That's More Like It in Round 1

At 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, I was a little bit concerned about the state of my golf game. A couple of frustrating practice rounds had me scratching my head and wondering where the great feelings I have been having in my golf game had gone. A quiet and calm practice session on Tuesday evening righted the ship and had me feeling better going into Wednesday's first round of the Egolf Tour's Championship at St. James, but I still entered the round with lower expectations and a plan to be conservative and intelligent. A routine birdie at the short par-4 10th got me started on a good note, and then I hit a great shot into the water-guarded par-5 11th hole. Facing 230 yards into a stiff breeze, I hit a beautiful low three wood that landed next to the hole before settling just off the back edge of the green. An easy up and down had me off to a birdie-birdie start, and I never really looked back. My game plan for the day was to not worry about anything. I wanted to commit to a plan on every shot and not worry about the results. I was able to do that all day, and when it was all said and done, I had posted a ten-birdie, one-bogey round of 63 on the demanding Founders Course at St. James Plantation.

It really was a great round, but I am more excited about the mindset that I was able to have and keep than the score or the position that it has me in the tournament. I never once was worried about where I shot would go today. In fact, my lone bogey came because I probably took my "worry-free" approach a little to far on the par-5 fourth hole. I had 227 yards to the flag with water guarding the left side of the green. Right is a tough up and down, so I was determined to make a committed swing and hit my shot just right of the flag. I was not going to let the water steer me off course, and I made an aggressive swing, but pull-hooked the shot into the water. It was disappointing to make a bogey in that situation, but I was proud of every shot I hit today.

I am very excited about how good I felt on the golf course today. If I can maintain that mindset, I know that I can do great things. My strategy will be the same tomorrow: have an intelligent plan on every shot and then execute with no fear. No matter what happens, I will have fun from beginning to end! Come back for a good report from round 2 and follow the results at www.egolfprofessionaltour.com.