Birdies to End My 2013 Schedule on Another High Note

I entered the PGA Tour's OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, expecting to have to battle some loose ball-striking. I surprised myself and hit the ball fairly well in the opening two rounds, but my putter refused to heat up, and I posted identical rounds of 69 (-2, -4 total). Those certainly weren't great scores in the opening rounds, but I easily made the cut and stood in the middle of the field heading into the weekend. I continued to hit my irons fairly well over the final two rounds, but unfortunately, I started to hit my driver very erratically. I had suffered zero penalty shots over the first two rounds, but I hit one ball out of play during Saturday's third round and three balls out of play during my final round on Sunday. When I kept it on the golf course, however, I was finally brilliant with my wedges and putter on Sunday. Two penalty shots and a nasty three-putt had me at two over par through five holes in the final round. It would be a lie to say I was feeling good at that point, but I did keep a good attitude, and I went on a tear! I birdied 9 of the final 13 holes (including 6 of the final 7) in my last tournament round of 2013 to post a fourth-round 65 (-6). That final-round got me to 11 under par for the tournament and vaulted me from the bottom half of the field all the way up to a 15th-place finish. It was a great exclamation mark to a great year, and a fantastic testament to the value of a strong mental game. 

My finish this week was very valuable for a couple of reasons. First of all, it is obviously good to get the confidence that comes from playing great in a final round. this one was particularly big, however, because the PGA tour re-shuffles my category after this tournament. That means that I will move up the priority list and now have a much better chance to get in the tournaments early next year. I am obviously pretty good at staying present with my thoughts on the golf course, but the implications of my good play this weekend are huge with regards to my opportunities next spring.

So, what now? I have seven weeks before my next golf tournament. I'm not exactly sure what all I want to accomplish during that time, but I know what the next two weeks are going to look like. I'm going to commit to three things: being a husband; settling in to our new home; and re-establishing a routine to keep my body in peak condition. When December gets here, I will have a whole new list of off-season goals that I want to accomplish, but for the next two weeks, these three things are my priorities.

I couldn't be more excited right now. I have a lot more analyzing and summarizing to do from my 2013 season, but it obviously was a pretty darn good one! Keep it right here for news going forward into the off-season, and thank you so much for following me, supporting me, and enjoying this ride with me!