What Follows an Epic Collapse?

Golf is a humbling game. I thought I had it this week in Houston. I prepared beautifully, and for the first 27 holes of the tournament, I looked and felt great. I was having fun and executing well. In brutal weather conditions on Friday, I played the front nine in two under par to reach five under for the tournament. I felt great and was so pleased to see my game reflecting the positive signs I have been experiencing in practice. Then, with one bad swing, it all changed. I drove it into a hazard on the tenth hole, made a bogey, and despite telling myself all the right things, I became anxious and defensive. I failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the holes that followed my bogey, and then I collapsed over the last four holes. I finished bogey, bogey, bogey, double-bogey to not only fall out of contention but also miss the cut by two shots. It was a humbling finish, to say the least.

Bad golf is one thing. I really don't like it, but I know that it is going to happen sometimes. This was something different in Houston, however. It's not like I forgot how to play good golf on the walk from the ninth green to the tenth tee on Friday. Rather, I let a fairly minor mistake set off a fearful reaction inside of me and lock up my good stuff. It doesn't feel good to admit that because I know that my mental game is under my control. I also know that it is one of my greatest strengths, but I haven't been using it well lately. It always stings to miss a cut, but I missed this one because of a lack of mental toughness, and that really bothers me.

I have to move forward and be better. I think a good place to start is reiterating how well I played in Houston. I had three full days of great practice at home before traveling to Texas, and then had two solid days of preparation once there. I teed it up in the tournament and performed as well as I have since the first event of the year. Given the tough conditions on Friday morning, I really believe that I played as well as I've ever played on the opening nine holes of my second round. There are some tough shots on that course, and I stepped up and executed fearlessly and well. It was really good stuff. Though my putter still didn't get hot, all areas of my game were solid, and things were clicking. That is encouraging. I will remember that.

I will also remember the collapse. I need to learn from it. I definitely battle with the same cut anxiety that I have discussed before, and in Houston, I lost that battle. On the front nine on Friday I was on offense. After my bogey on number ten, I was playing defense. I was saying the right things to myself consciously, but my inner thoughts were rushed and panicked. It is frustrating to have to learn the same lesson more than once, but I think this week's reminder will be a powerful one for me. When my thoughts turn to the cut-line, I need to stay on offense, quiet my mind, remember to enjoy myself, and play to win. My collapse in the Houston Open was mental. That hurts me. But I will be better because of it.

In recent posts, I've given myself a little motto by which I'd like to live on the golf course. "Don't worry; have fun; play with Freedom." Somehow, I forgot all about this when I needed it most. Following this motto wouldn't have changed the bad swing I made on hole ten on Friday in Houston, but it certainly would have changed what followed. Moving forward, I'm going to write down this motto, meditate on it, share it with Shane, and tell him to punch me if he sees me not living by it on the course! I work too hard to let tension and fear lock up my skills. This is my positive self-talk on the course: "Don't worry, have fun, play with Freedom."

I'm definitely frustrated by my recent stretch of poor play and especially so with my epic mental collapse on Friday in Houston. Do you know what follows an epic collapse, though? An epic climb to a brand new height! My skills are greater than they've ever been before. I'm going to play with Freedom and let them out.

Thank you for following and believing in me. These last couple months have beaten me up, but I believe in me, too! Great things are coming. Keep it here to enjoy the journey with me.

Positive Signs but Poor Golf in Puerto Rico

I traveled to Puerto Rico with a simple goal. I wanted to compete in accordance with my new motto: "Don't worry, have fun, play with Freedom." I'm actually quite happy to report that I did that. I felt the normal first tee jitters and certainly felt appropriate disappointment about the poor shots, but I never once felt tension or negative anxiety during the tournament. That was great! My performance stunk, but I achieved a big part of what I wanted to do, and that has me excited moving forward.

Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not happy with my performance. I posted scores of 73, 75 for a four-over-par total and missed the cut by five shots. That's lousy, but I know that my game will come around. I was very poor on the greens this week, and I hit too many really bad shots. I need to putt well to be successful, and I also need to keep my poor shots a bit more reasonable. I actually hit a lot of good shots during my two rounds in Puerto Rico, but a few of my misses were real head-scratchers. Still, I know that I will clean that up, and I know I will get my putter back in business, too. Though I didn't have my good stuff this week, I saw glimpses of it, and I know that the mindset I had in Puerto Rico will help me get the good stuff out soon and often. 

I was feeling pretty down after my disappointing performance at Bay Hill, but I actually feel really good now. I know that I'm doing things right. I know that my game will come around. And I know that I have a long, successful career ahead of me on the PGA Tour. I'm going to continue to follow my motto, and good results will come!

Now I get to sneak in a few days at home, but I don't have to wait long to get back in action. I'll play the Shell Houston Open next week, and I'm excited to have a fun tournament. 

Thank you for your continued support. Keep it here for more reports!

Dear Peter:

Don't worry; have fun; play with Freedom!

Sincerely,

Peter

:)

It's go time in Puerto Rico. I've actually focused more on rest than on practice over the past five days, and though I don't like to do that often, I think it has been good for me. I am very excited to play this week. I remember the course pretty well from two years ago when I played here, and I'm ready to get out there and play my game.

Keep it here for an update or two from the tournament. Thank you for following and supporting me!

Gotta Let the Good Stuff Out

In some ways, I'm better at golf than I have ever been in my life. I'm swinging the club the best that I ever have, and in practice, that has resulted in the solid and consistent ball-striking for which I strive. In tournaments, however, my play has ranged from inconsistent to downright poor over the past several weeks. I am definitely frustrated with my results lately, but I still feel really good about the long-term prognosis of my work.

My last post was called "Sometimes I Stink." I have played two tournaments since then that verify that statement. I posted rounds of 75, 72 two weeks ago at the Valspar Championship in Tampa. I had entered the tournament feeling good about my game, and I showed some really positive signs with good play off the tee, but my iron play, wedges, and putting were all very sub-standard, and I missed the cut by two shots. From Tampa, I moved just up I-4 to Orlando for my first Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. After my preparations for Mr. Palmer's event, I felt so ready to play well. I had practiced well. My full swing was clicking, my short game was feeling sharp, and I was ready to get hot with my putter. My good feelings never came to fruition in the tournament. I played with tension, posted frustrating rounds of 73, 76, and missed the cut by five shots. Sometimes I stink, indeed.

Over the past couple days, I've spent some time asking the question "why?" Not "why do I stink sometimes?" I know the answer to that. I stink sometimes because golf is a human performance, and bad shots, poor rounds, and tough stretches are a part of the territory. The question I have been asking is "why do I feel prepared to play well, but struggle in the tournaments?" I've discussed this with Alicia and some other members of our team, and I think we're on to something.

First of all, I am allowing myself to feel tension on the course. I know that I'm in a little bit of a slump, and I don't like it, so I'm trying too hard to make good things happen. I'm assigning more meaning than there really is to every shot I hit right now. I know better than to do this, but I've got to be intentional about letting go of the results and enjoying my process. Secondly, for the first time ever in my life, I am concerned about playing the game "properly" when I'm on the course. My entire golfing life, I have just been scrappy and done whatever I can to get the ball in the hole quickly, but right now I'm trying to make sure I swing correctly and hit the correct shot in all situations, even if that takes me out of my comfort zone. I never used to do that. There are no judges in golf, and an unconventional three beats a beautiful four every time. Finally, I am trying hard not to make mistakes on the course. When I won the Web.com Tour event in Brazil, I played hyper-aggressively off the tee. I actually made eight bogeys that week, but I also made 30 birdies and won the tournament by four shots. I feel as though I'm playing cautiously in tournaments right now when my best style of play is getting after it and trying to make a lot of birdies. 

Another way that I can sum up all three of these areas I have just discussed is simply to say to myself, "don't worry, have fun, and play with Freedom." I think that will be a nice little catch phrase for me over the next several weeks. Don't worry; have fun; play with Freedom. I like it!

My game really is good. All areas of my game have looked sloppy at times during my stretch of poor play, but I have had some fantastic practice over the past several weeks, and I feel ready to play well.

I made a last-minute decision to play the PGA Tour event in Puerto Rico this week, so after soaking up a couple days at home, I will travel there Wednesday morning. I'm excited to keep playing, and I'm looking forward to a fun tournament in Puerto Rico. What am I going to do? I'll prepare well like always, then on Thursday I'll tell myself, "Don't worry, have fun, play with Freedom!"

Thank you for following and cheering for me. I really appreciate the support! Also, I know I haven't done a good job of keeping my blog updated lately, but I'm going to do better moving forward, so keep it here for more frequent reports!

Sometimes I Stink

I am striving to be more consistent. What I'm really striving for, though, is to make my average days better. The truth of the matter is that I am going to stink sometimes. Golf is a performance sport, and no one can perform well all the time. Tiger Woods had us fooled for a lot of years when it seemed that he never played poorly. In truth, he simply had such a high personal standard for average that even when he played poorly, he was still good enough to produce results that seemed good to everyone else. Even Tiger stunk to his own standard, but his stinky play was good enough to look successful to the rest of us. When I say I am striving to be more consistent, what I am really looking for is to improve my personal standard of what average is. 

For the past several weeks, I have been trending towards stinky, and this past week in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, at the Honda Classic, I arrived at stink. With the exception of my scrambling around the greens, my game was pretty lousy. I was wayward off the tee, struggled badly with my approach shots, and looked a little bit lost at times on the greens. It was definitely a tough course, and my short game kept me in the tournament on Thursday as I posted an opening-round 73, but I was in trouble early and often on Friday as I posted a 77 to miss the cut by seven shots. The week before in Los Angeles, I wouldn't say that I stunk, but I was definitely playing on the bottom side of my average, and I ended up bogeying my 36th hole to miss the cut by one shot. In all reality, I've lived somewhere between low-average and stinky since the second tournament of this calendar year. 

The problem, however, isn't that I have been stinking. That is going to happen. The problem is that my personal standard of average isn't good enough yet. You see, if I play average golf, I am going to be surfing near the cut-line. I have proven that when I'm playing in the high end of my good range, I can win, but the great players are able to compete and give themselves chances to win tournaments even when playing just to their average. I need to improve my standard of average so that when I play averagely, I am competing for a good finish on Sundays. In doing so, I will also improve my great play and my stinky play. I don't think golf will ever again see a player like Tiger Woods in his prime. Tiger could win a tournament playing at level less than his personal average. I will never achieve that, but I do believe that I can get to a point where I play to my average for the first three rounds and have a chance to win if I play well on Sunday. That is what I'm working towards. 

I say all of that to make the point that no matter how good I get, I am always going to have individual shots, rounds, tournaments, and even stretches of time when I stink. So this little rough patch that I'm in right now is no big deal. I will come out of it and play well, and I will continue to work to improve my standard of average.

I am actually working really hard to improve right now. I feel like I came out of the brief little off-season (December) swinging really well after focusing on my swing mechanics a lot during that month. Then, during the course of playing tournaments seven of the first eight weeks of the year, I neglected my swing mechanics, and things got a little bit sloppy. I have put in a lot of work to improve my swing over the past 16 months, but I still have more modifications to make and a long way to go to feel like I own my swing. I am really excited to keep putting in the work to get better, though. I love to practice, and right now, I feel like so many great things are in store, so I'm motivated to put in the effort that will allow those great things to come to fruition. Right now that means focusing on my swing mechanics more than I might like to. I enjoy to play purely by feel, but for the time being, I'm going to consciously think about my swing mechanics because I know that will make me a better player in the long run. 

I was hoping to qualify for the field for this week's World Golf Championship in Miami, but my stinky play of late didn't get that done. So instead, I'm somewhere even cooler: HOME! I'm excited to have a week off to work and recharge at home. I'll be ready to go play well when I hit the road again for the Valspar Championship outside of Tampa, Florida, and then Mr. Arnold Palmer's Invitational at Bay Hill.

Thank you so much for following and supporting me. I know it's more fun to watch the good results than the stinky ones, but keep believing in me. I'm going to be moving forward. Great things are coming. Keep it here to share the journey with me!

A Beautiful Week at Pebble Beach

I love Pebble Beach. It is quite simply one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. My golf game was off this week, but I still had a great time. I leave Pebble Beach knowing that I have a little bit of work to do to get my swing clicking, but I also leave with a great sense of peace because the true AWE-someness of Pebble Beach reminds me that even in the struggles, I have the greatest job in the world.

I definitely have work to do. My iron play and wedge game were atrocious at times this week on the Monterey Peninsula, and my putting was quite poor, too. There are some encouraging things that I will take with me, though. I don't yet feel perfectly in control off the tee, but my driving stats were by far the best they have been all season. That is a good sign. More improtantly, I played well in the third round with my back against the wall. The cut occurs after the third round of this tournament, and having opened with 73, 73 (+2, total) at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill, respectively, I was significantly on the outside of cut-line. In cool and breezy conditions, I played a nice round of 68 (-3) at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club on Saturday and earned myself a final-round tee time. Even in that good third round, I was still sloppy with my wedges and short irons on multiple occasions and struggled with my putter. But I kept hanging in there, and I did enough stuff right to make the cut. My sloppy play, particularly on the greens, cut up with me on Sunday as I ended the tournament with a three-over-par 75 at Pebble Beach. Even with that disappointing finish, I am excited about the fact that I could grind out a made cut with far less than my best stuff this week.

I know that I'm way better now than I was two years ago as a rookie on Tour, and I'm excited to keep improving and become more consistent.

From here, Alicia and I will travel down to Los Angeles for my first LA Open at the famed Riviera Country Club. After a week of rushed and often-frustrated practice at Pebble, I am ready to put in a focused, efficient, and productive week of work in Southern California. I know "that lovin' feeling" can re-appear quickly in golf, and I'm excited to go find it in LA. 

Lastly, I have to give a shout out to my amateur partner from this week at Pebble Beach. Don Colleran, a very legitimate 14 handicap, made the cut right on the number. He was as excited as me to be playing on Sunday, and he took advantage of the opportunity. He made three "natural" birdies for net eagles, and he played his final 10 holes in even par on his own ball, straight up. With his handicap, he posted a final-round 61 and vaulted up into solo third place in the pro-am competition! Way to go, Don!

I love Pebble Beach, and I'm sad to leave, but I'm also excited to go have another great week of doing my dream job. Bring it on, Riviera! 

Thank you for following me and for your support. Keep it here; great things are coming!

Deceptively Good in Phoenix

On paper--or on the PGA Tour website, more accurately--nothing about my week in Phoenix would appear overly positive. I missed the cut. I hit less than half of my fairways and less than half of my greens in regulation. With rounds of 71 and 72 (+1), I posted an over-par total for the first time all season. I still hate to miss a cut, but other than about 20 minutes of sulking on Friday evening, I have nothing but positive feelings about my week and my performance in Phoenix.

I really feel great about a lot that I did during the Phoenix Open. I had a great week of practice, and even though my stats certainly don't show it, I actually hit a lot of really shots in the tournament. I was swinging fearlessly (for the most part), and though I definitely wasn't sharp, I was in control with the exception of a couple wild misses on Thursday. My scrambling was a bright spot as I converted 16 of 18 up and down opportunities from within 50 yards of the hole. While it is poor to miss so many greens, short game numbers like that indicate that I was not missing by much and that I was missing in reasonable spots. I'm also particularly proud of the fact that I was five for five in scrambling from the sand. Shane and I have been working hard on my bunker play lately, and it is fun to see that work paying dividends. My short game was definitely strong in Phoenix, and I feel like my long game is close to being there, too.

I know that I need to have birdie putts to be successful. In total for 36 holes, I had just 16 birdie putts in Phoenix, and several of those were not reasonable looks. I know that is a problem, and I definitely need to continue to improve and strive for more consistency with my ball-striking. I am on the right path, though. My golf swing feels better and better to me all the time, so I know that if I continue to trust the work that I am doing, it's going to start clicking again.

One of the most positive things about the week in Phoenix was my attitude. Despite never really getting anything positive going from a scoring perspective, I stayed calm and played with a lot of freedom during my short stay in the tournament. I definitely got a little overwhelmed by the big crowd on number 16 my first time there, but I even took that in stride. I did start to press just a little bit down the stretch on Friday, but given that I was hovering right near the cut-line the entire tournament, I actually thought about it very little. I was happy with my mindset, and I am excited to continue playing with that type of process-oriented thinking.

Speaking of the cut-line... It didn't actually become official that I had missed the cut until early Saturday morning. I ended up finishing tied for 71st for the second tournament in a row. That is a big bummer because the top 70 and ties make the cut on the PGA Tour. I played in the early wave on Friday, and it seemed for most of the afternoon that my score would earn me a Saturday tee time. It wasn't to be, however, and that is okay. I actually made a gutsy par on my 36th hole to give myself a chance to make the cut. After an errant drive left me with a tough second shot from the fairway bunker, I hit my approach into a left green-side bunker some 90 feet from the right hole location. To make matters worse, I had to stand outside the bunker and reach way down below my feet to hit the shot. I hit a great bunker shot to leave myself about seven feet to save par and I rolled that putt right in the middle. It ended up not being quite enough to earn a weekend tee time, but it sure felt good to save that par at the time!

So, I definitely know that I need to hit the ball a little bit better, but I also know that I'm not far off. Alicia and I have already made the journey to Pebble Beach, and we are so excited to get another week started. My game is close to coming together. Great things are just around the corner. Thank you for following and believing in me. Please keep it here for an update from Pebble Beach!