More Excitement in Carolinas Tour at Bryan Park

Here is a quick summary from the two-day event that I played the past two days. Bryan Park is a great layout in Greensboro, NC, but with baked out fairways, the course was playing short and offering a lot of birdie opportunities. Winds howled the first day, however, and I wasn't very sharp. I birdied all four of the course's par 5's, but played the rest of the holes in four over par to post an even-par round of 72 on Monday. One player handled the wind quite well and opened with a 65 to take a four shot lead over the rest of the field into Tuesday's final round. I teed off five groups in front of the leaders in the second round, but I knew that I was definitely still in the battle for second place and possibly the win if the leader made any mistakes. In much calmer conditions, I set out to play my way back into the tournament. I eagled the easily reachable par-5 third hole to go three under par through three holes, but my momentum dwindled as I birdied only the other reachable par 5 on the front to turn at four-under par. A birdie at the par-4 tenth could have served as a spark, but I faltered on the par-5 eleventh by failing to convert a simple up-and-down for birdie from right in front of the green. Two holes later, however, I got some excitement back. The thirteenth is the most difficult hole at Bryan Park, and I hit an aggressive tee shot that just snuck through the fairway into some rough under an overhanging tree limb. I had to get my second shot curving hard from right to left to avoid the tree, but I executed a perfect low hook with a nine iron and the ball landed on the green, spun to the left and trickled right into the hole for an eagle. It was pretty exciting. I birdied two more holes coming in, but butchered the easy par-5 fifteenth and settled for par after a good tee shot. I shot a bogey-free 63, but parring the two back-nine par 5s felt like bogeys, and they cost me. I finished in second place, one shot behind the winner. It stinks that I let those two par 5s get away from me, but obviously my game is in good shape and is starting to produce some good results. I'm feeling good and am excited to keep improving!

I'm back in action in a hurry as this week's Egolf event starts Wednesday at Forest Oaks Country Club. Weather is supposed to be a problem for the opening round, but I am determined to be a in a good frame of mind regardless of the conditions. Come back for round-1 report in the evening. Thank you for following me!