Golden State Tour at Oak Valley, 1/29/10

[Ben]

Well, Golden State Tour event at Oak Valley yesterday. 2-over par 74 got me nothing. Nothing monitarily, but plenty in my ongoing boost in confidence since Thailand. Although the score wasn't that great, the high score was only due to a few silly putting errors early in the round.

My baseball playing buddy always says, "its not how you start, but how you finish." 3-over on the front, 4-over after 10 holes. Went on to finish the back at 1-under, bringing me back to 2-over overall. That 2-over was about as bad as I could have shot yesterday, and that being the case, I feel pretty good. I hit the ball nicely, got around the golf course with a good amount of control. Didn't miss many fairways nor greens. This was only my fifth time playing this course, so I'm still a little unfamiliar with where to put my approach shots in regard to pin positions. The greens here are a bit tricky in that regard. Some serious slopes and undulations. Find yourself in the wrong spot, and you'll have a hard time making a birdie.

I really turned my game [putting] around on the back finishing with two birdies in my last four holes, with good looks at birdie on the other two. After not really making much of anything on the front, my putter really caught fire on the 11th hole. I just remembered my putting mantra: "Keep head down, putt goes in." And sure enough, I only had 10 putts from holes 11-18. 5 feet for par on 11, 8 feet for par on 13, 15 feet for par on 14, 3 feet for birdie on 15, 30 feet for birdie on 16. I love making putts. Feels so great!

So, not so great in terms of throwing away $300 on the entry, but, a feel good round for sure.

[jamo]

After watching John Daly pout after shooting 71, it's nice to see someone optimistic after shooting a round they weren't thrilled with. Good luck!