Colombia Championship Round 1

I was bad in the first round of the Colombia Championship. The course fits me well and my game has been feeling excellent all week, but I was not good at all when the bell rang on Thursday. I made a long putt to open the tournament with a birdie, but made four bogies and a double-bogey over the next 17 holes. It is definitely disappointing to play such a poor round. I have worked really hard on my game, and I feel like I should be consistent enough not to have such a down performance, but it was just one of those days. I couldn't get things clicking in any facet of my game. The end result was a five-over-par round of 76. 

I do feel disappointed; I don't feel discouraged. I still feel like my hard work is working and I'm going to stay after it. I will tee it up well outside the cut-line in Friday morning's round, but I believe that I can play a solid round and make it to the weekend. My main goal for round two is to trust my work and play intelligent golf one shot at a time. At the end of the day, I know I'll be pleased with the results if I do that. 

It's way more fun to write about the good stuff, but I know that a lot of that is coming! Check back for a great report from round two Friday evening. Thank you for keeping up with me!

Bogota!

I could write several paragraphs about how good I am feeling about everything this week heading into the opening round of the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship. Instead, I'm just going to leave it at that. My golf game feels great. I absolutely love the golf course here. And Alicia and I have really enjoyed doing a little bit of exploring in Bogota. It all has me feeling great. My tournament begins at 12:50 PM on Thursday afternoon, and I am ready for a good one. I'm going to play with patience and stay in the present and trust all the hard work that I have put into my game. It's going to be a good tournament. 

As always, thank you for following me, and keep it here for updates throughout the tournament. For now, enjoy these cool pictures that Alicia took when we journeyed to the top of one of Bogota's highest mountain peaks (Monserrate, >10,000 feet). 

Panama Championship Round 4 and Wrap-up

My final score and my finish in the tournament do not paint an accurate picture of what my day was like on Sunday in the Panama Claro Championship. I posted a one-under-par round of 69 to move up slightly in the field and finish in a large tie for 40th place, but I played so much better than that. Coming off a rough day on Saturday during which I really felt like my thinking was poor, I had a much better mindset in round four. At the beginning of the day, I set a goal of moving up into the top 25, but then committed to playing my round one shot at a time as I tried to achieve that goal. I played beautifully, and through 14 holes, I was four under par for the round and back to even par for the tournament. I really hit only one very poor shot on the closing three holes, but a misjudged approach into the 16th and then that one bad shot into the 18th really cost me as I made a bogey and a double-bogey on those two holes, respectively, to fall to one under par for the day and three over par for the tournament. It is very disappointing to have finished poorly, but I can honestly say that I feel okay about the mistakes because I was committed and in the present on each of those shots coming down the stretch. I feel like I played better than a 69 in the final round, and I am highly encouraged by that moving forward. 

Overall, I am very pleased with my start to the Web.com Tour season. I certainly would have liked to do better than a 40th place finish, but I overcame some mental struggles to post good rounds, and I feel like my week in Panama is definitely a positive place from which to start building. My ball-striking was fairly good, but a tough day on Saturday skewed my greens in regulation stat. I hit 13, 13, 8, and 12 greens respectively for the four rounds. Saturday's round also hurt my par-five scoring average as I played the two par-fives in one over par in round three. I ended the week two under par on eight par-fives. Both of those statistical categories need to improve, but I am not at all discouraged by either of them. I really feel like my overall performance in Panama was pretty good. My putter was very cold through the first three and a half rounds, and I struggled with my mindset in the middle two rounds, but I know that I excel in both of those areas, so I will get back on track. I am really excited, actually, when I look back on this first week, and I am ready to improve upon it. 

One thing that I am particularly pleased with from the week is my committment to my Process Goals. I set out to complete both my Full Fitness Routine and Full Practice Schedule, but I wanted to do so without overwhelming myself in the near 100-degree Panama heat. I was incredibly productive and efficient with my work, and I did complete my full practice and fitness goals for the week. My only concern at all is that my Full Fitness Routine might be a bit too much during a tournament week in very hot conditions, but I will withhold judgement for now and and make adjustments later in the year if necessary. I was feeling very tired Friday evening but actually had a great energy level over the weekend. The thing I know for sure right now is that I like my Process Goals for this year very much and believe that a continued strong committment to them will get me to the Outcome Goals I have set. 

Because of the great week of work I just completed, this week will be very fun and a little bit interesting for me. Because of the structure I have set up for my Process Goals this year, I am responsible for only a Light Fitness Routine this week. I have completed all of my Practice Schedules for the first five-week segment of the year. I have never been at a tournament before and not had practice goals to meet, so I am curious to see how this week goes, but I am very much looking forward to some more relaxed work. I thik this will be very good for me, but only once every five weeks!

Now Alicia and I are in Bogota, Colombia. This is a brand new adventure for us, and we are excited about it. I am excited to get back to work. I feel like I got off to a solid start in Panama, but I am ready to stay in a better mindset for the entire tournament, get the putter hot again, and get into contention. It's going to be a fun week! Keep it here for updates from Bogota, and thank you for following me! 

Here's the view outside our hotel room: 

Panama Championship Round 3

Saturday's round didn't quite go as I had planned. I felt great about my game heading into round three, and I was very confident that I was going to shoot a good score. I was also very confident that I would have a great mindset and approach my round one shot at a time. I did neither of those two things. I started off very solidly and gave myself makeable birdie putts on seven of the first eigth holes. I couldn't get any of them to fall, and I found myself frustrated despite the fact that I was playing well. A couple of loose shots after the turn led to bogeys on holes 10 and 11 and then my mind began to spiral a little bit. I hit just one green in regulation on the back nine and made four bogies to post a four-over-par round of 74. I really don't feel like my golf swing abondoned me, I just let my mind get away from me a little bit again. I had a great practice session after my round and confirmed that all areas of my game are in great shape. As for the mental shortcomings I've experienced the past couple days on the course, I feel fairly certain that I am just getting back into the swing of playing tournament golf. I know that my mind and my attitude are my greatest strengths, and I don't think that has suddenly changed. I'll get back on track, and there's no time like Sunday to get that started. I didn't move the right direction on "moving day," but I have 18 more holes to improve here in Panama. I'm going to play them one shot at a time with a great attitude! 

Come back on Sunday evening for a final-round report and a summary of my first tournament week of 2015. Thank you very much for keeping up with me!

Panama Championship Round 2

My quick update after round two is this: my hard work is working. I know this because I was not in a great mindset during much of the round on Friday, but I was still able to execute a lot of quality golf shots and shoot a good score. My struggles last year must have left a bit of a scar in my mind. No matter how much I tried to stay focused on one shot a time, I felt some "cut anxiety" all day on Friday despite a fantastic morning practice session prior to my afternoon tee time. I allowed this uncomfortableness to cause a bogey on the first hole and much stress the rest of the day. The good news is that my game held up nicely despite the poor thought pattern. I credit the hard work I put in this off-season for that. For the second consecutive round, I overcame a shaky start--two over par through three holes on Friday--to play solid golf and shoot even par. Level par on this golf course is a pretty good score, so I am thrilled with the state of my game and am confident that I will play great over the weekend. 

As for this "cut anxiety" issue, that is a real problem. The only way to play golf successfully is to commit fully to each shot and trust that I will execute it. Fear, anxiety, and doubt are the opposite of trust, and thinking about the cut during a round of golf leads to these types of negative thoughts. I know that I will overcome this issue, but it is definitely a very real thing for me right now. 

The answer is to play one shot a time, and it doesn't get any more complicated than that. 

I'm very excited that I have two more days of competition here in Panama to climb the leaderboard and practice playing golf one shot at a time. My game is in great shape. I am going to trust it and commit to having a present mindset on the course this weekend. Good stuff is coming! Keep it here for weekend updates from the first Web.com Tour event of 2015. Thank you for following!

Panama Championship Round 1

I felt great heading into the tournament. My long-term preparation had been great, and my on-site preparation was equally good. I knew that I was ready. Seven holes into Thursday's opening round, I walked off of the 16th green (my seventh hole of round one) grumbling to myself about what-in-the-world-is-going-on? I had just made a nervous stroke on a five-footer for par and missed to fall to three over par through seven holes. In truth, however, I had executed nearly every shot as planned. Twice, poor decision making (namely, club selection) had cost me shots and one nervy driver swing led to a bogey on my opening hole. As I reached the 17th tee, I analyzed my performance, confirmed that all was still great, and proceeded to play extremely solid golf for the remainder of the round. I made three birdies and zero bogies over my final 11 holes to post an even-par score of 70. It was a great recovery after the tough start, and I am feeling very good. 

Though I didn't feel particularly sharp at all times, I was very proficient on the course today. I hit 13 of 18 greens in regulation and felt that all areas of my game were fairly solid. With the exception of the aforementioned nervous stroke early in the day, I putted well, but I didn't make any putts outside of the "should-make-it" range. If I can sharpen my ball-striking a little each day and start to get hot with the putter, I feel like I will do great things. 

I have an afternoon tee time on Friday, and I am looking forward to continuing my solid play. Stay tuned for more post-round updates. Thank you for keeping up with me!

Go Time, 2015!

It is impossible not to think grandly at this time each year. Tomorrow morning (Thursday) at 8:05, I will tee it up in the first round of the first Web.com Tour event of 2015. Over the past three months, I have had the best practice of my life, and I definitely feel like tomorrow will be the start of a great year. In addition to three great months of work, I have had three really good days of preparation here in Panama. With all that said, I know that I need to turn my excitement down a notch and simply go have fun playing golf. My mind wonders to the great things I want to accomplish this year, but I know that to have success, I must stay in the present and stay committed to to my plan. 2015 will be a great year for me, but it starts with being relaxed, being present, playing one shot at a time, and following my process. I'm ready to do that! 

My work in Panama has been great. I really like the course, and I feel ready to get started. Keep it here for updates throughout the tournament, and thank you for following me!