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!
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