Tuesday, June 28, 2011

RDs 1 & 2 at the Fuhrer

I finished the first two rounds at the Field Club today, playing in the Frank Fuhrer Invitational. I shot a pair of 73's on a difficult course setup, which has me sitting in 9th place. Overall I hit the ball pretty well, very well in the morning. The putter failed me a bit in the first round, but came back with avengence in round 2. Unfortunately, alot of the good putts I made were for pars as the ball-striking wasn't quite as crisp in the second round. The greens out there are extremely fast, but also very soft. I had a few really good shots land past the pin and spin off the green.

Round 1 was very steady, I made an early birdie on 11, my second hole of the day, and made 8 pars on the rest of the nine. I bogied the converted par 5, third hole, which is now a par 4, and was even through 16. Then disaster struck as I chopped my way to a triple bogey 7 on number 8. Interesting fact though, in my three PA golf Association victories I made a 7 once in each tournament. So although it really hurt, I've battled back from it before.

My 73 in round 2 would have been much better if I had just parred my last 3 holes. Once again I did not finish strong as I bogied 16 and 18, a pair of par 3s coming down the home stretch. I feel pretty good about my game though, and I'm in a position where I solid 60's round today can put me right in the hunt.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Old Elvis Cup Tomorrow

I'm super excited to be playing in the Old Elvis Cup at Sewickley Heights tomorrow. Mike Dowling, who helped me out a lot these last two years, has invited me to play. It's a 36 hole event which includes 74 players, one of which is Rocco Mediate. There is a nice little purse which goes to some of the winners and skins. I had my best range session with Joe B in 2 years today and I'm really looking forward to seeing how low I can take it at Sewickley tomorrow. The danger out there is always the greens. There is alot of slope to them, and they're always very fast. I usually manage to wind up on the wrong side of the hole a couple times out there and finish with some 3-putts. But I'm going to try to think my way around as best I can, while staying aggressive at the same time. This is really going to be a fun event and hopefully I will be able to get some really good momentum from it.

I missed a pair of cuts on my last trip to Charlotte, and decided to take a couple weeks to stay around the Pittsburgh area and focus on sharpening the game as much as I can. My next scheduled event will now be the Frank Fuhrer Invitational. That is the one tournament I really circled on the calender this year and said, "this is it, I'm winning this one." I love Mr. Fuhrer's event and it's extremely meaningful to me. To get the opportunity to play in his event as I have for year's now is truly special.

I went to Sewickley this evening with my dad. The grand opening of the new and improved practice range occured today. It looks awesome. The teeing ground has just about doubled, and the grass looks pure. Rocco put on a little show for some members and hit the ceremonial first drive, which he humorously topped (Don't worry Roc, it probably won't be the last time that happens on that range). Much fun was had by all who attended, as Rocco pulled a couple kids out of the crowd to hit a couple balls as well.