Hey everyone, I apologize for the late post. This week has been hectic to say the least. Lots of activities with most of my days being spent on the golf course.
The most anticipated tournament of the season is under way. I am here in Venice Florida along with 233 other professional female golfers this week for the Futures Qualifying Stage II tournament. We are playing Plantation Golf & Country Club for the duration of the four-day event. Plantation has 36 holes we have been playing, The Bobcat and The Panther, both of which are in excellent condition.
I arrived in Venice Saturday afternoon to begin preparation for this week. Upon arrival, I was told of all the recent weather problems this area had been facing. Rain, Rain and more rain had filled the skies weeks in advance of Qschool and up until Tuesday morning, it had yet to let up. Shortly after my practice round on Saturday afternoon, the rain set it and did not let up until Sunday afternoon. Sunday morning, I had just enough time to get out and play five holes before we were taken off the course and did not return for the rest of the day. And you guessed it, Monday proved to be the same result. I was able to complete four holes before calling it a day. I said all of this to say, the golf course has been extremely wet during these past three rounds, specifically the Panther course.
I began the week Tuesday afternoon with a 12:00 p.m. tee time on the Bobcat course. I started the day off with a bogey on the first, but quickly followed it up with a birdie on my second hole. With a few pars under my belt, I ran into a bit of trouble on my fifth hole of the day. After an errant tee shot, which was quickly followed up by an even worse second shot, I finished the hole with a triple bogeys seven. I made the turn after nine holes at three over. Unfortunately, the back nine matched the front. I had several birdies and several bogeys followed by one double bogey to finish the day at six over par, 78.
I teed off Wednesday morning on the Panther Course at 8:05. I pared the first and was off to a decent start, due to the length of the first hole. The second hole was playing as a 165-yard par three. I flared my tee shot out to the right and my ball managed to find its way in between three very large palm trees (the joys of playing in Florida). The pin was sitting about 10 paces on the green, which gave me plenty of green to work with, but I only had about six feet in between the trees to hit it. Somehow, I managed to slide my ball in-between the palms and my ball finished up four feet from the hole. I made the putt and between my caddy and myself, we declared that could have been one of the most interesting up and downs to save par I have ever had!
The next hole was a par five playing 537 yards with water down the left side and out of bounds along the right. I pushed my tee shot to the right and could not manage to advance it very much due to a downhill lie in the wet rough. After a double bogey there and many more mistakes, I finished the front nine with a 41. The back nine shown to be just as frustrating. With zero birdies and many more mistakes, I carded an 82 for the day. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. This week’s event is not about going low, but you must stay consistent to advance to the next qualifying stage.
After Wednesdays round, I knew it would take two very low rounds Thursday and Friday to even give myself a chance.
I was back on the Bobcat course this morning, the dryer of the two, with an 8:25 tee time. With great chip shots on the first three holes to save par, I went on a bogey streak. I bogeyed the fourth-sixth hole as well as the eight and ninth. Again, I found myself behind the eight ball after the turn! I had shot yet another 41 on the front nine and was not happy. Nothing seemed to be going my way. I knew I had to play well on the back nine to salvage a decent round for the day. I pared the tenth hole, but had yet another bogey on the eleventh and twelfth hole. I had a momentum change on the par four thirteenth hole when I hit my five wood to three feet to make the first birdie since Tuesday morning! With a bogey on the sixteenth and another on the seventeenth, I finished the back nine at one over par to card yet another 78 for the week.
Obviously, I am very disappointed in this week’s performance. I cannot take back what has happened, but I can learn from my mistakes and grow. I still have one more round, which will begin at 8:15 tomorrow morning on the Panther Course once again. I have not lost faith in my ability and believe it or not, am excited about seeing what tomorrow has in store. I will give it my all and move on. I will grow from this week and become a better golfer because of it.
I will keep you all posted as tomorrows round is completed.
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