First tournament

[MJP]

First off I just wanted to say I had a great time at the PNGA Amateur Public Links. It was my first tournament and it was a great experience. Didn't feel anywhere near as nervous as I thought I would on that first tee. Winner finished -7 (71.9/127) shooting -7 in round 2. The top 5 were all hovering around even par for 36 holes.

Round 1: Shot 90 with 37 putts in round 1. Median score was probably in the low 80s. My playing partners shot 83 and 84. One was in his high 20s low 30s and the other in the mid 40s I'd say.

Driver: 9/10 today. No penalties, no punch outs from the trees. Didn't keep fairways but they were decent.
Approach shots: 6/10. Hit some good ones and some not so good ones.
Putting: 4/10. Could have been much better I just had trouble with the speed of some of the putts.

Realistically my score could have been in the low to mid 80s with better putting.

Round 2: Shot 106....yikes. Played with an 18yo who shot 92 the first day and has played in over 100 tournaments. I didn't find out until after the round but that still made me feel better about my terrible day. He shot 94 2nd day.

Driver: 1/10. Had nothing today. Even pulled some so bad as to hit trees only 100y down the fairway. Had to punch out a lot, although no lost balls. The tails weren't huge, I was just pulling and hitting everything with like a 1.2 smash factor. Ball was going at least 50y less than a good drive.
Irons: 3/10. Had a few good shots when I walked up to the ball with an attitude of "Things can't get much worse just swing". On a good day, my miss hits with short irons are 10y left or right of target. Today I was tugging everything 30y left. Even had a couple fat shots that went 50y.
Putting: 2/10. Holed 1 long one and a decent amount of short ones. Getting my 1st putt close today was an issue though. Had 40 putts....leaving iron shots 100feet short of the pin doesn't help either.

After clearing my head and putting it all together 20 minutes after the round, I realized I was too tense and had no focus today. My mental game killed my actual game. Literally. This was a great learning experience for me because it truly showed me how bad a score can get when the wheels fall off and you don't feel in control.

I fault round 2 to me having too much tension and a much quicker tempo than my natural efficient swing. I was getting way too quick at the top all day long and didn't even notice it.

LESSON TO BE LEARNED: Control the mental game when you have an embarrassing swing or hole. If the swing starts getting shaky, check the TEMPO of the swing. It is likely too QUICK.

I can't wait to play in more tournaments. But first, I need to work on the swing a lot more. Still really trying to ingrain the sensations of "deep hands" from P1 to P4 and P4 to P7. This and ONLY this will cure my natural fade/cut/ slices at the worst of times.