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.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
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.
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.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
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.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Athens, GA (Round Three)
It was a rainy, nasty day. With gusty winds, temperatures in the 50's and a steady rain all day, Kevin played a solid round shooting two under par (69). The conditions were brutal. The umbrella was up all day and everything was absolutely soaked through. I did the best I could but I was a drown rat out there. I went through three towels and it was still impossible to keep anything dry. But Kevin and I worked well together. We had a good, solid routine together and handled the conditions as good as anyone. He was able to make four birdies with only two bogeys. His two under par moved up to t-13th heading into Sunday.
Kevin's ball striking was excellent today in those conditions. He drove it good and hit 15 greens. A missed short putt on our 17th hole for par and then missing a six foot birdie putt on the last hole put a damper on what was a very solid round. Kevin is a bit upset about the missed scoring opportunities with the putter but when you look at the stats, he is ranked 15th in total putts and 12th in putts/GIR through three rounds.
Due to the forecast of heavy rain overnight and then the chances of rain going down tomorrow afternoon, the Tour pushed the tee times back. The fourth round will not start until 11:00am, teeing off again in threesomes off the 1st and 10th tees. Our tee time is 12:06 on #1 with Rafael Echenique and Tim Petrovic.
Kevin's ball striking was excellent today in those conditions. He drove it good and hit 15 greens. A missed short putt on our 17th hole for par and then missing a six foot birdie putt on the last hole put a damper on what was a very solid round. Kevin is a bit upset about the missed scoring opportunities with the putter but when you look at the stats, he is ranked 15th in total putts and 12th in putts/GIR through three rounds.
Due to the forecast of heavy rain overnight and then the chances of rain going down tomorrow afternoon, the Tour pushed the tee times back. The fourth round will not start until 11:00am, teeing off again in threesomes off the 1st and 10th tees. Our tee time is 12:06 on #1 with Rafael Echenique and Tim Petrovic.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Athens, GA (Round Two)
When I showed up at the golf course this morning, it was raining and the wind was causing it to come down sideways. After a wet warmup, the rain finally stopped by the time we teed off.
Playing in gusty wind conditions, we got off to a tough start on the front nine. After only missing one fairway, were only able to hit three greens on the front and made the turn at two over par. Kevin hit it better on the back, only missing one green (due to a poor drive where we had to chip out) and he was able to bring it in at two under for an even par round (71). His even par total leaves him t-35th heading into the weekend.
Even though the conditions were tough, Kevin still does not like the way he hit the ball today. We headed to the range after the round and focused on the things he has been working on with his coach. In the windy conditions, he has the tendency to get his ball position back which leads to most of the problems. After the session on the range, we called it a day.
Due to the weather forecast for rain, the Tour moved the tee times up, playing in threesomes, and teeing off both tees. We will be going off at 8:22 on number 10. With the leaders only at 7 under and bad weather in the forecast for the weekend, we are still right in the ball game.
Playing in gusty wind conditions, we got off to a tough start on the front nine. After only missing one fairway, were only able to hit three greens on the front and made the turn at two over par. Kevin hit it better on the back, only missing one green (due to a poor drive where we had to chip out) and he was able to bring it in at two under for an even par round (71). His even par total leaves him t-35th heading into the weekend.
Even though the conditions were tough, Kevin still does not like the way he hit the ball today. We headed to the range after the round and focused on the things he has been working on with his coach. In the windy conditions, he has the tendency to get his ball position back which leads to most of the problems. After the session on the range, we called it a day.
Due to the weather forecast for rain, the Tour moved the tee times up, playing in threesomes, and teeing off both tees. We will be going off at 8:22 on number 10. With the leaders only at 7 under and bad weather in the forecast for the weekend, we are still right in the ball game.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Stadion Classic at UGA (Athens, GA) - Round One
After a a good week of practice, Kevin had a solid start to the week. We were first off this morning at 7:15 with Jason Gore and Andrew Loupe. I'm staying about 30 minutes away from the course, so that was an early wake up call for me. It was overcast, windy and misty rain for most of the morning. Kevin hit the ball well, but he just missed on a few scoring opportunities with the putter. A sloppy three putt on the last hole gave us an even par (71) for the day.
After the round, we hit some putts. Kevin mentioned that the putter didn't feel good all day. We just focused on the same things we have been working on over the last few weeks on with the putter. Making sure his setup is good and hitting some putts holding his head still. We then hit some balls and a few chips before calling it a day. Its time to get some rest and recharge for tomorrow.
We tee off tomorrow at 12:30.
After the round, we hit some putts. Kevin mentioned that the putter didn't feel good all day. We just focused on the same things we have been working on over the last few weeks on with the putter. Making sure his setup is good and hitting some putts holding his head still. We then hit some balls and a few chips before calling it a day. Its time to get some rest and recharge for tomorrow.
We tee off tomorrow at 12:30.
South Georgia Classic (Valdosta, GA)
I'm a week late updating the blog for the South Georgia Classic. The Internet in my motel was absolutely awful (along with the motel itself) and I couldn't get online long enough to blog. I'm happy to say my accommodations are just a little bit better this week.
Kevin finished the week one under par and tied for 34th place. The golf course was the longest on Tour at over 7800 yards. With the length, big fairways and big greens; it definitely wasn't built for his style of game. But with that said, Kevin birdied the last hole on Friday to make the cut on the number and then had a solid weekend. When we finished Sunday, we were both pretty pleased with the finish.
Beginning this year, Kevin started working with a new teacher, Scott Hamilton. Scott has students on both the PGA and Web.Com Tours. He was in New Orleans earlier in the week on the PGA Tour working with some players and came to Valdosta on Thursday. They worked hard after each round and Kevin's game is looking good.
After Sunday's round, we left Valdosta and headed three and half hours north to Athens, GA. He was looking forward to getting back into UGA Bulldog territory!!
Kevin finished the week one under par and tied for 34th place. The golf course was the longest on Tour at over 7800 yards. With the length, big fairways and big greens; it definitely wasn't built for his style of game. But with that said, Kevin birdied the last hole on Friday to make the cut on the number and then had a solid weekend. When we finished Sunday, we were both pretty pleased with the finish.
Beginning this year, Kevin started working with a new teacher, Scott Hamilton. Scott has students on both the PGA and Web.Com Tours. He was in New Orleans earlier in the week on the PGA Tour working with some players and came to Valdosta on Thursday. They worked hard after each round and Kevin's game is looking good.
After Sunday's round, we left Valdosta and headed three and half hours north to Athens, GA. He was looking forward to getting back into UGA Bulldog territory!!
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