Colombian Open

I flew back from Pereira on Monday night (it was a Fri-Mon tournament), arriving at my house around 11pm and then I went to play my first practice round for the Open on Tuesday morning. The greens were rolling around 11 on Tuesday, and were fairly firm. To my surprise, the long rough I'd seen the months prior the tournament was gone in some parts due to lack of water or morning freeze. Still, the course had sharp teeth and you needed good luck in the rough to even have a chance of advancing your ball a few yards.

On Wednesday I played the pro-am and played pretty decent and shot a +4. By Wednesday afternoon the greens were rolling close to 12 and it was hard to stop the ball on the green.

Thursday: I started my day on the 10th tee at 12:30 (with a 11:35 tee time) after a long delay. I pared my first 10 holes, bogeyed 2 and 3, birdied 5, double 7 and bogeyed 9 for a round of 76 (+4) and tied for 25th, right on the cutline. I played a solid round, except for a couple of holes where I lost my concentration and hit poor shots. I wasn't satisfied with my round because I played a lot better than a +4 but over all it wasn't a bad start. The course was playing harder than most expected and there were only a couple of scores under par. The leader was at -2. The greens (the course biggest defense) were rolling around 12 or 12.5 on the stimp. The afternoon was playing considerably harder than in the morning, since the wind picked up and the greens dried up pretty quick!

Friday started early, with a 7:27 tee time on the 1st tee. I started with a birdie and then proceeded to bogey #2 and double #3. I was at +6 for the tournament and worried about the cutline! I settled down and shot an 38 (+2) on the front. I got it going on the back 9 with 3 birdies, 5 pars and only one bogey for a 34 (-2) on the back, for a total of 72 (E). After the morning wave, I moved from 25 to 6th with that round!! As the afternoon went on, I started to see the cutline move up (109 players, only Top 30 and ties made the cut) from +4 to +6, +8 and finally +10!! Gosh I was happy I played in the morning that day! My round kept getting better and better and by the end of the day I was tied for 10th place with +4.

Saturday was a bad day. I didn't have my A game and I missed a really good opportunity to move on the leaderboard. The course was playing really hard that day and the pin locations were close to unfair. If you happen to hit a green on the wrong side of the pin, a good putt would come to rest at least 10 feet from the hole! Some holes the ball wouldn't stop around the cup. The average for the 33 pros that made the cut was 78.84, over 6 strokes on the wrong side of par! I had 3 three-putts and shot 78. All and all, I only lost 1 spot with that round. I was at +10 for the tournament.

Sunday was my big opportunity to play a good round and gain some places. I pared my first 2 holes, birdied 3, pared 4 and 5, missed a short up and down on 6 for a bogey and made a 40 foot sneak on 7. After 2 more pars, I shot a solid 35 (-1) on the front. On the 10th tee, I barely missed the green and drew a bad lie on the fringe, plus a bad club selection led to a double bogey. I kept my cool and decided that I was still in a good spot, since 11 and 12 were birdie holes. Sure enough I birdied both, but I didn't stop there, adding 2 more birdies on 13 and 14. I made a great par save from 60 yds out on 15 and on 16th tee box someone told me that the leader was at +4 for the tournament and I was at +7 then! I hit 3 perfect shots on the par 5 16th and my 7 footer barely missed the cup. I lost my focus a little and finished with 2 bogeys, shooting a final round of 71 (-1) and the second best round of the day by a stroke.
I finished tied in 6th place and felt very close to the top spot... I was 5 strokes of the playoff, but I really felt like I have the game to win out here. I feel that my path is starting to be a little clearer and that I'm going in the right direction!
Well, I think this is enough for now... I travel again this coming Tuesday for another tournament and start another string of 3 tournaments in 4 weeks.
Here is the article for the Colombian Open (there is a pic of me there): http://www.federacioncolombianadegolf.com/noticia.php?nt=20328
Here are the results for the Colombian Open: http://www.federacioncolombianadegolf.com/noticia.php?nt=20324

Pereira Open!

First day in Pereira was long, very long. I teed off at 12:30 and got to #5 at -1, but then a rain storm delayed play for over two hours. I finally got back on the course to par 5, 6, birdie 7, bogey 8, birdie 9, 12, 15 and came back the next morning to finish with par, birdie, par on 16, 17 and 18. I shot a 66 (-5) and I was leading by one shot, but since we finished the next morning and we started play again, I wasn't aware of where I was on the leaderboard. Second round was a nice fought 72 (+1) and I was still tied for the lead. I played 2 solid rounds on the weekend, shooting 71-71, finishing in T5th with a total of 280 (-4) and 3 shots back of the winner, Rafael Ponce from Ecuador. Rafa played for 5 or 6 years on the Asian Tour before coming back to South America.
I felt really good all weekend, and eventhough I was playing with top players and in contention, I handled the presure great and I had my nerves under control for most of the round. I'm getting familiar with the top of the leaderboard and I feel comfortable up there now! This was the most important part of the tournament, that I learned to be up there and contend. It was great preparation for the Colombian Open.
For results click go here: http://www.federacioncolombianadegolf.com/noticia.php?nt=20284

Found New Light!

After missing the cut in Armenia, I went to the range on Saturday to give a lesson to my friend's mom, where I was staying for the tournament. Right there, something clicked and I found a way to work on my swing, which was a little long and producing all kind of different shots (not on purpose!). Sunday was a long day at the range working on that new tip I found and it started to work. I decided that I wasn't going to let the missed cut affect my confidence or my plans for the upcoming weeks, leading up to the Colombian Open.

Armenia... Cut short!!!

Well, I made it to the course where I won my first amateur open tournament. Armenia used to be a short par 72 course and usually the cut was around -4 for the pros and the winning score was always around -20. One year the winner shot -24 in 3 days!! That's pretty impressive and also tells you how easy the course was playing. Back then, it was fairly new and the trees were small.

Those days are over!! This year I came back after 3 years of not playing in Armenia, and I found a new beast in town! The tournament committee decided to have a Par 70 course for the tournament, having firm greens and lots of run-off areas that trickled down to OB's or water hazards. One of the courses biggest defense are called "Guaduales", which are basically bamboo trees, but only thicker and more bunched close together. If you happen to hit it in there, 95% of the time, you won't have a shot and 99% of the time you won't even have a swing. The space between trees is usually a couple of feet only. Tough test if you ask me.

This year the cut was at +9 and unfortunately I missed it by 4 strokes. This was the first tournament where I really struggled off the tee and with my irons. I shot 79-74 and really didn't have it this week at all. I usually have good control over my ball flight, but this week it seemed to be lost somewhere in my luggage, good thing I decided to pack it and bring it to my next tournament, Pereira.
I'm quickly learning about the touring pro life, which is pretty hard and you just have to grind it every week, because you never know when it could be you week. I've learned that swing thoughts and overall game doesn't necessarily carry over from one week to the next, and even if you miss the cut one week, you can win the next. At least, that is what I will tell myself for the rest of the season. Its not luck, it's hard work paying off, and sometimes it just takes a little more time, but I will get there, I know I will. This is a process, and so far, I'm pretty happy with my performance, and I'm getting hungrier by the minute.
I will make some updates about Pereira's Open in the next few days... I play my practice round tomorrow.

Ibague Weekend Review

I had some problems getting into a computer to update my blog. I made the cut for the weekend, and I was in 18th place. Only top-15 got money on this tournament. Saturday was another though round. My short game was there, but wasn't sharp or wasn't working the way I was visualizing the shots. The greens were really firm, so hitting the ball close was a challenge, and the fringe/fairways were bumpy and slow. Though combination. I shot 76 (+5) and fell 1 spot to 19th, 4 shots out of the money.

Sunday was frustrating on the front nine. I FINALLY par No. 1, which felt like a birdie (after 4 straight bogeys on that hole). I pared No. 2, the hard par 3, which pretty much had my round going, but after a OB pull-hook on No. 3 I was again over par (+2) on No. 4 tee box. I pared out from there to finish at +2 for the front nine. The back nine was a completely different story!! I'll make it short. I had 4 sand saves for par, one up and down for bogey, one for par and 3 birdies, for a nice -2 on the back, with 9 PUTTS!!! I finished with birdie on 16 and 18 to get 15th place, right in the money!
Here are the results: http://www.federacioncolombianadegolf.com/noticia.php?nt=20089

I felt pretty good after that round, it was very satisfying to have a good round when I really needed it. Now is off to Armenia Open, which starts tomorrow!

Two Rounds Report

Well, first things first, I made it to the weekend. Not in the way I wanted, but I have 36 more holes to play and improve.

First round I shot -1, 70 (39-31). I started on Hole 1 with a bogey, then proceeded to bogey the third hole and the seventh hole for a +3 on the front. Then I birdied 11, 12, 15 and 18 for -4 on the back. I was in fourth place after the 2 rounds, 6 strokes back. I played with a local pro, with colombian Golf leyend Eduardo Herrera and again with Rodrigo Castañeda. All of them shot under par in the front 9 and I ended up beating them for the round. The pins were mostly on the fron of the green and tucked behind bunkers and hills, which made for difficult scoring conditions. I thinkI was a little nervous at first, but then I settled down and started making some birdies. It was a good round, I was 6 back of first, 3 back of second and 1 back of third.

Second round didn't go so well. I started again on short No. 1 with bogey, then birdied hard par 3 No. 2, then bogeyed 3 and 4, birdied No. 6 for a +1 and I though that the round was on its way, since the first few holes are the harder ones. I bogeyed 8 and 9 for a +3 again on the front. The back wasn't any better. I had 2 bogeys and a double for a +4, +7 78 for the round and +6 for the tournament. I dropped 14 spots to No. 18 and made the cut by 2 strokes.

I tee of at 11:55am today. It's moving day!

Ibague Preview!

I called last week to find out about the condition of the course, and they said that the course it had been closed for over 3 weeks!!! The course was completly soaked by many rain showers and the ground was too soft to mow. The fairways were about 4 inches long and the rough was even longer! They mowed Saturday and Sunday with a weedeater and they were able to mow on monday with the regular equipement. I played 9 holes yesterday, and to my surprise, the course is playing firm and fast!!!
They had 3 days of sunshine and the course back to its normal condition. The fairways and greens are bermuda grass and the rough is a native grass, pretty thick. The fairways are still a little on the fluffy side, but they are very playable. You might get the occasional flyer, but its the norm on the longish bermuda.
I played the Pro-Am today and shot a solid 67 (-4). I had 2 eagles, 2 birdies, 2 bogeys and 12 pars. I played solid all day and I only had some problems with the sand... Its pretty tough to hit the ball close from the greenside bunkers. The thick sand and firm greens make it pretty tough.
It's been hot the past 2 days (i would say around 90-95) and I have a late tee time tomorrow. I tee off around noon.
I feel good coming into this week and my game is pretty solid right now, all I have to do is let it flow!
I will report tomorrow!