the next two days but no matter what happens this week, we are heading in the right direction.

Bob Hope - Round 1

Our first round was at  La Quinta Country Club. Starting on number 10, Kevin was able to get off to a great start at -3 thru 4 holes. He said he was still uncomfortable with the swing but he was able to keep the ball in play and rolled in some nice putts. Things caught up to us on the long par three 15th as he hit the tee shot right and made bogey. Another tee shot right on 16 into a water hazard lead to another bogey. One more tee shot right on 18 ended up against a tree. All we had was a pitch out to the fairway. From there, we missed the green and failed to get it up and down. The double bogey dropped us to one over thru nine holes. On the back nine, Kevin was able to keep the ball in play and did a great job getting it around in one under for an even par round 72.

After the round, we went straight to the range to try to figure it out again. Kevin's instructor followed us and watched every shot. He wants Kevin to shorten up his back swing and smooth out the transition. Kevin is just not able to think about a shorter backswing and hit solid golf shots consistently during competition. He is frustrated and we needed to find another way to accomplish this. We had a great session as Kevin went back to a feeling we worked on last summer (keeping his head still and driving with the lower body). Kevin felt that his head moving toward the target at the start of the downswing was the CAUSE of the club getting too long and not a RESULT of the club being too long. He started hitting solid shots more consistently and it also accomplished the shorter/tighter backswing with the smoother pace his instructor was looking for. Lack of daylight ended our session but I do believe we have found something Kevin can trust out in competition. He has worked extremely hard these past few days and I'm hoping he can start seeing the results.

We play Silver Rock tomorrow morning at 9:33. 

Bob Hope Classic - Practice Days

Rolling into town on Sunday, we checked into the hotel, showered, and went out to the host club at PGA West. The Bob Hope is a five day event that is played on four different golf courses. We hit some balls and then played the front nine on the Nicklaus Course. All the golf courses are up against a mountain and have some unbelievable views.

We woke up early on Monday and played 18 at La Quinta Country Club. This course is in the best shape. Everything was perfect. Kevin was still having issues with his swing but his instructor, Hugh Royer is flying in today. After the round, we went back to the host club and worked on the short game until Hugh arrived. After a big session on the range, we all went out and played nine holes on the Palmer course at PGA West. Kevin's swing is getting better and his shots are getting tighter. He is still not thrilled with it but we are seeing progress.

Tuesday morning we played 18 at Silver Rock. The hard work is starting to pay off. After a frustrating front nine, Kevin started to get a better feel and saw the results by the end of the round. After the round, we went back to PGA West and played the other nine holes on the Palmer Course that we did not see yesterday. Kevin is starting to trust the things he is working on and Hugh is excited with what he sees. Kevin and Hugh finished the day with short game practice and one more session on the range. I left them working and headed out on the Nicklaus Course to do some course work. The back nine of the Nicklaus is the only nine holes that Kevin has not played so I needed to check lines off the tees, check elevation changes, and do green work. By the time I finished, Kevin was done and heading to the gym for a workout. We have done a lot of work over the past few days and we are now ready to reap the benefits.

We tee off tomorrow at 10:45 at La Quinta.



 

Sony Open

Sorry....it has been a while since my last blog. Last week was such a whirlwind. As you all know by now, we missed the cut at the Sony Open. Kevin fought his swing from the time we arrived on the island all the way through the event. The fact that Waialae Country Club is one of the most difficult driving courses on the PGA Tour did not help our situation. As soon as Saturday's round was over, we all changed our flights and flew out of Hawaii on the red eye Saturday night. It was time to move on and get to Palm Springs as soon as possible. Kevin and I landed into Phoenix, AZ Sunday morning and drove four hours over to Palm Springs, CA. The Bob Hope is a five day event that begins on Wednesday and we play four different golf courses. We have two and a half days to get that done.

Thursday - Sony Open (Rained Out)

Round one has been CANCELLED. Second day in a row the golf course has been unplayable and all practice facilities are closed. Heading to the North Shore to Turtle Bay Resort for some practice. It will be a 45 - 60 minute drive but worth it. Kevin is looking forward to hitting some balls. His PGA Tour debut will have to wait one more day.

Washout Wednesday - Sony Open

Heavy rains and flash flooding caused the PGA Tour to cancel the Wednesday pro-am and close all the practice facilities for the day. Kevin's off site pro-am was also cancelled but he had to go for the luncheon and a meet and greet session with the amateurs. We made it back to the hotel around 3pm. Not sure what he will do now. Maybe a movie, shopping, or an early dinner. I'm glad his parents and Brittany are here to help keep him occupied for the day. It is a tough way to spend the day before his very first round on the PGA Tour. At least the pro-am functions kept him busy part of the day.

The forecast for tomorrow is not much better. We got lucky and drew an afternoon tee time for Thursday. This means we will not have to go out early to the golf course and wait out delays if the weather is bad. We will have the luxury of sleeping in and waiting the delays out in comfort of the hotel room.

As for me, Geraldine and I are thinking about an early dinner. Longtime friends, Rick Newsome and Beverly flew down from Victoria, Canada yesterday. Rick made plans to come to Hawaii as soon as Kevin locked up his card last year on the Nationwide Tour. Rick was actually my caddy from the days when I played on the Canadian Tour. We all went to dinner last night with Kevin and his family and had a great time exchanging stories from the "old days."

Here is a picture I downloaded off of PGATour.com  It shows the 10th and 18th fairways under water from all of the rain.

Sony Open - Monday Practice

Because of a Monday pro-am starting at 11am, we left for the golf course at 7am. Kevin spent a little extra time warming up on the range. He was still trying to find his timing/feel and did not want to take it to the course until it felt better. We played nine holes around 9am with Kevin Chappell and Gary Woodland. Kevin's ball striking improved as we went along and we spent most of our time chipping and bunker shots around the greens. After the round, we went to the range and Kevin continued to work on his swing. He mentioned to me that he is finally getting the feel back from the things he has worked on with his coach. When Kevin swings correctly, his ball flight flattens out (comes down) and the ball drives through the wind. We started to see that ball flight and he finished the session feeling much better about things. After a little lunch, Kevin came back out and we hit some putts, chips and bunker shots. Our practice day finished around 2pm when the rain moved in for the rest of the day.

Aloha

Geraldine and I arrived in Honolulu last night. My parents drove up from Florida to keep the kids and are now preparing for a major winter storm in North Carolina. It looks like we got out of there just in time.

Today, we had breakfast with Kevin and Brittany and then spent the morning walking along Waikiki Beach. I met Kevin back at the hotel at noon and we went out to the club for some practice. Since it is Sunday, we were not able to get out for a practice round until 2:30. We ended up playing the back nine with Tommy Gainey. Kevin spent most of the day getting his feel back after a long day of travel yesterday. He has worked hard over the "off season" with his swing coach, Hugh Royer, and he is very confident with what they are working on.

We got back to the hotel around 6:00. Geraldine and I went out for dinner and another walk along the beach. What a great place to start the year!!!