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: