TCC Razon Invitational

Written: January 28, 2011

After the conclusion of the Philippine Open in mid-December of last year, my eyes were set on this one event: The TCC Razon Invitational.  Along with the Philippine Open, I would consider the TCC Razon Invitational as one of the two majors on the Philippine Golf Tour.  This tournament is the richest local event in the Philippines featuring a winner's prize of P1.4 million (appx $32,000) while most of the season's events give out P200,000 for winners.  You could see why this is a big one.  It's comparable to the Fed Ex Cup finale of the PGA Tour where winners of events normally take home 1 million dollars for a win but win the Fed Ex Cup at season's end, and you'll take home a whopping 10 million dollars!

I've played against and met all the big names in Philippine Golf before but its the first time they've all come out together for this event.  The likes of Frankie Minoza who will be a Champions Tour member for 2011, Angelo Que, Juvic Pagunsan, Mars Pucay, Tony Lascuna, Jay Bayron, Cassius Casas are among the few elites in the field.

Coach Cassius and I prepared for this event as far back as before the new year, playing almost everyday in TCC working on swing changes and getting our groove.  By the time the tournament came along and after a good showing with my Tita Bernie in the Pro-Am, I felt ready despite playing with a recent change in my grip.

Needless to say, that preparation didn't seem to translate into a solid showing as I ballooned (that's an understatement) to a 19 over par round of 89.  In the perfect storm of weather and screw ups, and back luck, that round would come down as my highest competitive round since my junior golf days.  Not to make any excuses, but there were also some very accomplished pros that were close to my score.  It was one of the most difficult conditions I have ever played in, excluding the freezing conditions I remember playing in my college days. 

On the second round, which I knew would be my final round since I would be missing the cut, I didn't feel like I did anything different.  I continued to nurse my new grip, approached the day the same way, although probably not in the best mood after what just happened the day before.  And just like that, I turned in a 69, 20 shots better than the previous day.  Not as if the conditions were any easier than the day before.  The wind was howling to the point where a stand bag wouldn't even stay up because of how strong the wind was.  Yet as if I hadn't shot an 89 the previous day, I turned it around to have the 2nd best score of the day behind only Juvic Pagunsan's 68.  Jokingly as I was playing the 2nd round and finally got things going, Coach Cassius, my playing partner said, "Yan ang Carl Ocampo na kilala ko! (That's the Carl Ocampo who I know!) Kahapon, si Dr. Ocampo yata ang naglalaro (Yesterday, it looked like your dad playing)

What changed from the day before? It's a question that I got from several people including Mr. Ricky Razon.  In peculiar rounds like those, I believe that before moving on, you must analyze what happened.  Looking back, it was simply a combination of the wind, bad luck, and some bad swings.  Like in those Bell Shaped curves you learn back in statistics class for those who remember,  that round would be in the far tip of the spectrum. An outlier shall we say.  Didn’t even fall inside the 99.7% confidence interval.  I hope I’m still using my math terms correctly.

Overall, the week was a humbling experience.  I left very upset to say the least.  Having been here in the Philippines and having played several of these pro tournaments, I was very comfortable in this atmosphere.  I had put so much effort in the weeks leading up to the tournament that my psyche made me believe that I was bound for guaranteed success.  Despite my successes in recent tournaments, the sport has a way of reminding you that you can never own golf, you can only borrow it at times.  If golf were easy, then based on the effort all of us pros and pro hopefuls put in, we’d all be making millions of dollars. 

Moving forward, I must remind myself of my long-term path to improvement and surely there will be bumps along the way.  Bob Rotella says it best in his book The Golf of Your Dreams, “If you want to improve your golf game, you have to accept long periods when your efforts can seem wasted, when your scores don’t reflect the effort you’re putting in.  These are the times that patience and perseverance will be the most important traits you can have.” 

So there you have it. Along we go on the journey. Still marching on!

Caddy for the week Myleen

There it is

Brent, Champions Tour Player Frankie Minoza, and me

Final Round Scores

TCC Razon Pro-Am

My Tita (Aunt) Bernie recapped it best in her e-mail to the family along with photos.  
Here's what she wrote and the photos she posted:

Dear All, 

Carl and I were partners in the Pro Am tournament today in The Country Club with Carl playing as my pro partner even though he's still an amateur.  Great partnership and more importantly, we had fun.  In our flight was Chito Buenaventura and his pro partner Rolando Marabe who was having difficulty with the fast greens.  Carl made 5 birdies I think but with 4 bogeys to end up 1 under gross. Great score in the windy conditions.  We ended with a 65 (7 under) best ball but the winning score was 61 (11 under) so we were just 11th place.  Not bad from a field of 48.  Toby and partner Joel Opaco were at 36th place.  

Winner was Miguel Tabuena, an amateur playing in the pro division and the amateur was Sheryl Villavicencio, one of the girls in the ICTSI training pool with Carl.  It was she who shot 4 under gross with a 7 handicap, so she alone did 11 under!  Since Miguel Tabuena is an amateur, he couldn't win the P80,000 cash prize so he just had a trophy while the girl got an IPAD 16GB 3G, an iPhone 4 and a Technomarine watch for her win.

Carl and I started really hot with a birdie-birdie-birdie on the first 3 holes, with Carl's 2 natural birdies and my 1 net birdie but we couldn't seem to keep it going.

Carl says he's not going back to the U.S. anymore with tournaments like these here!

Dading and I and maybe Yeyo plan to go on Saturday to watch Carl.  We would've gone on the last day Sunday except that we have the Enrile reunion. 

Table holding the amateurs prizes and raffle prizes.  Grand raffle prize of the Samsung LED 40" 4D Tv with Blue Ray DVD and a pair of the special glasses used to watch 4D TV was won buy Temiong Murakami.  Other prizes were the new Mac Air, Iphone 4, Blackberry, iPad and Toshiba Libretto Dual screen laptop and Technomarine watch.

Carl says he wants to be standing there next year. These were the winners from the different legs of the ICTSI tournaments in 2010. Among them 2nd from left, Cassius Casas, Angelo Que, Jay Bayron, sponsor Ricky Razon, Juvic Pagunsan, Marvin Dumandan, Mars Pucay and Benjie Magada.

Playing Partners Rolando, Bernie, Carl, and Chito Buenaventura

11th Place Finish at the Pro-Am

Tentative Tournament Schedule

Here in the Philippines, nothing is for certain even until a couple days before the event.
I'd like to share with you my golf tournament schedule for the next couple weeks:

• January 19 and 22, 2011: Sta. Elena Cup (Amateur Fun Tournament)
• January 27-30, 2011: TCC Razon Invitational (Major Pro Tournament)
• February 8-11, 2011: DHL Amateur Open (Serious Amateur Tournament)
• February 17, 2011: Mizuno Dream Cup Final Qualifier (Win this, and all expense paid trip to a big amateur event in Japan)
• February 23-26, 2011: PAL Interclub (10 man team event. Fun tournament but the people here seem to live and die over this event)
• March 4-6, 2011: TCC Yulo Cup (Invited by my Tita (aunt) Bernie, another one of those fun member-guest tournaments.)

So there it is! For the first quarter of 2011, not particularly a busy schedule with "high powered serious big time tournament atmosphere events" but just enough to keep the competitive juices flowing.

To my knowledge, the pro events in the Philippines and the Mercedes Benz ASEAN Tour will start coming in bunches beginning in the last week of March.  

I'll post the PGT (Philippine Golf Tour) schedule once I find their new website.  

Sta. Elena Cup Final Round and Awarding

Written: January 23, 2010

            I just came from the Sta. Elena Cup awarding tonight.  The tournament was a 2 day member guest event in which I was invited by fellow Notre Dame grad Clifford Lichaytoo.  Although we would have liked to play better, we enjoyed our two days of golf on Wednesday and Saturday playing along side Clifford’s friends.  On the 2^nd round Saturday, Cliff, a 7 handicap, shot a 76 while I shot an even par 72 off a zero handicap. 

            All the while, we were really after the hole in one prizes which was a Lexus IS 300 selling for appx P3 million here. It’s the beautiful small sports sedan that everyone in the field was after.  In fact, two people did it! However, since they made a hole-in-one on the same hole, they had to split the prize in however way they wished.  Maybe one would buy the car from the other or they would both sell it and pocket the money.  Either way, they came out 1.5 million pesos richer.  Lucky ones.

            Then there was the raffle: 10 iPads and about 10 other prizes worth over P100k like Omega watches and video cameras.  Our names weren’t called.  Where we did win out was the buffet everyone got to enjoy.  Eat all you can steaks, chicken, seafood, fruits, desserts. You name it!  Overall, it was a fun evening to network, meet new people and also see familiar faces, some I haven’t seen in years.  And on a side note, I’d be the last person to dance but this time, I went up on the dance floor and partnered with a D.I. and we danced to swing.  Gotta give credit to those Wednesday dance sessions Coach Bong has at our team house. Thanks!  I always try welcome learning new skills, especially those that I’m most uncomfortable with.           

A five minute drive home and I’m back in Montecito, ready for tomorrow’s practice round as the PGT Tour finds itself in our backyard at the year’s first tournament and major: the TCC Razon Invitational Jan. 27-30.

Sta. Elena Awards Night

Group pic with the random model girl as seen in every one of these kinds of tournaments

Holiday Season Recap and Sta. Elena Cup

Written: January 19, 2011

            I realize it has been close to a month since my last blog.  A lot has happened since then.  Right after the Philippine Open ended, my parents came a few days later on Dec 20, 2011.  It was a treat to have them and my brother here over the holidays, along with both sets of grandparents, it made for one of the most complete family Christmas get togethers in recent years.  My parents were here from Dec 20-31^st.  During that time, I was able to show my dad a glimpse of my life as I toured him around the ICTSI golfer training house in Montecito and had him watch Coach Cassius, Marcel and I play in our pastime playground The Country Club.  My little bro Casey had quite the vacation too.  He got to play baseball the first couple days of the trip in Alabang against highschoolers and college players, basketball with Marcel, go karting in ParkSquare, and one of his highlights, I brought him out to a bar with my friends.  There’s something about Casey that he enjoys being with older people.  Makes him feel cool or something like that.  At least he enjoys the company of my friends and thinks their all beasts.  It makes him look up to me even more. Haha.  Here in the Philippines, the Christmas season goes throughout the month of December.  With Christmas parties galore, you’ll definitely be stuffing your tummy up.  We attended lots of those.  From mom’s side and dad’s side to highschool friends, golf friends, friends of friends, 2^nd cousins… There was a party for every group and by the end of it all, you would have felt like you’ve joined an eating contest.  One of our highlights during the family’s stay was our visit to Fort Santiago / Intramuros where we went through a 3 hour tour with the most entertaining tour guide I’ve ever come across, Carlos Celdran as he took us through the Philippine’s history beginning with the Spanish colonization all the way to the present.

            A comment I received from a friend who glanced through my blog was that all I wrote about was golf and some of the terms she couldn’t understand and she eventually got bored.  From now on, I’ll make it a point to write about things more than golf even though this blog was intended for recapping my golfing experiences hence the title of the blog: Living the Dream.  The title implies: Living the (Golfing) Dream.  Then again, perhaps I could expand on more than just the golf and write about everyday experiences.  For those friends and family reading this blog who aren’t in the Philippines, would you appreciate it if I write a little about what I observe and experience in everyday life? Alright, I’ll be making an effort to write about things outside of golf just for the heck of it.  As much as I hated those writing assignments in highschool and in college, I somehow miss them.  Writing blog entries could serve as a personal homework to give myself since there’s no longer a professor to demand them.

            Anyway, the only reason I started writing this blog entry was to talk about my round today at the Sta. Elena Cup but before I could write about it, my friend’s comment crossed my mind that all I’ve ever written was about golf.  So I kinda wanted to open with those two paragraphs of rather non-golfing related subjects.  At this point, all I could say is that I shot a nonchalant round of 71 1 under par. 3 birdies 2 bogeys. It sounds good but from the blue tees? Give me a break. I could do much better than that.  My partner Clifford Lichaytoo, fellow Notre Dame graduate, shot an 86 which is above his handicap of 7.  Looks like we’ll just have to make up some ground on day two which isn’t for another 3 days.  We play again on Saturday morning.  Hopefully I’ll be able to dial those short irons in by then and post 8 birdies as I did in practice a few days ago.  Goodnight everyone!

Philippine Open Final 2 Rounds

Written: December 23, 2010

            Hey ya’ll!  A few days have passed since the completion of the Philippine Open.  I wasn’t quite in the mood to write about the ending of the final round on Saturday, (Dec. 18) after going double bogey, bogey, bogey to finish at +3 for the tournament in 72 holes.  Apart from that, the whole tournament was actually a great experience.  Playing in my first Philippine Open, my game was solid for most of the tournament. The first two rounds of 71-73 put me in position for the final two rounds as I was only 6 off the lead.

            On the third round, I got the opportunity to play with two of my past idols: Robert Pactolerin and Artemio Murakami, both of whom are very accomplished players on the pro circuit.  For the most part, I held my own against the two and managed to creep up a few spots on the leaderboard with a one under 71 but not in the fashion they did as Temyo shot 65 and Pacto shot 69.  It was definitely a worthwhile experience and an entertaining group to watch as noted by Tito Dading and Tito Yeyo who came out to watch the entire round.

             Starting the day 13^th place and just one outside the top 10, I knew I had another chance not really to win but sneak up a good finish.  Signs of a strong finish quickly escalated after having my best warm up session of all the days.  However as we know in golf, warm up sessions whether excellent or poor, have little direct effect on scores.  Either way, it gave me a lot more confidence heading onto the first tee.  With a solid drive and a par to start it off, I thought things were going to be perfect.  However, immediately on the second hole, luck turned against me when my ball hit a tree off the tee and bounced 50 yards back and left deep into the woods.  That resulted in a triple bogey.  Yet for some reason, maturity perhaps as some would call it, I did not get upset.  I stayed confident knowing that as good as I was hitting it that day, I would easily get it back to even par.  By the 12^th hole, I made my third birdie to get back to even par.  Then, the last three holes of the tournament came along and one little mistake after the other saw me limping home: Double Bogey, Bogey, Bogey. Ouch. I finished the round with 76.

            4 Day total: 71-73-71-76=291, 3 over par.  Artemio Murakami took home the trophy shooting weekend rounds of 65-68.  That’s the way to finish a tournament!

            My total may have dropped me down probably between 20^th and 30^th place. Oh well, finishes like that are sometimes unavoidable. Just gotta be ready to bounce back when the opportunity comes knocking again.

            So much to look forward to for the holidays! Time with the family (they came home Dec 20^th and are staying ‘till Dec 31^st) for the most part.  ‘Till next year, take care! Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hotel Room for a night

Swinging away on the 9th

3rd Round playing with Murakami

Tonyt Fernando, played with him on the last round 

Pactolerin 

Tito Yeyo and Tito Dading came out to watch

Ton, Me, and Brent

3rd round scores

Super helpful the entire week: Nilo

Final Round, crowd gathering around the 18th

Philippine Open 2nd Round

Written: December 16, 2010

            It was an early start to the day. Good thing I slept with the team in the hotel close to the golf course.  It was a 7am tee time off number 10 with the same group: Joel Opaco and Raymund Sangil.  I’ll characterize this day as a stroll in the park because it was a much more relaxing and even-keel round.  To start off, I made par on the first 7 holes of the day with a couple nice up and downs from around the green.  Then on 8, I caught a bad break as I pulled my drive left into the trees only to have it hit the cart path and bounce straight into the water.  That led to my first bogey of the day.  For the next 4 holes, I would make great par saves from the trees and around the green.  1 over par through 12, but a bogey on the 4^th hole, (13^th of the day) with a three putt from long range.  Then on the 5^th, another bad break when my lay up with a 5 iron started out right and nestled right behind the lone tree in the right rough.  Both unable to get it on the green and unable to get it up and down led to a bogey.  3 over through 14.  Then on the very next hole, I found my swing with a solid tee shot and second shot and a putt for birdie from 25 feet away that dropped.  On the very next hole, a perfect drive and a 5 iron from 202 yards to about 12 feet setting up an eagle opportunity.  Unfortunately, I would miss but it still led to a birdie.  Pars on the final two holes and I was in with a 73, even par for the tournament putting me just 6 shots off leader Tonton Asistio coming into tomorrow’s 3^rd round. Tomorrow, I’ll just have to keep playing my game and stay positive throughout.  The ball striking, as the week has progressed, it slowly getting better and better. With some of my uncles coming out to watch tomorrow, that might just be the boost I need to light it up.

Philippine Open 1st Round

Written: December 15, 2010

            The 1^st round of the Philippine Open is in the books folks!  Today was my debut playing the Philippine Open, a tournament that I could only dream of playing as a junior golfer growing up back then.  15 years ago, I began playing competitive golf ironically enough in Valley Golf, the same site as the Philippine Open.  Heck, my little brother Casey wasn’t even born back then.  Those were the days when I was the only child, accompanied by both my parents to every golf tournament, recital, sporting event, charity event, parent-teacher day, birthday party, etc. You name it! They were there. 

Those are the memories I’ll have of Valley Golf when both of my parents would come along and watch the weekly tournaments hosted by Cantada.

Those are the memories of Nonoy Negrido and his father Sarge coming along to play the tournament.  Sarge, who’s like a second father to me, nurtured me both as golfer and as a person from that young age.

Those are the memories of meeting new people that would turn into lasting friendships.

Alright, enough of the emo part.  Although it was my first time playing this event, there were no nerves whatsoever.  Having played a bunch of pro tournaments and finding success in the last 3 months prior, stepping on the tee box in this type of arena was nothing new.  It showed by the very first tee shot which I piped down the center of the 20-yard wide fairway with a good sized crowd watching behind and my heart rate not speeding up one bit.  Actually, I was lost in my own world, for better or for worse, trying to figure out the kinks in my swing.  For some reason, I couldn’t quite control where the ball was going on the full swing, especially in the mid to long irons.  With all those swing thoughts swirling around my head, I could care less about what was going on around me.  The first hole began by me once again sinking a 20 foot birdie putt on the first hole. I swear, it's like the 4th tournament in a row where I've holed a putt over 20 feet on the very first hole of the first round of a tournament!  Its funny how it takes me 10 tries to hole that long of a putt on the practice green but for some reason on the course, I tend to hole those kinds of putts at a considerably higher rate.  Off to a birdie start!

Allow me to take you on a roller coaster ride alright? So I start off with a birdie, then… bogey, birdie, triple bogey!!!, par, birdie, birdie, bogey, par.  That was my front 9. 4 birdies, 2 bogeys, 1 triple for a 1 over 37.  On the back 9, I made par on the first 4, then on the 14^th, I hit this amazing punch shot underneath and between the trees from about 140 yards to 12 feet and then went on to convert the birdie.  After a bogey on 15, I made birdie on 16 from the other fairway hitting it over the trees and onto the green to about 15 feet.  Finally, to cap it off, I made birdie on the final hole, 195 yards playing downwind. I hit a 6 iron and then holed the 15 footer for my 7^th and final birdie of the day.

A wild round of 71 puts me right in the hunt as I trail Zanie Boy Gialon, Champions Tour player Frankie Minoza, and Robert Pactolerin by 3 shots.  Tomorrow’s another day.  I just need to find a little more consistency for the long game and I think I’ll be just fine.  Goodnight!  

Philippine Open 1st Round Pre-game

Written: Dec 15, 2010 

I'm driving over to Valley Golf right now for the first round of the Philippine Open. My last blog was a week and a half ago from Guangzhou when the China Amateur ended. In between then and now, I've still been on a busy schedule practicing everyday, going to Christmas parties including our golf team's, and catching up with family and friends.


Good news as well, I also had my computer fixed, finally! The letters L and O have stopped working for more than a month now rendering my computer pretty much useless during that stretch. Because of it, I've been blogging by typing on my phone and saving these posts on Notes app. The good thing about spending the last week and a half golfing and doing all that other stuff is that I'm tournament hungry again. The itch to compete is back and especially for this week, which is pretty much the major on the Philippine pro circuit. I've actually been working overtime on my golf game trying to crease out some of the kinks and inconsistencies. 


The homework is done, I put the repetition in, the swing thoughts in check, and by now, it's time to play with what I've got and put the scores in. I'm particularly excited about the Philippine Open being played in Valley Golf as this course demands extreme accuracy off the tee. This course is like the Harbour Town of the local tour. Moreover, it's going to require a good short iron game since the course plays just a bit under 7,000. The greens once again, like basically all courses in the Philippines aside from The Country Club, are not up to par. It's bumpy, sandy, and slow. Quick adjustments are key. 


We're here already! Time to get at it! 

China Amateur Open Final Round

Written: Dec 4, 2010

I'm writing this a day following the 4th and final round of the China Amateur Open. Man, it sure has been a long week. We arrived on Sunday and we've been here for 6 days already. As I write, I'm following Jayvie finish up the final round of the girls' 3 day tournament. Looks like she's currently tied or 1 off the lead with just 5 holes left. It's pretty exciting stuff to watch and certainly is a different perspective when you're the one watching and cheering on rather than the one playing.  Being in that position, there's certainly a ton of pressure. The best thing us friends and coaches can do is cheer her on and give her that support in presence. 

Anyway, here's a bit of a recap of what happened in yesterday's final round. I started the day 8th place and playing in the 2nd to the last group. That day, we had a sign bearer following us. For some reason, it makes it seem so legit, as if you're a pro whenever there's a sign bearer. The morning was cold about 60 degrees with a slight breeze. Starting off on the first hole is always a challenge on this course. You basically need to hit your best drive of the day right off the bat on the tight 470 yard par 4. That I did for the 4th and final time. Good way to start things off. An up and down for par on the first and a birdie from 15 feet on the 2nd. I'd go on to play the rest of the front 9 with two bogeys for an outward 9 of 37. I was able to gain a birdie on 11 but soon gave it back with a bogey on the 12th. My best hole of the day was on 16, playing the toughest hole of the day, I had a perfect drive setting up an 8 iron from 160 to a tight hole location. I proceeded to stick it to 4 feet and make the putt to go back to even for the day. Par on 17 and almost an up and down on 18 but I missed a 4 footer to cap off a 73. 

Both a ho-hum round and a ho-hum tournament to finish at 4 over 72-72-75-73 for 4 rounds. It did land me in 7th, good for a trophy which I wasn't there to accept since Alex and I went straight back to the hotel thinking that the awarding would be in the closing ceremony dinner later that evening.  As well as I played, I didn't quite have the scoring this tournament. Learning how to be comfortable in every situtation is necessary so playing in the final pairing on the third round was good experience. My high score of the tournament came on that third round. Perhaps it may have been coincidence, perhaps it was the situation I was in that subconsciously got me a bit out of sync. What I do know is that I tried too hard and forced things the moment I felt that I wasn't getting the breaks.

Next week, we're back home in Manila. I'll allow myself a bit of downtime right after, it's time to get back on the horse and up the intensity again. "the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle". It's that saying posted on our Notre Dame workout facility that I'll never forget. The Philippine Open begins Dec 15. Before that, hopefully I'll get these blogs up. 

By the way, it's been so exciting watching Jayvie down the stretch. On 15, she made a nice up and down save for par. On 16, she would have done the same except that she missed a 4 footer. On 17, a great 2 putt par as she made a 12 footer to keep her hopes alive. All square with her competitor coming down the stretch, Jayvie has a chance for birdie but narrowly misses. On the first playoff hole, Jayvie also narrowly misses but her competitor, from 25 feet away, drains hers for the win. Oh well. Still a great showing for Jayvie. I'm proud of her and how she has battled to find her game in recent months. 

Switching topics, shopping time after this! We're going to Beijing road in downtown Guangzhou to find the best deals in the world! Later! 

China Amateur Open 3rd Round

Written: Dec. 2, 2010

I know it's counter productive to say this but I have to say how I feel and today: I felt like a complete and utter dissapointment to myself. Tied for 4th heading into the day with an even par total of 144, I had the opportunity of playing in the final pairing. The attempt to chase the leader, fellow Filipino Art Arbole, was quickly halted right on the first hole when he holed a 30 yard bunker shot for birdie. At that point, he was at 7 under for the tournament while I struggled to 2 putt for par to remain even par for the tournament. In the front 9, I hit all but one fairway and hit every green only to shoot 1 over. One birdie and one 4 putt double bogey. As the round progressed, I slowly got more and more impatient about missed putts. After a birdie on 10, it was downhill from there as I missed pretty much every putt imaginable, especially during a bogey streak from holes 14-16. When I missed 3 putts in a row from inside 12 feet, include two more misses for birdie on the last two holes from 8 and 18 feet, resulted in a very unhappy Carl. I may have overexaggerated how I was feeling earlier. What may have contributed to it was that it was 3pm already by the time we finished and I hadn't had anything since breakfast. What also made me upset was that my playing partners who are good players, yes, I'll give 'em that, but they aren't better than me. And yet today, they dominated me. One shot 4 under, the other 1 under, and the other even par. Art Arbole sits with the lead at 7 under total while I'm a distant 10 shots behind.

As good as I'm playing right now, my best has been hiding somehwere. I'm really hoping to find that extra gear. Every day, I keep telling myself, today's the day, today's the day yet that day that I envision has yet to come. Golf is a game of petience and I guess some weeks just aren't meant to be. And as a golfer, no matter how much you want yourself to play well and no matter how much you think you deserve to play well, sometimes it's just out of your control and you have to accept that. In spite of all, I remain in the top 10, with a chance for probably not a win, but for a good finish once again by playing a solid final round. My main focus tomorrow will be to remain in a peaceful mindset throughout, something I have not been able to manage thus far this tournament. Looking at the big picture, life is good. I better look in the mirror and probably deserve to be smacked in the face for complaining too much when all our coaches and sponsors want is for us to play golf and give it our best.  Alright, better outlook tomorow. We can do this! 

China Amateur Open 2nd Round

Written: Dec 1, 2010

The saying that golf is a lonely game was never more evident than today. I've been playing competitive golf for a long time and especially since graduating from Notre Dame in May and today, I felt like I was the only one on the course. The Hall of Famer Pat Bradley once told me that in competitive golf, you're in your own world out there. No one's there to help, no one gives a crap, and no ones there to bail you out in the tough times.  

Playing in today's 2nd round of the China Amateur, that's exactly how I felt. Here in China, no one speaks English and I mean no one. I suppose the western culture that we expect and are so used to seeing is far from present among the people. It's tough to explain until you actually experience it minor details that I noticed are that people here don't smile, don't understand even simple sign language, the golfers, well, they don't acknowledge a good shot. It definitely gives you the sense that you're the away team playing on their court.  

That said, it's still necessary to gather up that mental stength and to have the ability to adjust immediately.  Nothing's ever perfect in golf. The language barrier and playing in China, that's just something you have to learn to deal with. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate myself a 6 for having the ability to adjust. I kept positive for the most part but at times, I got irritated quickly also due to the fact that we were playing in a 4 some the last 2 days and none of my playing partners broke 80 either day. 

Anyway, on to the golf today. It felt like I was warming up in Notre Dame again. A cool 60 degrees in the morning and no sun out, I was hard headed enough once again like I've alwas been, not to bring any type of jacket.  After the warmup session though, I wasn't feeling cold anymore. 

7:24am on the tee and ready to go. This time, we teed off on hole 10, the much easier of the 2 sides to tee off from. It's a 3 shot par five and a wider fairway rather than being put to the test right away on the 470 yard par 4 first hole. After a solid drive, hybrid and wedge shot, it set me up with a birdie opportunity from 18 feet which I knocked in the hole for my 7th birdie in 19 holes! I would go on to hit all the greens on the 9. Unfortunately, I lost my cool a bit on hole 17, 8th hole of the day when my ball was a foot away from being close to the hole instead, the ball spun back just enough to fall all the way down the slope leaving me a tough birdie chance that I 3 putted for bogey. 

Making the turn at even par, i went to the long par 4 first hole. Hit a solid drive and landed a solid hybrid pin high but it trickled to the back leaving a difficult up and down. Bogey there and another bogey the following hole as I hit my tee shot in the water and missed a par save from 10 feet. Then from there, I got my game together by making a few good swings and a few good 2 putts and putts from short range. The best was on hole 6, 15th of the day. I hit my tee shot right of the cartpath and almost a lost ball. From the thick shrubs and trees everywhere, I managed to hit a punch 7 iron through a small gap and roll it up to 6 feet. Incredible! And I finished the lay up by holing the putt. The very next hole, a long par 4, I hit a drive and a 7 iron stiff to about 4 feet. Made that putt to get it back to even par. On 8, I made a good 2 putt by making a par putt from 6 feet. On the last, it would have been an under par round had the ball not stopped on the lip. Nonetheless, a solid even par 72 for the second day in a row. 

That currently puts me alone in 4th position. As I left, fellow Filipino Art Arbole still had the lead in the live scoring board remaining at 5under. The next two players were tied at 1 under. I'm exactly where I want to be, with a chance coming to these last two days. Now I'm back again in the hotel and ready to recharge with a nap. Nyt!

China Amateur Open 1st Round

Written: Nov 30, 2010 (pm)

First round is in the books and my, what a roller coaster ride it was. Writing my blog this morning, I forgot to describe the weather. This morning, it was a bit cool. I was wearing pants and one of the ICTSI polo shirts. Just your normal outfit but before warming up on the range, I was feeling a litle cold in the low 60s weather. The air was very dry, which reminds me of Arizona and we're also elevated making the ball go a bit further than usual. Once I finished my warm up session, I was feeling just fine.

I mentioned before about not boring my readers about a hole by hole description. However, the first 6 holes in which I took just 6 putts was quite an adventure that cannot-not be told. Hole #1 is the toughest on the course, playing 470yards into the cold breezy Guangzhou air. After a drive that found the fairway, I was left with 220yards. A chunked hybrid left me with 60 for my third which I played to about 18 feet past the flag. Downhill putt and I read the break perfectly, center cut and a par save early on. You would think that sinking an 18 footer would be the quota for the day. Besides, during the practice round yesterday, took about 38 putts and did not hole a putt past 4 feet. Then again, when it's game time, I have a knack for making putts when it matters. The very next hole, I holed a 33 foot left to right breaking putt for birdie.  Pretty impressive to hole two putts in the first two holes right away considering how bumpy and grainy these greens are. However, lately, nothing has seemed to be impossible with how I've been playing and what I've been pulling off. 

After a bogey on the 3rd and a nice save on the 4th, I once again struck on the 5th hole by holing a 25 footer for birdie down the hill. On 6, a drive that found the left rough, I was unfortunate to be put right behind a tree. A diagonal playout left me with 120yards to a blind pin. All I could wait for once I hit my shot, was the reaction of my playing partners on the green. They cheered and rightly so, the ball nestled less than a foot away for a tap in par. On 9, a short 500 yard par 5, I was left with 215yards from the middle of the fairway. A solid hybrid to the back of the green and two putts later, a nine hole score of

2 under. 

On 10, another par 5, I set myself up with a 12 foot putt for birdie and made it again. 3 under thru 10 and at times like these, you just wonder why golf couldn't just be this easy all the time. But then... (play the suspense music they do in horror films) reality, or put it this way, a temporary night mare set in. As if a dry spell was cast on my game. 

I went on to miss a birdie putt on 11 from 12 feet. 

Miss a par putt on 12 from 10 feet. 

Miss a par putt on 13 from 3 feet. 

Miss a birdie putt on 14 from 6 feet. 

Miss a bogey putt on 15 from 6 feet.

Miss a par putt on 16 from 7 feet. 

Granted, I didn't play all that well through this stretch as evident by the putts I had left myself, however give me a break! Couldn't the golfing gods at least given me a few putts in that stretch to fall! 

What I'm a bit upset with myself during this stretch, is the fact that I kinda got down on myself, almost as if I couldn't handle the failure, that I couldn't handle the stretch of bad luck. I know this is a horrible attitude to have, which is why I'm mentioning it to make a mental note in the future that no matter how bad things can get, it's imperative to keep a stable mental state to avoid any subsequent major crashes that could really put you in a position where recovery is out of reach.  

Fortunately. on the 17th hole and I was 2over at this point, I made a 20 foot putt for birdie. On the last, I hit a solid drive leaving myself with 125 yards. With the wind blowing from my back, I thought I could muscle a 54 degree wedge up there however it can up short of the green. From just off the green from 30 feet and the pin sti in the hole, I made the putt for my 6th birdie of the day and took just 25 putts despite that cold stretch in the middle. Overall, I'm very pleased with a even par 72, which puts me in a tie for 5th overall out of 100 players, a familiar position of mine in recent months. One of the Filipinos, Art Arbole, is leading with a very impressive 5under par round. 

I'm confident that tomorrow, I can put together another solid round. Today's roller coaster round reminded that invincibility is never permanent in golf and that dealing with emotions is more important than ever when the going gets tough. Today, I got away with it but in the future, I'll resolve to remain more stable. 

Nap time!       

China Amateur Open Morning Pre-Round

Written: Nov 30,2010

It's the morning of the first round of the China Amateur. From the boys, it was just Alex Nallos and I that were sent off to this tournament just outside Guangzhou. We arrived 2 days ago taking a direct flight from Manila to Guangzhou, which was a smooth and quick 2 hr trip, then we were picked up in the airport that afternoon. Soon afterwards, we attended an opening banquet ceremony which consisted of the typical dragged on welcome speeches, food, and a couple performances which were quite entertaining. But as the night came to a close, we were itching back to get to the hotel and get to bed. It has been an exhausting trip since the Canlubang Pro Event had just ended 2 days ago. 

Yesterday, Monday, we took a late practice round in the morning. From off the bus and straight to the first tee. The course, in a quick recap, is not particularly intimidating. It plays a little over 7,100 with not much roll. I'll expect to get midiron approach shots to most of the holes. It's really going to be about who can manage the thick grained, slow, bumpy and unpredictable greens.  Because of this, I don't quite see anyone will drain a whole lot putts. The tournament is a four day event with a two day cut. I'll just have to go out there with the same mindset as the last 2 months: to accept whatever comes my way and believe in myself.  I'm not exactly feeling as hyped up to play in the tournament as the previous ones but perhaps it will be to my benefit. Mentally, I know that if I being the right mindset and focus out there, that ill do fine.  8:39am tee time. Later! 

PGT Canlubang Final Round

Written: November 26, 2010

When it rains it pours! Low amateur in Mimosa a few weeks ago and low amateur again in this ICTSI pro event in Canlubang.  It was another battle down the stretch among the amateurs but this time more were in contention.  The round started off slow with two early bogeys on holes 3 and 4.  Despite a birdie on the 5th, I gave it back immediately with a clumsy 3 putt bogey on the 6th.  2 over through 6 and a little iffy at that point.

Yet I continued to believe in myself and remained in the same mindset.  As it got windier towards the end, my game started to come alive.  Birdies on 8, 10, and the highlight on 13, the longest par 4 on the course playing dead into the wind. I holed a 60 foot putt from off the green, which got me so pumped up that I yelled a big "YES!!!" when it hit the pin and dropped in the hole.  I knew that was big and sure enough, to par the final 5 holes was enough to win by one shot over Migo Ochoa and Clyde Mondilla.

My final round of 71 for a 3-day total of even par 216 was good for a tie for 5th place among the entire field.  Notables that I beat out were Coach Cassius Casas, Juvic Pagunsan, Tony Lascuna and several other Asian Tour players.

Sometimes, it takes the little things to go your way to edge your competitors out.  Despite being sick all week, I managed to muster the energy and play through it.  Proven over and over again that as long as you've got confidence, anything's possible.

Time to go out and celebrate!

PGT Canlubang 1st and 2nd Round

Written: Nov 25, 2010

2 days are complete at the ICTSI Canlubang Pro Event. The sickness continues to linger with symptoms of fatigue, coughing, colds, and headache. Over the last two days, I have tried to muster the energy to get through the rounds. It has been tough, especially when I felt the cold sweat drip down my shirt as early as I began my warm up session. The good thing was that once I hit that first tee shot on the first day, it was all business from there. The fatigue and sickness, well, that had to take a back seat.

Things started off pretty well early on beginning with a 15 foot birdie on the 1st hole of the day. On the third hole, I holed a 25 footer for the 2nd birdie. On the 6th hole, the 190 yard par 3, I dropped another 25 footer for birdie. Things were looking good at that point. 1under through 8 holes, i faced a par putt of 30 feet on the 9th and guess what, I dropped that putt again. As the wind began to pick up on the back 9, I started to hit it a lot better. 7/9 greens but I only turned in a 1 over 37 for a total of even par 72.

 

This morning, not feeling any better than the previous days, I had to force myself out of bed and onto the course. I figured that all it took was 5 hours of energy to get through the day. Following another quick warmup session, I went direct to the first tee. After a solid drive that found the fairway, I was left with 180 yards and into a howling gust of wind. I went with a 4 iron and pushed it way right of the target leaving a blocked approach to the pin forcing me to play left and 2 putt from 50 feet away.  The next few holes would be steady with consecutive pars leading up to hole 7. On 8 and 9, the putter came to life as I made a 15 footer and a 30 footer to turn in 1 under. Then, a couple lose shots and mistkakes from around the green in the next four holes led to 3 bogeys. 2 over at that point and my tita Bernie, tito Yeyo and Dading came. What a boost that was to see them come out and support. Down the stretch, i'd finish it off at 1 under to shoot a respectable 73 on a challenging course. As expected, that round neither helped me gain nor lose ground. I remained at 10th place overall and still 3 shots off Migo Ochoa who was at 2 under for the tournament. 

Afterwards, my titos and I enjoyed a dinner at the Country Club before they headed back to the city. Health is still not back a 100%, but at least it's looking promising. Tomorrow's another dogfight till the finish line. Let's Go!

putting out to finish the 2nd round

PGT Canlubang Pre-1st Round

Written: November 23, 2010

On the eve of round 1 of the ICTSI Pro Tournament in Canlubang, I find myself bed ridden, waiting patiently for my body to recover. This feeling began on Monday morning when I woke up for the third consecutive day with less than 5 hours of sleep. My body felt exhausted and a bit of dryness in the throat. I played 18 holes in Canlubang that morning feeling okay, but i knew my health wasn't 100%. After lunch, i asked permission from the coaches to skip the afternoon range session and head back. I slept all afternoon, ate dinner, then caught up on sleep, 11 hours that evening. 

This morning, when I woke up, the symptoms remained. Dryness of throat, a bit of coughing with flem, and an unenergetic feeling. I decided to pass up on another day of practice in Canlubang to get more rest. I stayed at home instead while the guys were out for most of the day. I was able to catch up on magazines, books, and watched two entertaining movies: Charlie St. Cloud and Knight and Day.  With a lot of rest and liquids, I feel a little better but not quite up to speed just yet. Tomorrow, I'll be ready to go for my 7:30am tee time with 3-time Champion this year, Marvin Dumandan. He was my playing partner for the first two rounds two weeks ago in Mimosa where we eventually had a 1-2 finish. I kinda screwed this one up by being so eager to practice and get my game at tip top shape heading into this 4 week stretch of tournament golf while I ignored my bodily signs that kept begging for rest.  

Health aside, my comfort level is up. Having played the Canlubang Amateur just a month ago, i can finally play a tournament in a course that I'm already familiar with. The practice round seemed a lot less stressful since I already have quite a good idea of the course. The little things too make a difference such as knowing where to drop your bags off in the morning, knowing where to get a locker, where to purchase chit money, where the canteen is and what specialties they serve... All these details contribute to being more comfortable out on the course. Additionally, this would be my third start in a PGT pro tournament. I'm coming off a hot second place finish in Mimosa and another top 10 prior. While these past results do not assure another good finish this week, they certainly assure me that I can hold

my own against these top Philippine pros. 

3 rounds under par is my goal this week. It's certainly attainable as my confidence is running pretty high these days. However, the thought process must always come down to the basics: trusting yourself and accepting whatever outcome. It's a formula for my recent success and it's the formula I'll use coming into tomorrow.  

Goodnight!