The Players Championship

Yesterday I read about Mr. Tiger Woods committing to the Players on his blog. Today I read a banner that said Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy also committed to play the Players. The only thing that popped in my head was Tiger might actually finish this year's Players.

So Tiger will be playing the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow prior to the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. First of all, why wouldn't he play the Players. Its the largest purse of the TOUR. Its money in the bank if he plays the weekend, something Rory McIlroy has not done in previous starts at the Players. But I'm positive Tiger is not playing it for the money, he has plenty of that, he's playing to dominate the field.

The field at the Players, is pretty much the same field as a major. Some may say that its the 5th major on TOUR. I think so too. The competition is tough. I'm looking forward to seeing maybe a back-to-back win for Tiger. Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow should be interesting as well. A lot of fans will be watching that tournament to see what might happen at the Players.

Let's assume the top 10 players in the world will be playing at the TPC Sawgrass.

1. Luke Donald
2. Rory McIlroy
3. Lee Westwood
4. Bubba Watson
5. Hunter Mahan
6. Steve Stricker
7. Martin Kaymer
8. Tiger Woods
9. Phil Mickelson
10. Justin Rose

If I was Tiger, this is the field to dominate and win like his past self. If I were him, I would probably wear the black pants and red shirt all four days just to add to the "I'm back, bitches" mojo. But again this is all wishful thinking and a hollywood finish like most Tiger Woods tournament wins.

Well for now the RBC Heritage looks entertaining. Let's see we have a tight leaderboard, 3 tied for first at 4-under. Jim Furyk, the 2010 champion, is a shot back, and so is Charlie Wi. Something I found funny on the leaderboard, 2 Koreans and 17 Americans in the top 19 spots. Kevin Na is in the mix. Its funny cause I know who those guys are but I barely know the other Americans, besides Jim Furyk. I know John Daly and Two Gloves.

That's why I love this game. You don't have to be a big star or a multiple winner on the TOUR or in the world, you just need a golf game. A good week out of the 52 weeks of the year, and you have a shot at winning a golf tournament. Don't need a big sponsorship, don't need a splashy outfit, just a good enough golf game for that week. Maybe one day I'll have my week, maybe on TOUR, maybe not. But I'll keep practicing and learning, so one day I'll get a chance at my WEEK! 

Hard work pays off!

The saying is true, "Practice makes perfect". Well my game wasn't perfect today but it was a big improvement. The new swing tweaked worked pretty well. Lost some distance on the irons but i was more accurate. I hit 5 greens on the back nine and 4 on the front. That was a big improvement because I hit only 3 greens total yesterday.

A far view from the 4th Hole, Par 3, a bogey here is considered a good score.

Made a couple of real good putts. Not many 3-putts today. I did 3-putt a birdie attempt, on a Par-5 that I was 20 feet away. It was hard to get over considering I hit 3 good shots to get on and then 3-putted. But I made amends by birdieing the next hole. Hit my approach within 10 feet and sunk the putt. It felt great. I played the back nine 8-over, that includes a 5-over on a Par 4.

5-over on a Par 4 is so hard to do but I managed to make it look easy. Two out-of-bound of the tee. Fifth shot lay-up, 6th shot came up short of the green, 7th shot put the ball 10 feet pass, and 2-putted from there. How depressing was that.

Another wild turkey, it was lying on the ground, I thought it was dead.
Was thinking turkey sandwich for the week.

I got over it quick, Ed hit his drive down the middle of the fairway but duffed his second into the woods and took 3 shots to get on and got a 7 for the hole, so it really didn't hurt our match, just my pride.

Today my driver was not behaving. Yesterday I was crushing it on the fairways every drive, today, it was a different story. Its a good thing I only use it on 4 holes. Today I was more focused on my irons and putter than anything. I didn't let the bad drives ruined my mood or my strategy. I kept poking along with my irons and was pretty satisfied

I work the next few days, so I won't be able to work on my game. But I will keep an eye on this week's PGATOUR event, RBC Heritage. Hopefully it will be an entertaining one.


Hit em' long and straight! 
.

Best shot from the 76th Masters? | Golf Channel

Best shot doesn't include the shot Tiger Woods gave his club.

Best shot from the 76th Masters? | Golf Channel

Jose Maria Olazabal arrested for driving 97 in Georgia | Golf Channel

Jose Maria Olazabal arrested for driving 97 in Georgia | Golf Channel

This guy's a gansta! I would have told the officer, "I have a to make my tee time, Sir!"

Paul Azinger Tiger Woods' antics 'embarrassment to the game' | Golf Channel

Paul Azinger Tiger Woods' antics 'embarrassment to the game' | Golf Channel

Embarrassing, more like a baby. Yeah I support the guy but I don't even kick my clubs on a bad shot.

Hard lesson learned.

Today was a day to remember. Nothing good to remember, mostly disappointment and frustration. Played the worst round of the year. I didn't have any double bogeys and and no triple. Yes no double bogeys and no triple. I had 2 yes people 2 QUADRUPLE bogeys.

That's my playing partner Ed. 

I had 6 or 7, 4-footers for Par and couldn't hole the putts. It's been really frustrating this week for my putter. Its  the only club in my bag I trust the most and this week it is definitely letting me down. Doesn't matter how well I putt or how i read the line, it does not want to go in. I played with my old playing partners, Ed. His putts weren't going in as well but the last several holes, the ball did find the bottom of the cup. Unlike mine, he felt like there was an opposite magnet in the cup that kept pushing my ball away.

So after the round I decided its time to practice and maybe change something in my putting routine or the grip or something. Just a small change to ease the frustration. Another frustrating part of my game recently has been my chipping. I brought it up on yesterday's post and really focused on my chipping but couldn't pulled it off. For some reason I don't have confidence in my chipping. Just feel like I JUST want to get on the green and be satisfied. Tomorrow will be different!

So afterwards I went to the range and hit some range balls I had found during my round. Found out something unique about my swing. I was watching another guy hit his irons and realized I was doing the same. I was coming over my ball resulting in a hook or topping the ball.

I didn't really complain much about it because I didn't expect to hit greens all the time. I would top the ball or chunk it on every 5 or 6 iron shot. Thought it was okay for someone with my skills. Apparently I figured it out. Hopefully it will work out tomorrow when I try out the new swing.

So looking forward to tomorrow to see if my chipping and putting practice paid off. Will implement the new swing change and see if it will pay off.

Monday is golf day!

Before I start talking about the weekend, let's talk about today. Today was bangin'! That pretty much described how my day went, not how my golf game went. Played at Nonesuch River Golf Club in the morning with my friends. Kanya, his brother, and their co-worker, Eddy.

First I would just like to mention that these guys wanted to play from the Gold tees. It was the farthest tee back. I usually play from the blues and I regularly break 90 and sometimes come really close to breaking 80. These guys WANTED to play from the gold tees, even though they knew it was hard and long. I tried to convinced them to play from the blues so we can enjoy our round and it would be more competitive.

They didn't listen. Everyone shot above 100 except for me. I didn't play my best game but it was good enough to win. My putting was horrendous. I haven't had a round where I 3-putted more than I 2-putted. Probably left more birds out there today than I had chances for pars.

I took the early lead with a par on the first hole and thought I could run away with this entire match. Again I was looking too far ahead. For some reason I couldn't get the putter going and it really hurt my scoring. Another weak spot in my game today and recent outings was my chip shot. I use to be able to put a chip within 10 feet or less, now its more like 15 feet or more. I'm trying a different shot while chipping. It's more consistent but I've been long more often than close.

Later in the afternoon I went to the gym. Trying to get in better shape and form for this summer. It has helped my golf game as well. I'm a little more flexible and rotating more. Getting more distance with each shot. Working a lot on my upper body and core. My gym buddy, Brian, and I was extremely tired about 45 minutes into our workout session. I was yawning and he was exhausted. My excuse was too much golf, his excuse was too much sleep.

Great view of the bay from Portland Country Club.

I got a surprise text message from Bunra, another golf fanatic. He invited me to play some holes with him at Portland Country Club. It's a private club. He works there so it was nice to play there once in a while and of course it was FREE. Nothing wrong with free golf on a private course. Played the front 9. Started out with a par and the rest was nothing to brag about. Let's just say I hit a drive with only 85 yards left and got a triple. Not going to brag but I sucked bad on that hole. It was considered as one of the toughest hole on the course.

Sun setting from Portland Country Club.

Things to focus on tomorrow morning.

1. Long irons. 3, 4, and 5 iron.
2. Putting for distance and reading the greens.
3. Keeping my head down on my wedges.
4. Chipping within 10 feet.
5. Be calm.
6. Don't get too excited like Tim Tebow going to the Jets.
7. Don't get too tired for the gym.