Canadian Open - Final Round

It was the best ball striking day we had all week. Kevin hit it great right from the start and never let up. Playing with Vijay today was fun and we had the largest crowds all day. I just love watching Kevin in these situations as I can see his focus narrows and he steps up to the challenge.

After three nice pars to start the day, Kevin hit two great shots which lead to an easy two putt birdie on the par 5 4th hole. Then, with the tees moved up at the reachable par 4 5th, Kevin hit a perfect driver (308 yards) to 12 feet. Unable to make the eagle, we walked off with another easy two putt birdie. Things slowed a bit with a 3-putt bogey on the 7th, and we finished the front with two more pars. The putter was letting us down as we had 18 putts through 9 holes, but we were still under par for the day with nine to play.

The back nine was much like the front, hitting greens and two putting for par. With the exception of two great up and downs on the 13th and 17th holes, we couldn't make a putt. Standing on the 18th tee, two under for the day, we stuck to our game plan and hit a cut 3 wood off the tee. Unfortunately today, it traveled too far and went through the fairway into the creek that crosses the fairway. It was a tough pill to swallow because Kevin hit the exact shot we wanted. We had a game plan to hit the 3 wood all week because the 5 wood would leave us with over 200 yards, plus the up hill, to a severe green that slopes from back to front. It's always tough as a caddy when your player hits the perfect shot that you asked him to hit and it finishes in trouble. The bogey on the last cost us 10th place alone to a tie for 10th. It's just never easy.

After the round, I came across the border to Buffalo and will fly out tomorrow morning. My flights take me through Philadelphia, Phoenix, and then Reno. Kevin and Brittany flew out of Canada tonight heading to Reno. Kevin will have a much needed day off tomorrow with Brittany before we get back at it on Tuesday. I want to thank my good friends Jeff and Mel Faria for taking care of me this week. It's always great to come back to Canada where I have so many great memories from all my years playing up here. I ran into a lot of old friends and it was great to catch up with everyone. I just love it up here!!

Canadian Open - Third Round

What's the matter? I guess no one thought my last post was funny? Over 100 hits but zero responses/comments. Well, I thought it was funny. Today was another great day of caddying.

We struggled early with hitting fairways. Only hitting one fairway in the first 13 holes, we couldn't get the ball close playing from the rough. We had to lean on the short game once again to keep us in the round. The one fairway we did hit was the par 5 4th where Kevin hit a great 3 wood to 20 feet, making the putt for eagle. That eagle coupled with two bogeys on the front nine had us turning at even par.

Things started to come around on the back nine as Kevin hit a 5 wood from 238 yards on the par 3 13th to 4 feet. From then on, he hit it great for the rest of the round. The day was capped off with another great 5 wood on the par 5 17th to 30 feet. Kevin made that putt for his second eagle for the day. A nice up and down on the final hole had us finishing the day at 3 under par 67 (9 under total).

Nine under leaves us t-11th going into tomorrows final round. We tee off at 12:40 with VJ Singh. After the round we worked on the putter. Kevin didn't like how he hit a few of his putts today. After a short session on the green we hit a few balls before we called it a night. Can't wait to get after it tomorrow.

Canadian Open - Second Round

It's getting late so I'll sum it up quickly; GREAT Caddying today!

Canadian Open - First Round

The weather held off until the last hole. With showers and storms in the forecast for the entire day, we caught a break and played 17 holes without rain. But when the rain came, it came hard and fast. We played the 18th hole in a downpour and by the time we reached the green, it was under water and unplayable. After about a 30 minute delay, the greens staff was able to squeegee the green and we were able to putt and finish the round.

Kevin got off a nice start. He only missed one fairway and one green on the front nine. Even though he had a number of lip outs, we still made three birdies. A bogey on the tough par 3 (6th) was our only bogey and we turned at 2 under par.

The back nine we struggled with the ball striking. We only hit two fairways and one green on the back nine but Kevin's short game kept us it. We only made one bogey on the back and we were able to get it in at one under par (69). Frustrated with how things turned with his ball striking, Kevin showed a lot of guts today. We are not going to hit it well everyday/all day so the importance of a solid short game shined through today. I was proud of him.

We tee off tomorrow on number 10 at 8:50. Rain and storms are in the forecast again. Lets hope we can catch another break with the weather.

Canadian Open (Hamilton, Ontario) - Travel and Practice

Monday was a long day for both of us. Kevin's flight out of Jackson, MS was scheduled for 6:00am. After boarding the plane, they all had to come off because of mechanical issues. Long story short, Kevin finally arrived in Canada and got to a hotel around midnight.

I got home about 11pm Sunday night and my Monday got started by watching my kids play in the Western NC Junior. They did great. Albany (9) won the girls 11 and under division and Alex (6) finished 3rd playing with the 11 and under boys. After their tournament, they took me to the airport and my day was just getting started. I decided to fly into Buffalo, NY and then drive over to Hamilton, Ontario. After my delays, I finally arrived into Buffalo at midnight but my luggage decided not to come with me. After filling out the proper customs paper work, getting my rental car, and driving across the border; I made it to my hotel room at 3:00am. Even though it was all a pain, I am just thankful to arrive safely.

The plan was to meet Kevin around noon at the club. I woke up at 8:00 and headed out to find a Walmart to buy the necessaries I needed for the day. I needed shoes, socks, underwear, and a belt. Thankfully, I wore solid shorts and a collared shirt on the plane so I decided to wear those same clothes today. We played our practice round with Bud Cauley, Brain Harman and Hunter Hamrick. Kevin played well, hitting the ball much better today. After the round, we went to the range and worked on the same keys we had all day. It was a good session.

Tomorrow we will have the normal Wednesday routine. We plan on meeting about 10 in the morning. Our tee times this week will be 1:50 Thursday and 8:50 Friday.

True South Classic - Jackson, MS

I was not able to blog last week because the storms we had on Thursday afternoon knocked out the Internet at my hotel. They were not able to get the Internet up and running until Saturday afternoon. Teeing off Thursday morning, we were able to finish our round before the Tour had to suspend play for the day. Kevin played well during the first round, not making a bogey, and shooting four under par 68.

Another thunderstorm mid day on Friday kicked our second round starting time back to 6:40pm. We were only able to play five holes before play was called due to darkness on Friday night. Kevin made four pars and a birdie on those five holes.

Play was scheduled to restart Saturday morning at 7:00am. I arrived at the course at 5:45 but the Tour once again had to suspend the restart because of more storms. We were finally able to restart round two at 11:30. With the heat index at 104 degrees and walking in muddy, soft conditions - we were in for a long day. Kevin finished round two with a one under par 71 (5 under total). As soon as we finished, we had something to eat, changed our clothes and it was time to start round 3. We played until dark (16 holes) and we were even par for round three when play was suspended.

The restart for Sunday morning was once again 7:00am. We finished the round with an even par 72. The Tour decided to repair the field according to score for the final round, so we had a few hours before we started the final round. Kevin was able to manage a two under par (70) and we finished the tournament at 7 under for the week. Kevin ball striking was not what we liked for the week and we had a lot of putts lip out on the greens. But on a positive note, Kevin's short game was awesome and it was the glue that kept the rounds together. Because of his short game, we at least had the opportunity to shoot low.

When we finished, we were both worn out. We just played 50 holes over a 28 hour period with heat indexes over 100 degrees. But there was no rest for the weary. Kevin was flying out to Canada in the morning and I flew back to North Carolina for the night before heading to Canada on Monday afternoon.

True South Classic (Jackson, MS) - Tuesday

After missing the cut at the John Deere, we both went home for the weekend. I left at 4:30am Saturday morning and was able to make it home for dinner with the family. On Sunday, Kevin's instructor, Rickey Sullivan, drove over to Aiken from Charleston to work with Kevin for the afternoon. After driving 13 hours home on Saturday, I decided not to drive another 10 hours (20 hour round trip) over to Jackson, MS on Monday. With Kevin not arriving until Tuesday morning, I got on the first flight out of Charlotte this morning. We met on the putting green around noon and started our practice. With the heat index over 100, it did not take long for us to be soaked through our shirts.

We played our practice round with Scott Brown, Tommy Biershenk and Colt Knost. Kevin hit it much better today. Kevin and Rickey worked out the right shot and Kevin feels much better about his swing. We made sure we continued with our short game work around each green and we had a very productive day. We finished the day about 6:00pm and we were all soaked with sweat from head to toe. The shower could not come fast enough.

Tomorrow we will play golf off site. It will be a great way to keep working on the swing and stay rested by riding in a cart. Our tee times this week are 8:39 Thursday and 1:39 Friday. We will be paired with Brendon Todd and Zack Reeves.

John Deere Classic - Round Two

Well, we made enough birdies (7) today to shoot low. Unfortunately, we added six bogeys to go along with them. Right from the start, we continued struggling with hitting the ball to the right. After hitting a perfect tee shot on number one, we missed a wedge right that finished buried in the greenside bunker and we once again started a round with a bogey. That trend continued all day. In fact, all ten of our bogeys this week occurred after missing a shot to the right. This is something we will need to fix before The Viking Classic next week in Jackson, MS.

After the round, Kevin decided to fly home tomorrow morning with Brittany for the weekend and said he will head over to Jackson, MS on Tuesday. Since he has decided to do this, I've decided to leave tomorrow and drive home. I will have a 13 hour trip tomorrow, so I'll leave early and try to get home for dinner with the family. I'll spend Sunday at home and will drive over to Mississippi on Monday.

John Deere Classic - First Round

With perfect conditions here in Moline, IL, we got off to a tough start. Teeing off of the par 5 - 10th, our 5 iron lay up shot went right into a water hazard leading to a bogey. Another shot right off the eleventh tee finished again in a hazard but it stayed on the edge, in the grass, and we had a shot. Kevin was able to get the ball pin high but we could not convert the up and down. Two over through two was testing our patience early. Things did not get better as we missed a few birdie opportunities and then added another bogey on our 6th hole (#15). Determined not to let this round get away from us, we kept talking about patience, forgetting the past and grinding it out.

Kevin's ball striking started to come around. A wedge to 3 feet on the par 5 - 17th (our 8th) gave us our first birdie of the day. He then drove it great the rest of the day. We still missed a few iron shots right but he was able to make some great up and downs on the back nine to get us in at one over par - 72. Even though the scores were low today, Kevin's round at least gives us an opportunity tomorrow.

After the round, we went through the normal routine. He's not struggling during our practice sessions so we just need to get it out on the course. We should be able to take some confidence from our back nine today and feed off of that tomorrow. We tee off at 1:50 on number one.

John Deere Classic - Tuesday Practice

We had a great day of practice today. We met at 9am and warmed up for a 10:00 practice round. We played nine holes with William McGirt and Tommy Biershenk. Kevin hit it well and we spent extra time around the greens working on the short game. We played a little game where I put Kevin in nine realistic up and down positions (one on each hole) and he was able to get all nine balls up and down. After the round, we went over to the short game area and continued to work on the short game. When we finished there, we took a break for lunch and then finished the day with some more range work and putting. It was a perfect, productive day.

When we finished, Kevin went to workout and I decided to find a local course for a little practice and play of my own. It wasn't much of a place but it was fun and I spent the rest of the day playing golf. Tomorrow we plan on having a light practice day at the course. Our tee time for Thursday is 8:40 off number 10 with Stephen Gangluff and Will Claxton.

John Deere Classic (Silvis, IL) - Monday Practice

After missing the cut last week at The Greenbrier, Kevin flew over to Moline, IL Sunday afternoon and was able to play a practice round late with Willaim McGirt. I had the family with me last week, so I stayed with them on Saturday and spent Sunday driving. After 11 hours, I called it quits in Peoria, IL and only had an hour and half drive this morning. I met Kevin about 10am and we had a practice session before we started the pro-am at 11:30.

The pro-am took 6 hours so we called it quits for the day when we finished. Our plan for tomorrow will be a 9 hole practice round, lunch, and then practice.