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

November Update

Hello everyone,

I thought I would post a quick update on my progress in the last month, since Q School.

Obviously I haven't played a tournament in a while, so there isn't too much to report on but I am progressing well in practice after taking a short break in October.

I am hitting the ball great at the moment, so I hope to carry that in to December. I have been working on my swing trying to get a little bit less laid off at the top, and activating the left side in the downswing a little sooner. My ball striking has improved quite a bit.

As I move into the last couple of weeks preparation before I leave for the tournament in Hilton Head, my focus will be less 'technical based' and more scoring based. I will focus my practice more on the scoring areas (wedges and putting) and play more holes out on the course.

The Egolf Tour Championship will take place at Palmetto Hall Plantation, Hilton Head Island on the 3-6 December, It will be a great chance to jump up in the money list rankings with the biggest prize money of the year available.

Check in soon for a pre-tournament update.

Cheers

Q School First Stage - Johns Creek, Georgia

I don't like blogging when I haven't achieved what I set out to do, I feel like the bearer of bad news but it is all part of the learning process. I believe that we need failure to better prepare us for success and also this is a good way to reflect.

So with that being said, although this week didn't go well for me from a scoring standpoint, (in fact very badly) I do feel like there are some positives to take from the week and the areas I need to work on are very clear.

First, I'll start with how the week went:

I was able to stay at my psychologist/friends house for the week just north of Atlanta, so that was great and definitely an advantage from a mindset standpoint. He walked with me in the practice round, although I wasn't striking the ball great I did a good job mapping the course and could see myself doing well.

In summary for the 4 rounds, there were glimpses of good play. Little 6-9 hole stretches where I was putting something together. But all 4 rounds were littered with mistakes, mostly off the tee. I was halting any momentum I had built with destructive shots. I was prone to a real big miss (both directions). The causes of these misses were mostly down to swing flaws, which I won't go into (I will address in the off season). I have been struggling with the swing in terms of consistency with my long game for a while, not just this week. I have been able to manage it mostly and let my short game score for me. If I am being honest with myself I am going to have to improve this. My short game is clearly good enough to make the jump up, but I have learned my long game has to improve. And it will.

I was proud of the way I didn't let adversity ruin my belief. The last 3 days I was +3, +5, and +5 in the middle of my rounds and got it back to +1, +3, +3. Although these scores are nothing to be proud of and it was a real struggle, I think it shows my character how I didn't give up and kept plugging away.

Now I have quite a lot of time off to practice, improve my game and be ready for the final event of my season in Hilton Head, in December. I intend on finishing with a bang to end on a high note. I have made a lot of progress this season and will continue on the upward ascent.

Thank you very much for all you support.

I will update on my practice soon.

September update

Hi all,

Been back in the States for a couple of days now so I've had time to re-adjust.

I had a lovely 2 week break back home, was great to see family and friends. Could have maybe done with another week, but with 1st stage of Q School around the corner I had to get back into my routine and be fully focused on the task in hand.

I was assigned my first choice for the next stage so I will be playing at The Standard Club, Johns Creek, Georgia. (just outside of Atlanta) on the 7-10 October. Really looking forward to getting underway and kicking off the last portion of the year.

All that is left for me this year is Q School and the final Million Dollar Series event in Hilton Head (December 3-6). Some big opportunities await....

Plenty of work to be done between now and the 7th October.

Will update in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again for following.

Lee

Web.com tour Pre Qualifying - Sacramento CA

I have an hour or so to kill at the airport here in Sacramento, so I thought I would post a summary of the event this week.

This week was the beginning of Qualifying School for me. Because of a slight mix up with dates I had to come all the way to Sacramento, California for the preliminary stage of Q School. With a small field (73) the top 36 players would advance to the First Stage.

Yolo Fliers Club was the host of the 3 rounds. A nice course just outside Sacramento. Tight with quite a few doglegs and nice smooth greens. The rough this week was pretty penal so a premium on straightness off the tee.

Round 1 included 4 birdies and 3 bogeys. I stumbled a bit on the back 9 (3 bogeys in my last 5 holes) but nevertheless was in decent position heading into round 2. I had only 27 putts in round 1, I seem to thrive on 'bentgrass' greens and I made the most of it. 71 (-1)

Round 2 was very steady indeed. I made 15 pars, 2 birdies and a bogey at the last. I didn't hit many fairways, but again relied on my creativity from tough spots and short game when I needed. After 2 rounds I was t12 on the leaderboard. 71 again

Round 3 was all about staying in the present moment. It's easy to start thinking 'Ok I have a bit of a cushion inside the qualifying mark'...but that can easily lead to defensive golf and you cannot ever score well with that mindset. I started with a birdie at the first but then 2 bogeys and a double in my next 4 holes and I found myself over-par for the tournament, a bit out of the blue. After having a little word with myself 'stay in the present, one shot at a time etc etc' I managed to hit 2 great shots into the 6th which would lead to a birdie. A nice wedge into the 9th set up a birdie and I felt like I was back on track again. The back 9 was more solid stuff. 7 pars and birdies at 11 & 15 added up to another 71! I was very pleased at the way I salvaged the round, playing my last 13 in -4.

I ended the week t13th and earned my spot into the next round. Sites will be announced toward the end of the month. Very excited to get to the next stage.

Thanks for following. Will update in a couple of weeks.

River Hills

This week was the first Million Dollar Championship series event at River Hills, just 20 mins up the road from where I live.

A very tricky course, which puts a premium on accuracy and sharpness around the greens. Unfortunately I had neither this week..

I started off with a very strange shot; a hook out of bounds with my tee shot. I have hit hundreds of good opening tee shots so it was nothing to do with nerves. Anyway, I tried to regroup quickly but my for the first 3 holes I couldn't stop the lefts. Somehow I managed to straighten it out, and with a couple of birdie/bogey exchanges I turned at 2 over par (not disastrous).

Then on the 1st (my 10th) I got to the green with a 10 footer for par, when I addressed the ball, the ball moved in to a tiny indentation. I immediately called the penalty on myself, and without making a stroke I was all of a sudden putting for bogey. I missed that and walked to the next tee scratching my head.

The rest of the 9 was steady, until I got to the 8th and hit another tee shot left and out of bounds. I ended up with a 77 with 4 sixes on the card.

Today, for the second round I started off poorly again. I missed both par 3 greens and played them in +3. I then bogeyed the 8th from the fairway bunker. It wasn't until I got to the back 9 before I started to play some decent golf. 9 straight pars ensued, with holing a single putt.

Overall a very disappointing week. This was the start of a big 2-week stretch for me and it's not the start I wanted. It's the poorest I have played in a while but, I am confident I can get back on track right away. I'll have a rest from golf tomorrow and then be ready to get back into practice this weekend.

I head to Sacramento, California on Monday for pre-qualifying. Really looking forward to it.

Lee

update

Hello everyone, thought I would send an update even though I haven't had a tournament since my last post.

My wrist seems to be fine at the moment, I have been able to play for about a week pain-free. Not sure what caused it but I'll continue to treat with caution.

The first Million Dollar Championship series starts next Wednesday at River Hills Country Club, Lake Wylie, SC. I actually popped over there this morning to get an early practice round under my belt. The course is not long but tricky, pretty much all about keeping it in play from the tee and having good short game. I will probably only hit 3 or 4 drivers per round which is very unusual for courses in the U.S!

For Q School I will be travelling to Sacramento, CA for pre-stage. There was a slight mess up with the dates hence having to travel but it has been resolved now. Looking forward to getting out there for a change in scenery and to advance to first stage.

For those who didn't know I will be in England from 7-21 September for a short break to see friends and family. It has been a hectic summer and this will be a welcome break. Before I look ahead to the conclusion of my season.

Stay tuned for an update after the River Hills championship.

Cheers