Championship @ St James

Unfortunately my good play in Monday's Pro-Am somewhat dried up for the main tournament this week. I shot 74 (+2) and 78 (+6) and missed the halfway cut.

My game was pretty solid in round 1, and barring a double bogey at the 5th (my 14th hole) I would have been in the top 15 or so. Going in to round 2 I was confident of posting a low score to assure I made the weekend and started off great, birdieing the 1st and 2nd. However my momentum was halted abruptly after double bogeys at the 3rd and 4th, following 2 hooks off the tee. For the rest of the round I couldn't seem to build any momentum. I made 5 birdies but couldn't sustain a good run of holes.

Throughout the 2 rounds of the main event I struggled with my ball striking particularly the long irons. I also struggled shaping the ball right to left when I needed to. This comes mostly from being a little steep with the downswing and a slightly shut club face in the delivery of the club.

My short game (as my statistics will show) was good, as it mostly is. I just have to sort out my long game. I am booked in Tuesday to see Andrew Rice a very well renowned swing coach based here in Hilton Head. Really looking forward to working with him.

My stats for the tournament were:

Fairways: 18/28 (64%)
Greens in Reg: 19/36 (53%)
Putts: 28.5 per round
Up and downs: 10/15 (67%)
bunker: 1/2 (50%)

Some better stats to come.......

A couple of action shots from this week:

Duke School of Nursing Pro-Am at St James

Hi everyone, sorry for my lack of updates lately, I have been working hard to prepare my game for the coming events in April. The weather has been great in Hilton Head, and I am getting closer to playing some proper golf.

I was invited to play in the second annual pro-am benefiting the Duke University School of Nursing. 37 teams (each with 1 professional and 3 amateurs) competed. There were plenty of prizes available for the amateurs and a small purse of $4,000 for the strong list of pro's.

I shot a very solid round of 70 (-2) in windy conditions on the tough Reserve club which was good enough to finish in a tie for 2nd place. I made a small but helpful cheque of $800, which is even better considering there was no entry fee!

My team came about middle of the pack, but I was happy with my performance on a course I have struggled on the last 2 years. My putter was hot all day, needing only 25 putts for the round.

Today was great preparation for the main event starting Wednesday on the same course. I will take a lot of confidence in the knowledge that my form is heading in the right direction.

My tee times for Round 1 and 2 are 12:40 and 8:40 respectively.

Here are my stats for the day:

Fairways: 11/14 (79%)
Greens in regulation: 12/18 (67%)
Putts: 25
Up and Downs: 6/6 (100%)

Pretty good on the short game!

Check www.egolfprofessionaltour.com for tournament updates starting on Wednesday

Cheers

Mid Pines recap

This week at Mid Pines wasn't my best performance on the course. A mixture of some rust and poor course management cost me making the cut, so from that standpoint it was a pretty disappointing week. As always though, there were some positives I can take out of the first two competitive rounds of the year.

The conditions were pretty tough for scoring, +4 ended up being the number to make the cut. My 2 rounds of 74 and 77 put me in a tie for 45th out of a field of 85....obviously too low down to make it through to the final round.

Stats for the week:

Fairways: 14/28 (50%)
Greens in regulation: 20/36 (56%)
Putts per round: 30.5 - including 3 3-putts
Up and downs: 8/15 (53%)
Sand saves: 4/6 (67%)

Played the par 5's in -2
Par 4's +10
Par 3's +1

Have to improve on the par 4 scoring.

Back to work today on the range and short game area. My game will be ready for my next event which will be at St James Plantation, on the 1st April.

Will send an update soon,

Here is a picture of the putting green Mid Pines golf club after the storm came through...

Mid Pines Classic

Tomorrow will be my first competitive round of 2015 and I'm definitely looking forward to getting started. It will be great to get back into tournament mode and kick off the season with some good form.

The weather here has been pretty poor for the last couple of weeks, not ideal prep but same for everyone. I was only able to play 9 holes in the practice round because of the weather but the course looks in good condition and I'm ready to have a great tournament.

The field is only 84 players this week with $100,000 guaranteed purse - really good potential payout. My mind however will be focused on the 'process' as usual.

My start times (Eastern U.S time -5 GMT) for the first 2 rounds are:

Round 1: 9:03 a.m off the 1st
Round 2: 8:00 a.m off the 10th

For scoring updates please check: www.egolfprofessionaltour.com

I will update the blog with a summary at the conclusion of the event.

Lee

Hilton Head

Hello everyone,

Just a short update to say that I arrived on Hilton Head Island yesterday (17th Feb) and moved into my new digs with the Sambrook family. The Carolinas have been hit by a bitterly cold patch this week, nonetheless practice at my new home club - Palmetto Hall Plantation started today. The game felt a little rusty today following my travel schedule, but scoring pretty nicely.

Although the next couple of days look a bit ropy weather-wise I plan on practicing and playing for the next 11 days before heading to Southern Pines (next door to Pinehurst) for the Mid Pines Classic - site of my first paycheck as a pro!

I will update the blog before the tournament begins.

Here is a picture of the short game practice area at Palmetto. I will be spending quite a few hours here over the next 10 months:

2015

Happy New Year everyone!

I thought I would post an update as I get ready for the start of the 2015 season.

I've had a really good rest and social golf over the Christmas period, it's been great to wind down for a few weeks to recoup a little after a busy year of golf, training regimen and travel. I had some physio work done, with Aileen Ross (based in Hurst Green/Oxted) on my hip which at times has been troublesome particularly in the latter half of the year. Aileen has given me some pointers as to what I should be doing to keep the areas around my hip less tight and to protect from injury.

For this coming season, there will be a couple of new ventures. I will be slightly relocating. I have an unbelievable opportunity to move to Palmetto Hall Plantation, Hilton Head Island sight of the Egolf's tour championship at the end of 2014. I will be staying with two members of PHP, The Sambrook family and will have a very similar set up to the last two years in Charlotte.

The fund raising has been going pretty well and I am getting closer to my target figure. I am finalising my schedule as well which will include more qualifiers to give me that chance to make the breakthrough to the Web.com tour which is what this all about.

Stay tuned for more updates. I am aiming to get to the States on the 15th Feb, a week before my first tournament.

Thanks for following,

Lee

End of 2014

Hi everyone,

I just got back home after playing the final round of the Egolf Tour Championship earlier today. Had a while to reflect so I thought I would post my final blog entry of 2014.

The week was a really fun week, I stayed with the same host family I have for my previous 2 visits to Palmetto Hall, on Hilton Head Island. I had 3 of my good friend from the tour also staying with me so the vibe for the week was good. Other than fog delays on the first 3 days the weather was great, 15-20 Celsius with very little breeze....scoring was going to be lower than usual on two very demanding courses.

I got off to a slow start in round 1, bogeys at my opening hole (10^th) and the short par 3 13^th left me 2 over through 4 holes. I bounced back well with back to back birdies at 15 & 16 to get back to level par. My short game saved me at the 1^st and 2^nd before two sloppy bogeys at the 4^th and 5^th – back to +2. I hit my wedge close at the last hole for a tap in birdie and a 73 (+1) to leave me way down the leaderboard.

Round 2 was better, I got off to a steady start level for the front 9, so I knew I needed to make a move on the back 9 to have a chance of making the cut. My first move came at the par 5 10^th. After finding the fairway bunker off the tee, I decided to take a risk and hit my hybrid over the water from 220 yards. The gamble paid off, 2 putts and I moved to -1 for the day.

After a bogey at 12, and only managing pars on holes 13-15, I knew I needed something special over the final 3 (very tough) holes. Somehow I was able to birdie 16 & 17 and save a really important par on 18 to shoot 70 (-2). Luckily enough I made the cut on the number and so I had a chance to make a move over the weekend.

Round 3 was looking really good, -3 through 6 holes and I think I was inside the top 20 at one point. However a double at the 18^th (my 9^th) left me -1 at the turn. I played my back 9 solidly but was unable to add to my birdie tally. 71 (-1)

The final round was an extremely disappointing way to end my 2014 season. I did not have the best warm up session and a series of tee shots to the right on my front 9 left me struggling for par all too often. I made a real mess of holes 18, 2 and 3 and was never able to find my rhythm throughout the round. I finished strong but all in all a 77 (+5) left a sour taste in the mouth after what was 3 positive days.

Stats for the 4 rounds:

Fairways: 68%

Greens in reg: 63%

Putts per round: 28

Up and Downs: 76%

There are again many positives I can take away from this season. I have shown signs of playing to the level I want to be at and come close to making a breakthrough. I have time to assess what areas I need to improve and my plan to get to the next level. I feel a lot closer than I was last year and have definitely made a lot of progress.

I’d like to thank everyone for their continued support. It’s great to have so many people rooting for you to do well and checking the scores from back home. Thank you all

Looking forward to a great 2015.

Lee