Thursday, June 9, 2011

ASEAN Tour Malarayat 1st and 2nd Round

            Rain rain go away.  That’s what tournament organizers and players were hoping for on Wednesday.  However,  it poured heavily non-stop all throughout Wednesday.  Players with morning tee times got a few holes in but ultimately, the organizers were left with no other choice but to resume the following day on Thursday.  Those who played early finished their first round.  Shortly thereafter, it was my tee time ready to begin at 9:30am with Mars Pucay and another player from Thailand.
            The entire first round, I hit the ball well and made a few good par saves.  The 4 over 76 was due to a few mistakes with the wedges as I made bogey three times with having a wedge for an approach.  In addition, an O.B. on the last hole as I went for the par 5 green in two.  Did well to save bogey there.  Despite all that, the 4 over 76 was still inside the cutline of top 50.
            We were given a 30 minute turnaround before having to tee off again at 2:40pm.  Quick lunch, a few balls on the range, and we were off again.  Looking at it from a positive perspective, I was hitting the ball extremely well.  The weather was cloudy, no wind, greens were soft. The conditions were perfect for scoring.
            A par, bogey, par start was followed by some magical ball striking.  Over the next 11 holes, I would hit every fairway and every green and have 10 putts for birdie inside 15 feet.  Just picture that. I was hitting it long and straight and sticking it.  I can’t remember a time when I hit it better than that.  It was a bit unfortunate to muster only 3 birdies within that stretch.  Even so, the effort vaulted me up to 2 under for the day and 2 over for the tournament.
            Coming back to finish the day today with four holes to play, I began with a missed 5 foot putt for par on the 15th.  Recovered nicely with a 15 footer for par on 16.  Then a birdie on 17.  A bogey on 18 to finish with a 71 definitely secured me a spot for the final two rounds in my first ASEAN Tour event as a pro.
            In the meantime,  all those who made the cut are waiting for an afternoon tee time today (Friday) once everyone finishes their 2nd round.  Time to go down to the clubhouse restaurant and cheer on the Miami Heat! Peace!

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