Tournament Recap: Shriners Open Pre-qualifier

• Posted on Grant
• in My Journey, Tournament Recap
• on October 30, 2017
• Comments Off on Tournament Recap: Shriners Open Pre-qualifier

Overview: Great weather and a great golf course in Boulder City, Nevada. The greens were rolling great. I hadn’t seen the front 9 before, but I had played the back 9 five years ago. To move on to the Monday qualifier I needed to place in the top eleven which turned out to be a 5 under par score.

Highlites:

#3. Driver into left rough and then hit gap wedge to 1″ from 125 yards for an easy birdie.

#11. Driver into the left fairway bunker and then hit gap wedge from 112 to 14 feet and made the uphill putt for birdie.

#13. Driver down the middle of the fairway and downwind. Then hit 6-iron from 212 yards to 5 feet and made the putt for eagle.

Learning Opportunities:

#1. Hit my drive exactly where I wanted, but got caught in the lip of the fairway bunker and had to lay up and play for par. I need to carry the ball farther off the tee so I got a new driver the day after this tournament that I am able to now carry the ball 300 yards.

#2. Had 178 to a back pin and hit 7-iron which flew over the green leading to a double bogey. I forgot that we were at 1,500′ more elevation and next time I will hit 8-iron.

#5. Couldn’t see the fairway and so didn’t commit to my target as I had no idea what the fairway looked like. My ball hit the cart path and went into the desert. Next time I will hit a hybrid when I’m not sure of where to hit the ball. And, when possible, I will play a practice round. It just wasn’t possible this past week.

#16. I went for the green in two with my 3-wood from 311 yards and hit a bad shot that ended up in a bush. It took almost 5 minutes to find it and then I rushed a little on my putts and 3-putted. I needed to make eagle and birdie the last two to have a chance, so it was a chance I felt like I needed to take. But in future multiple day tournaments that aren’t qualifiers, I will not go for the green unless I can fly the ball on the surface.

Positives: I played the back nine really well, hitting almost every fairway. Also, my speed control on my putts was great. Iron shots were really solid as well including a 6-iron from 211 on the par 3 12th hole that sat down within a foot of it’s pitch mark.

Areas to improve: Hitting my wedges closer to the hole from 100 to 140. I had one that almost went in, but other than that, didn’t have any short birdie opportunities. Also, for tournament preparation: Looking up the elevation of the course. Also, taking a conservative club off the tee when not sure where to hit the tee shot no matter how long the hole is.