Springfield Rounds 1, 2, & 3

This week has already been a huge success for me. That is true despite the fact that a disappointing third round has left me in 12th place and a distant nine shots behind the leader heading into the final round. I set out early this week to follow my process and have a great week of work, and I have done just that. I am one short workout and five minutes of short game practice away from completing my Full Fitness Routine and Full Practice Schedule this week, and I will get those done today. I had an awful lot of non-golf-related thoughts swirling around my mind as the week started, but a great pep-talk from my sweet wife on Tuesday afternoon helped me get my head on straight, and I have been focused on doing my job since then. That is why is has been a successful week. I overcame a tough week mentally last week and a bad start to this week to put forth some of my most focused and productive work. That feels really good, and it does wonders for my golf game physically and mentally. 

In addition to clearing that mental hurdle, I have really played some great golf as well. I opened the tournament with one of the most bizarre rounds I have ever played. I hit a few very poor shots, but with the exception of those, I was extremely sharp. I carded 11 birdies in the opening round to offset my three bogies for an eight-under-par 64. Then, on Friday, I was much more solid, but couldn't quite get the putter hot. Through 16 holes on Friday, I had made 14 pars and two birdies. I finished with two birdies in a row for a 68. Saturday was a little bit frustrating because I continued to feel like I was playing solidly, but I simply couldn't get anything going. It seemed that I had birdie putts in the 10-20 foot range on every hole, but I made none of them. I also made a pair of unforced errors in the middle of my round and dropped a couple shots. At the end, I birdied the final hole to post a third-round 70, so I left the golf course on a positive note. In general, I feel like I am playing very well, and I am excited moving forward. 

So, I head into Sunday feeling like this has been already been a successful week. That is a very good thing, but I also know that I can still accomplish something great in the tournament. I feel good about the way I am playing, and I'm excited to go out with a great attitude and execute well today. 

Keep it here for a final-round report sometime during the day on Monday. Thank you for following me!

Here's a picture of the par-five finishing hole for this week's event. We could have some fireworks here!