Update: pre-Q school

Hi everyone, I know it's been a while since I posted anything. My last event was the Wyndham Qualifier which was so bad I have already forgotten about it.

I have been practicing and preparing for the first stage of Q School which starts next week. I'm playing pretty well, driving is much better and I'm confident I'll have a good week.

I am playing at the 6,800 yard, par 70 Brunswick Country Club in Georgia. My brother David is coming over to visit and he will be carrying my bag for the tournament. It's going to be a great week and I can't wait to tee of in round 1. The first round will be Wednesday 9th September. Don't know my tee times yet but they will all be in the morning.

I will let you all know how it goes.

Lee

Verdict Ridge Open

Hi everyone,

This week was the Verdict Ridge Open (Egolf event) in Denver, North Carolina. The course was pretty nice, quite strategic from the tee with a few holes requiring less than driver. The par 3's were pretty tricky, 3 of them around 200 yards and significantly downhill.

Round 1 started off a little slow, I hit a drive a bit right off the 10th (my first hole) but got away with it and made a par. Then a poor 5 iron into the the 11th followed by a poor chip, led to a bogey and +1 through 2. But then my round got going in the right direction.....I hit a lovely 7 iron into the 12th which gave me a good feeling in my swing. I rolled in a nice 15 foot birdie putt at the par 3 13th to get back to even. Then birdied 16 & 18 (both par 5's) before making the turn. Then I made one of only a couple of bad swings all day on the 2nd (my 11th). I hit my 6 iron right of the green and after a nasty kick into the hazard I walked away with a double. I bounced back well with a birdie at the 3rd, only to give it straight back at the 4th! After some solid golf I approached the par 4 9th at Even par. I hit a lovely wedge to about 10 feet and converted to finish my round at -1 (71).

With scoring being low on the first day, I was quite a way back but knew if I kept the ball in the fairway, my putter could get hot anytime in Round 2.

I got off to the perfect start, birdieing the first after curling in a 10-foot left-to-righter. I hit some really good shots in the first 6 holes, and after birdieing the par 5 6th got to -2. Then on the 7th I hit a bad shot from a really tough lie in the rough. I managed to save a really good bogey after finding the hazard. Then, on 8, I 3-putted for another bogey and fell back to Even on the day and -1 overall. I knew I had to play some stellar golf on the back 9 if I was going to make the cut. My good long game continued but I couldn't get anything to drop until the 16th. -2 overall with 2 to go and I knew I needed to birdie 2 more. I scrambled for a great par save on 17, so it was going to take something special on the par 5 18th. After playing over-aggressively, I got myself into trouble and ended with a bit of a silly bogey and could only post an even par 72 for the day, which wasn't enough to make it to the final round unfortunately.

Although that part of it is disappointing, overall I played some good golf this week. My swing felt a lot better for the 2 rounds and my confidence is growing all the time. As I said before the work I am continuing to do with my coach has been great. I am looking forward to what is in store for me for the rest of the season.

My next event will be the Wyndham pre qualifier on the 13th. Let's see if we can get in to the field and make a significant step in the right direction, it's about time. I am due!

Thank you all for following.

Cabarrus Classic

This week was a return to the E golf tour for me. The week preceding the event, I had a great session with Andrew Rice. I made a lot of progress in the long game, and was feeling a lot better about it.

In round one I played pretty solid. Although hitting only four fairways I shot two under par. I didn't quite have the same feeling with my swing as I did in the days leading up to the event. However my wedges and putter help me shoot a pretty solid first round.

In round two my long game all but disappeared. I was hitting the ball all over the golf course but somehow I managed to recover well from the positions I found myself in. My putting was exceptional, I made several good par saving putts and managed to turn in an even par round. This two day total of two under par was good enough to make the cut. Of course after the results I have had lately, this was a step in the right direction.  

Going into around three I was confident that if I could keep the ball in the fairway, I could post something that would leapfrog me up the leaderboard. Unfortunately this did not happen. I played more of the same golf that I played in the second round, this time my mistakes cost me big. I started off 4-over par through the first 3 holes and was never really able to recover. I ended up shooting five over par, finishing in 30th place. 

Some of my tendencies throughout the season crept into my game. I think with the added pressure of a competitive environment, I reverted back to some of my old swings. It will take time to perfect and I will have to grind out old habits on the range and with my coach. 

I am looking at this as a positive week, I know that I can compete and I know I have to game to succeed. As soon as I start hitting the ball more consistently well, great things are going to happen. I still have plenty of opportunities ahead and my confidence is improving all the time. 

My next tournament, another Egolf event, is in 12 days back in the Charlotte area, the Verdict Ridge Open.

Cheers

Greenbrier Qualifiers - re post

This week I played in the Greenbrier Classic Qualifier in West Virginia.

Thursday was the Pre Qualifier and I played pretty average. I shot 73, which was enough to scrape through to the Monday Qualifier. I didn't hit that many greens in regulation, but was able to make a few good par saves and achieve the objective of the day which was to progress to the final qualifier on the Monday.

It is a course that I really like, a lot of the tee shots fit my eye and the greens are good. So, although my play of late hasn't been up to the standard I set for myself, I was expecting to give it a good run to try and get in to the tournament.

I started off by hitting 2 really good shots in to the 10th (my 1st) to 12 feet. Somehow I missed a 2 foot putt after my birdie try slid by, so I walked to the 11th tee +1. 2 more 3-putts and a bad iron shot left me at +4 after 9 and I really wasn't playing that badly.

My back 9 wasn't much better on the greens. I did make 2 good birdies but I also made a quadruple bogey at the par 4 6th hole. I ended up signing for a 79, obviously nowhere near the qualifying mark.

Following the conclusion of the event, I have decided to take a little break for about 5 or 6 days. I did it last year and it helped. I am a little lost with what's going on in my game and my swing, I need a little time to get away from it and then come back raring to go for the summer and Q school.

I know I will turn it around, I am capable of achieving great things but I am not playing my game at the moment, or all season really. A little lay-off will help and when I come back I will be ready to go.

My next tournament will be the Cabarrus Classic. I'll be back and then ready to compete.

Thanks for following,

Lee

Greenbrier Qualifiers

This week I played in the Greenbrier Classic qualifier in West Virginia. Thursday was the Pre Qualifier and I played pretty average. I shot 73, which was enough to scrape through to the Monday qualifier. I didn't hit that many greens in regulation but was able to make a few good par saves and achieve the objective of the day which was the progress to the final qualifier on the Monday. It is a course that I really like, a lot of tee shots fit my eye and the greens are good. So, although my play of late hasn't been up to the standard I set for myself, I was expecting to give it a good run to try and get in to the tournament. I started off hitting 2 really good shots into the 10th (my 1st) to 12 feet. Somehow I missed a 2 foot putt after my birdie try slid by, so I walked to the 11th tee +1. 2 more 3-Putts and a bad iron shot left me at +4 through 9 and I really wasn't playing that badly. My back 9 wasn't much better on the greens. I did make 2 birdies but I also made a quadruple bogey 8 at the par 4 6th hole. I ended up signing for a 79, obviously nowhere near the qualifying mark. I have decided to take a little break for about 5 or 6 days or so. I did it last year and it helped. I am a little lost with what's going on in my game and my swing. I need a little time to get away from it and then come back raring to go for the summer and Q School in the autumn. I know I will turn it around, I am capable of achieving great things but I'm not playing my game at the moment. I need a break to turn it around. My next tournament will be the Cabarrus Classic. I'll be back and ready to compete then. Thanks for following, Lee

Repost: last 4 events

My apologies, I know this post is long overdue. My travel schedule has been pretty intense over the last 3 weeks, covering nearly 3000 miles. I haven't had much time to post a summary of the events I have played.

I have played in 4 events since my last blog. U.S Open Qualifying (Okatie, SC), Rex Hospital Open qualifier (Greensboro, NC), Egolf Biggs Cadillac Championship (Hertford, NC) and St Jude Championship qualifier (Memphis, TN).

From a results standpoint, my golf over the last few weeks hasn't been up to the level I expect of myself. I have shown signs of good play but have been struggling particularly off the tee. I have put in some good work, focusing on my driver and I'm starting to play the way I know I can play tee to green.

U.S Open local Qualifier: started off pretty steady, level par through 8 but went through a really bad stretch around the turn, hitting a lot of my drives right. I birdied the last to shoot +3, but not low enough to get through. I enjoyed the day though and I had a great caddie in Terry Sambrook!

Next up was Greensboro, NC where I met Duncan Playford and Phil Head, who had planned a U.S. tour to watch me in action and do a little sightseeing along the way. We had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed their visit. For the qualifier, (Web.com event) again I started off solidly, -1 through 5 but the shot that has plagued me over the last few weeks came back into play on the par 5 6th. I hit 2 out of bounds and ended up taking a 9. Unfortunately my day went downhill from there and didn't make the top 6 in order to qualify.

From there we travelled to Hertford, NC for the Egolf Biggs Cadillac Championship. I played a bit better in this one but again my tee game held me back. For the week I played the 7th & 13th holes in +8 but was +4 total for the 2 rounds. I took some confidence from the fact I was making plenty of birdies. Duncan was on the bag for the 2nd round, a great experience for both of us. 

From there I travelled to Memphis, TN after working on my game for a couple of days. I played really nicely in the pre-qualifier shooting 69. Big improvement off the tee and felt in control of my game for most of the day. I qualified through to the main 'final' qualifier on the Sunday.

In the Sunday qualifier I just couldn't quite get the same feeling back in my swing. I shot 72 but it was never really going to be lower than that, o scrambled quite well but was playing recovery golf too much to go low enough to qualify. But a very positive weekend for me after a disappointing last 3 events.

I will now use the next 2 weeks to work on my game and get it ready for the busy couple of months ahead. My next event is the Greenbrier qualifier which I narrowly missed out on last year. I have every expectation of going one step further this time around.

I will update soon, thanks for following.

Lee

photos from US Open Qualifying, Egolf event, Web.com qualifier