9.17.2008

Oregon Finale 08

It didn't go well in the qualifier.  I got off to a good start, but stagnated during the middle part of the round.  Birdies are big in a qualifier, and I was -1 after 12.  13 was a reachable par 5.  I hit a good drive, got a good break on my second shot which left me 80 yards to the pin.  I had to hit a super high shot over a tree to get it anywhere near the hole.  It wasn't all that tough a shot, but I over-did it a bit and landed it in the right fringe.  It took a hard right bounce into the hazard.  I tried to get it out, without luck, and ended up with a 7.  Bad.

That was pretty much that, and things snowballed coming in.  I kept trying, but the fire wasn't there.  I missed by a ways.

There has been a little tour following the Nationwide qualifiers the last couple weeks (Cleveland Pro Golf Tour), so I entered that this week.  It hasn't quite caught on yet, but it's a nice place to get some confidence back.  Qualifiers are known as confidence killers, because one day makes or breaks your week.  So it was nice to have a place to play for a few days.

I played really good yesterday, hitting some great irons and making some putts.  I was one shot back of the lead heading into today.

I played fairly well again today, giving myself a chance to win coming in.  It was nice to feel the pressure of being in contention again.  Really nice.  The juices were flowing in a positive way for the first time in a while.  I was positive I was going to win, but ended up 3rd, 3 back.

Anyhow, the confidence killer failed to kill my confidence.  It may end up being a break, as I was able to get into contention for a win.  My long game has come around, and my putting work the last few weeks is really paying off. 

Moving in the right direction.  BIG test in 5 weeks.

Luke

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