Disappointment on Day 1

The first round did not go according to plan. Despite feeling good heading into the tournament and having a nice warm up session in the morning, I just felt uncomfortable and out of sync on the golf course. Horrible front-nine ball striking and poor putting all day led to a very, very bad 77 on a golf course that yielded a plethora of low rounds.

This round was painful. I truly thought I was ready to play well, but I just never settled into any kind of rhythm. I was actually getting away with a lot of poor tee shots on the front nine, but two three-putts and a four-putt caused me to play the final five holes of the front nine in six-over-par. I did settle down a little from a ball-striking standpoint on the back nine as I hit every green and had a reasonable look at birdie on each of the last eight holes. Unfortunately, I never got even one of those birdie putts to fall.

I must admit that I got a little down today as I felt what had been a great deal of excitement about my game slowly melt away. I did not do a good job staying in the present, and I was fighting a little bit of "internal pouting" out there on the course. I was kicking myself for that and trying to stay positive, but I did not handle my emotions very well today. Rough rounds are a part of this life that I am so gladly choosing to live right now, and I know that I need to handle them better in order to give myself the best chance to be successful. I will learn from today's experience and will not let it keep me down!

Tomorrow (Thursday) I play the more difficult of the two courses hosting this event. I know that I will need to play a great round of golf to keep myself alive in this tournament, but I also know that I am capable of doing just that. I'm ready to just relax and play golf. Tomorrow is a new day, and I AM going to enjoy the challenge as I tear up the course at River Run Country Club. Check back for details!