Sussex Pro's Championship....

Hey folks. I played the Sussex Professional's Championship this week at West Hove and very nearly put in a great performance.

I played very solidly in the first round. I putted well and recovered well from trouble (quite a few times as my long game was 'loose' to say the least. I chipped in for birdie at the last green for a round of 71 (+1) which saw me make the cut by 3 shots! I was thrilled with myself. I think its a pretty good effort to make the cut in my first Pro tournament that has a cut. A 100% record you might say. This was the best I had felt about my golf game for a long time and precisely what I needed for my confidence. My bro Sam, made the cut too so we were both happy.

I returned on the 2nd day just trying to have a solid performance and round the tournament off nicely. I would have been happy to shoot somewhere around the mid 70's area.
To be honest, it was a VERY nervy start, dropping 3 shots in my first 6 holes. However, I rallied well and continued to battle as my long game was very average once again and on the 14th tee I was +3 for the round and therefore +4 for the tournament. If I had parred in from here, I'm sure I would have finished somewhere around 15th spot and would have won maybe about £200 which would have been sweet! However, I suffered one of my now trademark (from playing tests) collapses and stupidly threw 7 shots away over my last 5 holes for a humbling round of 80. I'll be totally honest, at that time and for the rest of the day (and still am slightly) I was absolutely livid with myself for throwing away such a good position. I felt that all that hard work I had put in to that point had been completely wasted. I am very critical of myself and it is only now that I am looking at the positives of the event (such as winning my 2nd paycheque in two events!) and what to learn moving on:

1/ Not only did I make the cut at my first attempt, I put myself into a great position overall,
2/ I have a fantastic ability to scramble when I am playing poorly from tee to green,
3/ This will stand me in good stead for future events as I know I can compete,
4/ My temporament needs reviewing again although it was perhaps poor decision making that cost me those shots on the last few holes. I do however need to 'lighten up' more on the course and learn to accept the situations that do not go my way in a more 'professional' way.
5/ Its all a learning curve so DONT FOCUS ON THE NEGATIVES! I am convinced that there is an art to being able to do this. Maybe it just comes with the experience.

I have one more tournament this year. It is the Sussex Open. This is a big event that is open to professionals and all amateurs in the county with a handicap of 5 or lower. Again, this an event with a cut after then first round so I will feel more confident about this part.

My build up to this tournament will include continual work on my swing (I have a lesson booked in this week) and a lot on work on my pitching and putting.

Thats all for now folks. Till next time.....