Bye Canada

Missed the cut by a shot. Wonderful ending, eh? Now it's time to work it out.

Luke

TC Round 1

Sorry for such a short post, but it's bedtime.

I hit the ball very strangely today. Nothing was really terribly off line (well, one shot was), but I missed almost every green. My short game kept me in it, but the bad shots caught up to me. +2 74 leaves me on the cut bubble.

I got up and down from everywhere today. Chipped in once, and caught the edge on 3 or 4 more. My short game really did save me. Hopefully I'll hit a few more greens tomorrow and get hot. Not out of it yet, just need a good one.

Luke

07 Tour Championship

Canadian Tour Championship, that is.

The course (National Pines) is great. Severe greens, deep rough, everything you want in the tour's biggest event. Scores should be higher this week, something I always like. I go late tomorrow. If I play really good I can promise a long recap.

Luke

Niagara

Wow. I've always had dreams of coming to New York City. It fascinates me, and I can't wait 'til I get to see it. I was pretty close today. The license plate on my car says New York, so that's cool, too.

I flew into Buffalo to save a few bucks. That also allowed me to see Niagara Falls. It is amazing. It took me awhile to get my rental car, so I didn't have a lot of time to linger. Maybe Sunday night. It was a bit of a dream come true, though. For some reason New England has a hold on me. If you get the chance to see the falls, do it. Along with the Grand Canyon, it's some of the most amazing scenery the country has to offer.

I've gotten to go to some amazing places this year. Hawaii, Mexico, Victoria, Calagary (the drive to Calgary from Vancouver), Montreal, and now Niagara and Toronto (the list goes on including past years...Monterrey, Rushmore, the Sturgis rally, the Texas Book Depository). My golf hasn't been as good as I hoped, but I'm learning a lot. International travel is different, but fun. I haven't been overseas yet, but I look forward to it. I'm living the dream, and I want this life more than ever. I'm VERY motivated, and I think this is going to be a good week.

I ended the Utah Open on a sour note. All was going well, but an aweful back nine left me with 76. I tied for 50th. Not very good. My swing came around this week, but I couldn't get it going. The last nine came with some bad breaks and some bad putting. I can't let things snowball like I did. Overall, though, I think I'm in good shape.

I'll see the course tomorrow. Canadian Tour Championship satrts Thursday.

Luke Swilor

Utah Open 2nd round

I hit it good again most of the round yesterday, but I couldn't wrap it all together. A few mistakes cost me, and I never got it rolling. 72 dropped me into a tie for 20th.

I'm feeling very confident on the course again. The last month has been a major struggle, but I feel like I'm capable of winning again.

A good round today will still give me a good finish. I'm looking forward to getting on a roll.

Luke Swilor

Utah Open 1st Round

I was swinging in the mirror the other night, and I had a little thought. It was late, so I couldn't go to the range to work on it, but I thought about it all night. I went to the range, and it was like a switch flipped. I didn't even have to think about it.

I haven't gotten my ball-striking all the way back to where I want it, but it's a marked improvement. I played a very efficient round of golf today. I was never in any real trouble, I drove it pretty flawlessly, and I was hitting a lot of iron shots close to the hole. My long irons were a bit weak, but passable. I hit some really good putts, too, but didn't get a whole lot of them to go in. They will. I got back to ripping up the par 5's, too. Made 4 on all of them, just missing a couple of eagles.

So I ended up with a nice little 68 that should leave me somewhere around the leaders at the end of the day. 66 is low so far.

Confidence returning.

Luke Swilor

Utah Open Week

Back in the states for a few days. This week, I get a home game. One of precious few, and I'm looking forward to it.

Played in a pro am today with some great guys. We had some fun, and the team shot what I thought was a great score. Tough to make money on the team side of a pro am, though. My game, on the other hand, wasn't so great. I'm having to work way to hard on my full shots to get them in play. I'm having to "save" almost every shot, and that doesn't hold up very long. Tomorrow will be a day of hitting a lot of balls to try to get the swing grooved again.

The course this week is one of Utah's older private clubs, and I'm pumped that we get to play it. Oakridge CC is a classic tree-lined gem with small greens. For years the Utah Open was played at Willow Creek CC (now the site of the Nationwide event), which is a similarly classic style course. It should be fun having the event back to that type of course. I usually play my best on the tree lined courses, too, so I'm looking forward to breaking out of this little rut I've been in.

Practice tomorrow, play early Friday. Information at utahopen.info.

Luke Swilor

Montreal Finale

I played better the second day. Well, after 8 holes I did. I got off to a very mediocre (okay, bad) start, but I got some gallery the last 10 holes and kicked it into gear. The gallery wasn't following me (I played with a local sponsor's exemption), but it gave me a little extra motivation coming in. Got a few cheers out of it, anyways.

I really didn't play that bad the last two days. I had trouble getting it into the hole for 26 holes, but subtracting one terrible hole I was okay. It was a fluke hole that took me out of it. I don't see any big flaws in my game right now, so I'm not going to let it get to me. I seem to have found a nice putting thought during the last 11 holes yesterday, too, so the putter is feeling good again.

I need to get back to being consistent. That has always been one of my strengths, but it's been lacking this year. My swing just isn't as solid as it should be, and I need to stop the big mistakes. I'm very confident I can make that happen pretty quickly.

Missing the cut put me in the pro am today. I had a great group, and I was able to have a good time out on the course. My swing was still a bit erratic, but I hit some really good shots. We put out our best effort, but the important thing is we remembered to have fun.

That's my goal in pro ams. Have fun. Pro ams are a chance for tournament sponsors to see us play. Regardless of how well I play, I hope my team has a good time. They deserve it, as they are the ones who make the tournaments possible. I really didn't play good today, but I made every effort to make my group comfortable. They want to play good, sure, but having a good time is the key. I hope all of my pro am partners get a good experience.

We played behind Rory Sabbatini today. He came to town for the pro am and an exhibition. 11 in the world in front of you, pretty cool. The really cool thing was that my team couldn't have cared less. They were enjoying the shots I was hitting. At least they made me feel that way. I hit some shots that should've made me mad, but I didn't want to get in the way of my team's fun, so I didn't let any of that anger show. When you are a pro, the team (not the score) is what it's all about. I really hope that shows when I play in these types of events.

Leaving Montreal:
It wasn't a good week playing wise. Very frustrating, really. But in the big scheme, it doesn't matter all that much. Yeah, I could've used the money. Sure, it would've been great to play in front of the big crowds this weekend. But I have to look at all this as a learning experience. I know what I need to work on, I got to see the most "European" part of North America, and I now have some extra motivation to make myself a better player to " make up" for the last few weeks. I feel good about what's in store for this fall.

Luke Swilor

Bad

I hit it good most of the day, but I couldn't get a putt to go in. Then I made a ten on the last hole. That's all she wrote.

Luke

Last Thoughts Before We Go

The course is great. The greens have a hollow sound which means they're ready to get hard and fast. Fun.

Luke

Montreal

Bonjour!

I haven't posted in awhile, but I'm back in action this week at the Desjardins Montreal Open.

I got into town last night, and this is the first time Canada has truly felt like a foreign country. It's fun though. So far everyone speaks pretty much perfect English, though most conversations start in French. I know absolutely no French, so when people are talking it is pretty much just noise.

New places are always fun, and this is definitely new. The city is amazing, and very old. I've never been anywhere in the northeast. Now I have, and it's pretty cool.

I hit some putts this morning next to Jean Van de Velde. Surreal. After that I practiced the afternoon away. On my way home I stopped by Royal Montreal, the site of the upcoming President's Cup. They're gearing up.

This weeks tournament looks like it's going to be great. They've got so many tents and stands set up, you'd swear you were at a tour event. I talked to the tournament director today, and they are doing everything right. We've become royalty this week, and it feels pretty good. They are taking care of us, and it sounds as though they are bringing some sizable crowds for the tournament.

Ready for a good week.

Luke Swilor

Needed Break

I think I'm officially burnt out for the first time ever. The last couple weeks have been pretty bad. I played decent for two days in Kansas to make the cut, but the last round was nightmarish. Then I played today with my buddy Tony, and it can only be classified as pathetic. I'm mad after every shot, and it seems like nothing will go my way (it's only perception, but that's how it feels).

So...it's a good thing I have a few days off. I don't think I'll play, but I'll get some good work in. I really need some work around the greens, so I'm going to spend most of my time there. I'm looking forward to it, and I think when I get back up to Canada I'll have the juices flowing again.

Luke Swilor

Southwest Kansas Pro Am

I made it back to Salt Lake just in time to drive back to Kansas. Travel gets complicated, and I saved $500 by driving an extra 15 hours. That's a decent hourly rate.

So I'm in Garden City, Kansas, almost ready to tee off. Had a practice round yesterday at on of the two courses, and it was very nice. I'm in the middle of nowhere, but these courses are hidden gems. I think I'm used to my new clubs, so I'm looking forward to sticking some iron shots.

Luke