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!
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