Round 2: Strong Finish

I had a great day leading up to my 12:10 tee time in today's second round. I had a very efficient practice session in the morning and really felt good about my game. Poor weather was in the forecast for the afternoon, but I was thoroughly prepared for it mentally and in terms of having the proper equipment. All-in-all, I walked to the tee feeling like it would be a great round. I striped a perfect tee shot on the 10th (my first) hole, and thought that I was off and running. Seven holes and one very brief but annoying rain cloud later, I had hit a lot of good shots, but stood at one over par for my round and was scratching my head a bit. I was determined to continue playing one shot a time and committing fully to a good plan on each shot. I finally rolled in a birdie putt on the par-3 17th (my 8th) hole, and that got me going. Counting that birdie, I played my final 11 holes in 5 under par today to shoot a four-under-par score of 68. It was a solid score on a demanding course, and it has me back in the middle of this tournament.

I must admit that I wasn't pleased with my thought process for a while today. As I watched some good shots not turn out great in the early going and missed some make-able birdie putts, the cut-line began to weigh heavily on my mind. I was able to overcome those thoughts, though, and continued to execute good shots all day. I definitely hope that in the future I can stay in the present well enough to not let the cut-line affect my thoughts, but I am pleased with the way I battled that distraction today.

My game really feels good. I definitely still hit a few loose shots here and there, but I feel that consistency is slowly developing in my game. In addition to that, I feel like I am continuing to become stronger mentally. I really expect to be playing great golf very soon. I'm excited to have two more days here at Palmetto Hall in the year's opening event to keep improving. If I can build on the success that I have had the last two days, this weekend could get very exciting. Keep it here for a report from round 3 tomorrow and follow the results at: www.egolfprofessionaltour.com. Thank you for the support!