Justin Timberlake Shriners Open - Las Vegas, NV

Kevin and I arrived in Las Vegas on Sunday. We played last week on the Nationwide Tour in Saboba, CA. Last week's event was a nice warm up to the Fall Finish on the PGA Tour. Kevin hit the ball great three out of the four days in Saboba. We struggled with the putter but it was a good week getting back into the swing of things.

Early in the week we had some great practice rounds and practice sessions. The golf course is in perfect condition and the weather is perfect. On Thursday, we struggled a bit with the ball striking but is was not far off. He was missing shots a little right but the contact was solid. Only hitting five fairways and just over 50% of the greens, Kevin's short game kept us in the tournament and we were able to manage a one under par round (70). After the round, we worked on freeing up the tension in his arms and he was able to get the ball back on line.

This morning, we teed off at 8:16 and got off to a tough start. A drive into the right rough and then a pitching wedge that shot right of the green put us into a difficult position. A three putt after the chip shot led to a double bogey start. Kevin gutted it out and came right back with a perfect drive and a nine iron to 1.5 feet on the next hole for a birdie. He stayed committed to each shot and played great the rest of the day. We finished the day with five birdies and an eagle for a 5 under par (66). We are now 6 under for the tournament and ready for the weekend.

Mylan Classic - Third Round

It was an up and down day. Six birdies were offset by two bogeys and two doubles. We started the round with a great tee shot down the middle but our second shot 9 iron flew over the green. Kevin was able to get it up and down but I think it set the tone for the rest of the day. With the heat and humidity high, we struggled getting comfortable controlling the distance with the scoring clubs. After a double on our third hole, Kevin settled into the round and got it rolling again starting the on the par three 5th. He played the next 7 holes 5 under par and moved to 16 under for the tournament (3 under for the day). Things started to unravel on the par 3 (14th) as we pulled an 8 iron and failed to get it up and down. A poor wedge on the 15th led to a three putt bogey and then another pulled 8 iron coupled with poor chipping on 16 led to another double. That three hole stretch backed us up to one over for the day and 12 under for the tournament. Kevin dug deep and hit a great wedge that looked like it bounced off the flag stick and made the putt for birdie. Another great shot into the 18th left us about 10 feet but we were not able to convert the birdie. Our final round 71 keeps us in the lead tied with two others at 13 under par.

Due to the weather forecast, tee time have been adjusted and the field will be split, going off both the first and tenth tees in threesomes. We tee off in the last group at 10:00 with John Mallinger and Gary Christain.

Mylan Classic - Round 2

We had another great day. With the weather conditions perfect for scoring, we started the day with six straight pars before the flood gates opened. Kevin hit his first five greens and had nice looks at birdie. After coming up short on number six, he made a great up and down to save par. He then plays the next 8 holes - 7 under par. We had three more opportunities on 15, 16 and 17 but was unable to convert. The day concluded with a holed out 8 iron from 161 yards on 18 for eagle. Our 9 under par (62) ties the course record and puts us at 13 under for the tournament.

We tee off tomorrow at 1:00 with Gary Christian. Looking forward to the process!!

Mylan Classic (Pittsburgh, PA) - Round 1

It was an early morning with a 4:30 wake up call. I arrived at the club about shortly before 6am and we started our warm up in the dark. Our 7:20 tee time was the earliest tee time we have had all year. Kevin got off to a solid start, hitting it solid and giving himself good looks at birdie. A pulled drive on our 7th hole (#16) finished in the rough, on a side hill lie and led to our only bogey for the day. With a thunderstorm rolling in, play was suspended when we reached the next tee.

Play resumed 2.5 hours later and Kevin continued his solid play. With the wind blowing strong, it made it difficult to figure out the correct yardages because of the extreme elevation changes. But we managed it nicely and Kevin was able to hit all but one green coming in. A nice 10 footer for birdie on the difficult 4th hole (our 13th) got us back to even for the day. Two more solid pars and then Kevin caught fire over the final three holes. Finishing birdie, eagle, birdie put us at 4 under (67) for the day. What makes today even more impressive was it was done with a new grip. One of the most difficult things to do in golf is changing your grip. Kevin made a major change from using an overlap grip to an interlocking grip. Kevin and his instructor believe this is something that needs to be done for him to improve and be more consistent. Only two and a half days into the change, and he was able to hit 15 out of 18 greens.

Due to the 2.5 hour delay, play could not be completed today. When play was suspended for the night at 8pm, 7 under is leading and we are t-4th. They will resume play in the morning and complete round 1. Our second round tee time has now been pushed backed 30 minutes and we are scheduled to tee off at 1pm. The weather forecast is for more chances of thunderstorms tomorrow around mid-day. It could be another long day.

 

Knoxville Open - Final Round

We put ourselves in position and had our chance. After getting off to a rocky start, pulling two six irons in a row, Kevin settled into the round and played well. We made the turn at one over for the day (37) and made birdies on 10, 12, and 13 to get within one shot of the lead with 5 holes remaining. On 14, our tee shot found the fairway bunker only 115 yards from the hole but we caught a bad break as the ball finished close to the edge. Kevin could not get his left foot into the sand at address and had to stand with it outside the bunker on a severe downslope. As he swung the wedge, his left foot slipped down the slope and his natural reaction was to come up out of the shot. He thinned it over the green, out of bounds. We then had to drop another ball in the bunker, slightly plugging in the sand, he hit his next shot heavy into the greenside bunker. When we got to the greenside bunker, we found the ball buried just over the front lip of the trap and he had no backswing. We had to play the ball out sideways away from the hole. The end result was a quadruple bogey 8 and our chance of winning was washed away in a matter of 5 minutes. It was a horrible feeling because we did nothing wrong. He worked hard all week to get himself into a position to win the tournament and it all ended because of a lie and stance.

We question why things like this happen, it sucks and it really stings the psyche. But after a few days, we have to look at the big picture. Kevin played well enough to win the golf tournament. We finished 2nd in putts per green in regulation and led the field in birdies. Golf is a process. We are now back in Pittsburgh (Mylan Classic), site of his last win on the Nationwide Tour. We should have a lot of confidence heading into this week and if we continue to build on what we are doing, we'll have another opportunity this week.

After Sunday's round, Kevin and I both went home. He is flying into Pittsburgh this afternoon (Tuesday). I drove up yesterday after taking Alex to his first day of school and Geraldine out for breakfast for her birthday. We are going to meet this afternoon for a nine hole practice round and then we are in the pro-am tomorrow afternoon.

Knoxville Open - Third Round

We had a tough front nine. After opening with a birdie on the first and being one under through 3 holes, we made a bad club selection off the tee on number 4 and hit a perfect 3 wood through the fairway into the water hazard. That mistake led to a bogey and then a bad swing off the next tee sent our tee shot out of bounds. After re-teeing, Kevin hit some great shots and was able to make a 10 footer to save a bogey. We finished the front nine with 4 pars and shot one over (37).

The momentum finally changed on 10 when Kevin chipped in for eagle. We were able to follow that up with 3 more birdies and came in with a 5 under par (31) on the back nine. The 4 under (68) puts us 16 under through three rounds and t-2nd. The leader is one shot ahead at 17 under.

Today was a perfect example of why it is so important to stay patient and keep a positive attitude. You don't have to be perfect. Kevin overcame a poor course management decision followed by a bad swing but worked his way back into contention. When he showed up in Knoxville on Tuesday, he had only one goal for the week....WIN. He has done all the right things so far and we are 18 holes away from reaching our goal. We'll try to give ourselves 18 more opportunities tomorrow and see what happens.

We tee off tomorrow at 1:00 with John Mallinger.   

Knoxville Open - Second Round

We had another solid day. Kevin got off to a great start with birdies on the first two holes. He continued to give himself great opportunities at birdie but was unable to connect. A poor swing with a six iron on the par 3 sixth hole led to our only bogey. Kevin was in control all day with the only difference from yesterday being the putter. But he stayed patient and birdied three of the last 5 holes to finish the day at 4 under par (68).

Our 12 under total leaves us tied for 4th going into the weekend. We tee off tomorrow at 12:50 with Brain Bateman.