Brasil Championship Friday

Friday was interesting at the Brasil Championship. The threat of rain and storms existed all day, but I arrived at the course more than three hours before my 12:30 tee time, and the weather was beautiful for a morning practice session. I practiced well and then had an early lunch before beginning my normal pre-round warm-up routine. I was feeling great, but thirty minutes before my tee time, thunder rumbled and play was suspended. After an hour inside, we were sent back out and I began warming up again only to be called back in twenty minutes later. After another hour inside, we went back out and I had my third warm up of the day. I should have been thoroughly prepared, but my opening two shots of the day suggested otherwise. I missed the fairway at the short opening hole well right and then left my approach shot short of the green in a bunker. I hit a great bunker shot and tapped in for par, and as I walked to the second tee, I reminded myself how great my game has been feeling and committed to playing one shot at a time. I proceeded to hit some great shots and birdie my next four holes. I hit two more really nice shots on the par-four sixth hole, but play was once again suspended for dangerous weather as I approached the green. We weren't able to get back out on the course, so I will begin my Saturday morning on the back fringe of the sixth hole with a 20-foot chip for birdie. I definitely have some great momentum going, but more importantly, I am just feeling good about my game. I'm going to keep playing one shot at a time and keep having fun. If things go well, I will play 30.5 holes tomorrow, and I am looking forward to every one of them! Keep it here for a good Saturday report, and thank you for following me!

Brasil Championship Round 1

Obviously, I'm coming off a disappointing performance last weekend in Colombia. I did a great job of putting that behind me, and three nice days of preparation had me feeling ready for this week's tournament in Brazil. Still, on my first hole of the tournament on Thursday morning, I had to shake off some demons. After playing my final 46 holes in Colombia in 22 over par, I missed a short putt on my opening hole and began the Brasil Championship with a bogey. Momentarily, I panicked, but during the walk to the 11th tee (my second hole), I remembered how great my game has been feeling and once again resolved to play one shot at a time. The results were beautiful. I trusted myself and executed very well the rest of the day. Of course I hit a poor shot here and there, but for the most part, I was very good. After the bogey on my first hole, I made six birdies and no bogeys for an opening-roud 66 (-5). It felt good and was a testament to the fact that my mind and my game are at least very close to nice tournament form. 

After my round, I had another great practice session, and I am really feeling good about things. I tee it up at 12:30 in Friday's round, and I am confident that I will execute well. I'm going to play one shot at a time and trust myself on all of them! Come back for a report in the evening. Thank you for following me and for your support!

Feeling Great in Brazil

I am ready to have some fun at the HSBC Brasil Championship this week. I love the golf course, and it suits my game well. My practice has felt great, and I am excited to go out and play. Each week, I write a simple message to myself on two new gloves before the tournament starts. Tonight on one glove I wrote, "Hit Greens*Make Putts*Have Fun". On the other, I simply wrote one word: "WIN". I am ready to do all of those things here in Brazil. In order to make them happen, I need to trust myself over each shot and play one shot at a time. I'm going to do that.

This is going to be a great week. Keep it here for reports from the tournament. Thank you for following me!

Karibana Championship Wrap-up

Well, sometimes you just stink. I stunk this weekend. I posted 85, 77 in the final two rounds of the Karibana Championship and finished alone in 74th place. 74 people made the cut. Through 26 holes of the golf tournament, I had made just two bogeys and was three under par. Over the closing 46 holes, I made just one birdie and finished the event at 19 over par. Like I said, I stunk this weekend!

Now, those of you who read my blog regularly know that I'm not going to leave it at that. I won't try to find the silver lining of this weekend's performance, but I am going to talk about some positive things from my week in Cartagena, Colombia. First of all, I don't want to forget my first round. Playing in some of the most challenging conditions I have ever faced (winds of 25-35 miles per hour with even stronger gusts), I put together a very solid two-birdie, one-bogey round of 71 to open the tournament. On Friday, I stayed tough in conditions that worsened even beyond those of Thursday's round to post a good enough score to advance to the weekend. And (I lied; I am going to find the silver lining), I actually struck the ball solidly even over my weekend rounds. I'm definitely not saying that I played well or that I will remember this week as an overall positive experience, but there definitely are good things from Karibana Championship that I will carry with me as I move forward. 

And I have already moved forward, figuratively and literally. Alicia and I took a red-eye flight Sunday evening from Cartagena to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I slept well on the plane and arrived ready to get work. Alicia was less well-rested, but carried on like a trooper anyway. I had a great practice session and played nine holes at the tournament course in Brazil, and everything felt great. My game is in good shape, and I am very excited about this week! 

I would be remiss not to mention my Process Goals here in a tournament-week wrap-up. I had a fantastic week of work in Cartagena, but the same winds that ravaged the tournament play made practice drills very challenging as well. I put in a full effort all the way through Saturday, but many of my practice goals remained unfinished at the end of the week. I did, however, stay on track with my fitness routine, and I am feeling great about that. It is a new week here in Brazil, and I plan to complete my Full Practice Schedule and a Light Fitness Routine. I still plan to acheive all of my Outcome Goals, and I know that my Process Goals are the path to doing that.

I'm going to have some good practice here in Sao Paulo over the next two days, and I'll come back with a pre-tournament report on Wednesday. Thank you for following and believing in me; don't give up!

pictures from our hotel room in Sao Paulo

Karibana Championship Saturday

It's not a good practice to complain or worry about things that are not under my control, but I am frustrated with this week in Cartagena. I played 13 holes of my third round, and all 13 of them were in winds blowing in excess of 25 miles per hour. Saturday featured a nearly three-hour wind delay, though when we resumed play at 5:00 PM, the winds had not calmed at all. I am currently nine over par through 13 holes of the third round, so that certainly contributes to my displeasure. The wind, the delays, and my high score all have me frustrated, but in reality, I'm still hitting the ball very solidly. I feel like my game is in good shape, and I am excited about that. The officials are hoping to complete 72 holes, which is a lofty expectation with even higher winds predicted for Sunday, but I am excited to keep competing. If I get to play 23 holes on Sunday, I'm going to play them all one shot at a time with a positive attitude. My game is good, and good scores are coming! Thank you for following and believing in me. Keep it here for a final-day report and tournament summary soon!

Karibana Championship Round 2

The wind is something else here in Cartagena. After playing some of my best golf in a long time in brutal conditions on Thursday afternoon, I was greeted by a fairly calm start for my 8:10 tee time Friday morning. Apparently I didn't know what to do. That's not true, but despite hitting the ball well, I found myself one over par through six holes. By 9:45 the wind was starting to pick up, and it looked as though I was back in my comfort zone. I birdied the par-4 seventh hole into the wind and then hit two great shots en route to an eagle on the down-wind par-5 eighth hole. My momentum was short lived. I misjudged the severity of the wind on the par-4 ninth and watched as what I thought was a beautiful wedge shot bounded off the back left portion on the green. I made a bogey there and headed to the back nine where the wind comes off the ocean ferociously. I continued to strike the ball well, but I was definitely a little bit rattled. I missed several greens by mere inches, and I struggled to chip or putt well in the wind. I battled hard but made three bogeys and no birdies on the back nine to post a second-round 74. It was disappointing not to handle the tough conditions as well in round two as I had on Thursday, but honestly, I still executed fairly well in most facets of the game. 

My play has me at one over par through 36 holes. Play was suspended midway through the afternoon wave's round due to "high winds." Everyone in my wave is grumbling because it is hard to believe that we were forced to play our entire first round and much of our second round in unexplainably difficult conditions. I definitely feel like I got the very short end of the tee time draw this week, but that is not something I can control. Barring an unthinkable turn of events tomorrow morning, I will make the cut and get to play the weekend, so I will go out there and take care of business. I want to continue to get better at playing one shot at a time, and with conditions that promise to be brutal again this weekend, I will get a good opportunity to practice that. I have always been a good tough-conditions player, so I'm excited to have a good weekend. 

Keep it here for more reports from windy Cartagena. Thank you for following!   

Karibana Championship Round 1

I played great in the first round. The wind absolutely howled in the afternoon after being relatively calm in the morning. Scores reflected that. In the morning wave of tee times, 40 of 72 golfers broke par and many went fairly low. In the afternoon wave of tee times, six of 72 golfers broke par. I teed off at 1:00 and played beautifully. I bogeyed my second hole of the day but otherwise made very few mistakes and posted a two-birdie, one-bogey round of 71. I hit the ball very solidy, chipped well, and putted nicely in the blustery conditions. I'll give you one small example of how strongly the wind was blowing. My two birdies both came from eight-iron approach shots. On the par-5 second hole (my 11th), I hit an eight iron from 113 yards. Three holes later at the par-3 fifth hole, I hit the same eight iron from 179 yards. Those were my two birdies. I am very pleased with all aspects of my game, and I am ready to go play again! I start at 8:00 a.m. Friday morning, and I am going to follow the same plan: have fun and play one shot at a time. Come back for a great report in the evening. Thank you for following me!