Lots of Positives from a Tough Weekend in Mexico

As the 36-hole leader, I could taste another win this week on the Web.com Tour. I was a little bit erratic over the weekend, however, and I ended up in a tie for eighth place in Mexico. Given some of the adversity I caused myself on Saturday and Sunday, I am pleased with the way I stayed tough and finished strongly. It stinks not to get the win, but a top-ten finish is never a bad thing, and I definitely have plenty of positives on which I will build from this week.

I also have a lot of motivation to keep working on my game. I made a few nervy swings over the weekend and hit a couple of costly shots. Never was that more the case than on the island-green, par-five eighth hole on Sunday. An aggressive drive up the watery right side of the fairway left me with just a six iron to the island green. Unfortunately, I never settled my mind over the shot, and I made my worst swing in recent memory. I semi-shanked the shot well right of the green and into the lake. This was by far the worst shot I hit all weekend, but there were others that reminded me that I still have work to do on my game. I know that getting better is a process, and I also know that I am on the right track, but this weekend has me hungry for more improvement. 

That shot on eight rattled me a little bit, and I did something on that green that I have never done before. I gave myself a decent chance to save par, but my par putt stopped on the right lip of the cup--less than an inch from the hole. My head was spinning as I walked up to tap it in for bogey, and I swung my putter over the top of the ball. I was attempting to tap my ball in the hole, so that whiff counted as a stroke and I made double bogey. I honestly don't even know what happened except to say that I completely lost focus in that moment. What a valuable (and costly!) lesson! But, I will indeed learn from that and absolutely never make that mistake again. 

Now, to the positive stuff. I played some great golf this week, and I overcame some great adversity. Even though the weekend was disappointing for me, I still accomplished something great. Playing in tough and windy conditions, I played my final 12 holes in two under par on Sautrday after bogieing five of the first six holes. Then in even windier conditions on Sunday, after having a shank and a whiff on the same hole, I played the final ten holes bogey-free and three under par to climb back into the top ten. That took some mental fortitude, and it required a golf game that was pretty sharp, too. I am disappointed not to have played better overall on the weekend, but I have plenty of reasons to still be encouraged. 

I'm excited to be heading home and to have a week to work on things. I'll be back with a Process Goals update and a practice report by midweek. Thank you for following me, and please keep up the support. I really appreciate it!