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

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

Staying positive despite disappointment

I've had 2 tournaments since my last post. The first of which (Sedgefield Classic in Greensboro) I won't go into too much detail about, I have learned from it and have moved on. I think it was a slight case of being caught out thinking too much about the swing, combined with really tough conditions. I did redeem myself a bit in the second round and at least had a good front 9.

My second event was the Wells Fargo Pre Qualifier in Charlotte on Thursday. The round was ticking a long really steady and started to hit the ball great mid way through the back 9. I was level par through 14, hit driver-wedge to 8 feet on 15 which i made for a birdie. Then hit 3 wood-wedge to 6 feet on 16 which I missed. Then 3 wood-wedge to 7 feet on 17 which is where the round turned on me. I hit the first putt without a thought but finding the middle of the hole, the ball missed and rolled about 1.5-2 feet past......I marked it, went through my routine, hit a slight pull, lipped out. bogey! crazy mistake. Anyway, I headed to 18 tee a little shocked which I tried to control but ended up making a poor swing which led to another bogey. All of a sudden I turned a 69 or 70 into a 73. I ended up missing the qualifying mark by one shot.

Of course I was disappointed in myself to let the round slip like I did, however there are a lot of positives I can take away. The back 9 is the best I have been tee to green all season. I feel like my swing is starting to feel really good and implementing the slight alterations i have been working on. I have also just had a visit with Stan my psychologist which went really well, I have gotten away from a few of the on course techniques that really helped me last year.

My next event will be the US Open local qualifying which is the first stage, fully expecting a great result and progression into the sectional qualifier.

Stay tuned. Thanks

Lee