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!
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