Wrap-up From Victoria National

It is a very good sign about the state of my golf game when I walk away from a tournament tied for 14th place and am very disappointed.

I had a great week in Indiana at the Web.com Tour's United Leasing Championship. The host course for the event, Victoria National Golf Club, is an incredible (and incredibly difficult) venue. I certainly had my share of ups and downs during all of the rounds, but through 69 holes of the tournament, I was at five under par, which is the score that ended up in second place. Unfortunately, I played the final three holes of the tournament in four over par and tumbled into a tie for 14th place at one under par. Despite the disappointing finish, I am able to remember the the solid play from the first 69 holes, and I leave Victoria National feeling as encouraged as ever. 

And there is plenty about which to be encouraged. My short game was on point, and, for the most part, I was quite happy with my putting as well. My iron play was quite good at times, and I continue to be pleased with my wedge play. I showed some real mental fortitude in some tough spots throughout the week and gutted out a lot of great bogies after finding some of the trouble that exists on every hole at Victoria National. A lot of the hard work that I have put in really shined through the demanding test of last week's event, and that is exciting to see. 

Victoria National also revealed some question marks about my game that have me motivated to keep striving for improvement. On possibly the most intimidating tee-shot golf course I will play all year, I drove the ball quite poorly. I finally got it to start clicking a little bit on Sunday, but for most of the week, I was missing fairways both directions and causing myself lots of trouble. In addition to my struggles with the driver, I found that my iron play became shaky on a couple of the most intimidating looking holes. Actually, I am thinking specifically of the 16th hole. The picturesque par three absolutely ate my lunch. It features a very narrow green surrounded by water on three sides, and I found myself highly uncomfortable on that tee each day. I hit two five irons and a seven iron into the water on that hole during four rounds of tournament play. I attribute the uncomfortableness I experienced on that tee to not quite fully "owning" my golf swing yet. I know I am on the right track, and in anything less than the most intimidating of situations I can rely on it, but I still have work to do to truly trust my swing. As always, my shortcomings from Victoria National don't feel like failures so much as a nice reminder to keep grinding. I am excited to keep getting better. 

Speaking of getting better, I debuted my new "tournament-week" edition of my practice goals at Victoria National and really enjoyed them. I still felt just as good about my preparation as usual, but felt less stressed and tired due to my practice schedule. I completed a Full Practice Schedule and a Light Fitness Routine last week, and I feel great about both. 

I have no tournament this week and am excited for the chance to work on my game. I am currently traveling to Florida to spend Tuesday morning with Mitchell, and I also have a day set up to spend time with my boy Jake Reeves back home as well. I am going to keep getting better, and that is exciting given that I am already seeing good results.

Thank you for following me and for your support. I'm sorry for not giving any updates during the tournament in Indiana. I'll do better moving forward. Keep it here for a practice report from home later this week!