Written: October 15, 2010
Today was the final round of the Canlubang Amateur Open. I started the day in a tie for 15th place after a big move with a 2 under 70 in the previous day. Yesterday’s post round range session really gave assurance that the ball striking was coming around once again. So with a quick but solid warm up in the morning prior to my 7:40am tee time, I was feeling the most confident about my swing for the first time that week.
On the longish par 4 first, I hit a solid drive down the right center and followed it up with a flush 7-iron from 168yards to 20 feet to a back right pin location. 2 putts later and a good start to the round. The good ball striking made golf much easier than the last couple days as I 2-putted my first four holes. Then on the 5th, after a gamble off the tee with a driver on the dog-leg left hole, I was left with only 138 yards to the pin that was placed all the way on the back edge of the green. This green was sloped severely from back to front, making it difficult to get the ball all the way up there and if you happen to land a bit over the pin, there was no way you could get up and down for par. I played aggressive once again, taking a 9 iron. Pouring rain at this point, I took my time and struck a smooth 9-iron that went straight for the pin, landed pin high and settled about 5 feet away. I sunk the putt for what would be my first and only birdie of the day.
The rest of the way through, I made a bunch of pars in different ways. Some by missing good birdie opportunities and some with straightforward up and downs. The only bogey came on the long par 4 13th that placed 460 yards. My pull off the tee left me 200 yards away from the hole but the ball nestled in the deep rough. Lucky to advance the ball over a hundred yards from there with a pitching wedge, I set myself up with a good chance to save par from 90 yards. From there, I played a pretty good wedge shot to 12 feet, right of the pin. An uphill par putt that looked like a ball outside the right, I stroked it perfectly, the ball was taking the break, but in the last minute, the ball stayed straight and glanced the right side of the hole for my only bogey of the day.
With five straight pars to finish it off and a solid round of even par 72, I knew it would move me up a bit. And it did. I ended in a tie for 10th out of about 80 players in the field shooting 80-70-72 for a total of 6 over par. That was after being 45th place through the first round. Over the last 2 rounds, I made only 2 bogeys. A much better performance after beginning the tournament 9 over through 12 holes.
There are times when golf seems to be so much harder than other days. Unfortunately, that happened to be the first round of the tournament. As much as I wish things would have been different, that’s just how golf is. The important thing is that I made the most of the situation, kept a positive fight attitude and finished the tournament with 2 respectable rounds. Congrats by the way to Dante who shot an impressive 65 on the last round to vault all the way to 3rd.
After the tournament, all of us on the on the team stayed for the awarding that included a buffet, bingo, and raffles. A time for us to kick back and relax. Now, I’m back home in Manila for the weekend. Looking forward to food, family, friends, online updating, and downtime. Reporting back to training on Monday. So long!
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