Aboitiz Invitational Media Day

Written: July 26, 2011

            With the Aboitiz Invitational being held next month and for the first time in partner with the Asian Developmental Tour, its organizers set up a media day to promote the event scheduled for August 31 to September 3.  Colo Ventosa, head of the Philippine Golf Tour asked Artemio Murakami and I to join her in Cebu for this media day on Tuesday, July 26^th.

            It was perfect timing since my brother and parents were to leave at the same time this morning headed back to the U.S.  They brought me to the airport early in the morning in the PAL terminal before having themselves dropped off in NAIA.  Upon arrival in Cebu, the day’s activities included a morning around of golf with the media, Aboitiz representative Sebastian Lacson, and general manager Clifford Celdran who gave me valuable tips about the Cebu Country Club layout.

            After the round and a quick lunch, there was a sit-down press conference like the ones you see in Formula One after a race.  Artemio, myself, and the other organizers gathered to answer questions from the media.  Once the day was done, it was a hop to the airport and a plane ride home.  After today and the past few days, a break is definitely needed to recover from all the exciting adventures.

            Here is a link to the article that came out in Inquirer: http://sports.inquirer.net/9137/tougher-aboitiz-invitational-set-in-cebu

Writeup that came out in the Inquirer

PGT Iloilo Final Round

Written: July 22, 2011

            Final round action today as it was back to the course early in the morning via tricycle.  My dad and I have enjoyed our stay here in Iloilo.  We’ve experienced the friendly hospitality, the signature batchoy dish, and got to see the oldest course in the Philippines.  Its been an eye opening experience so far but on the course, it was all business.  Fun business that is, and as a PGA Tour player wrote, its always a working vacation.  For golf is just a game to be played and must always be viewed as a challenge.

            With the right mindset coming into the day, I believed it helped me get over a slow start with bogeys on 1 and 3.  The rest of the round was a smooth ride with my level of intensity being between dull and overexcited.  In sports psychology, they say that a good balance gives a good chance for an athlete to produce the best results.  A final round 70, even par for the day and even par for the tournament kept me relatively in the same position of where I started.  7^th beginning the day and tied 6^th at the end with Coach Cassius Casas.

            For the story about Jhonnel Ababa’s win, check out the PinoyGolfer blog at: http://pinoygolfer.com/2011/07/2011-ictsi-iloilo-challenge-final/

            It was such a boost to have my dad following me all three days off the tournament.  Not only to spare the long evening conversations about how my round went, but also to hear the claps and see his joy knowing that his son has come a long way since graduating last year was a big thrill.  I’d like to credit my caddy as well, Inan, for guiding me through the course and most especially helping me read the greens with precision.  The trust I’ve built with him puts him up there as one of my best caddies thus far on the tour.

            It’s back to Manila tonight where Casey and my Mom await.  What an amazing two weeks it has been for golf.  10^th in Bacolod and 6^th here in Iloilo.  It’s the Southern Swing baby! And it continues in Davao, Cagayan, and Cebu in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

            Time to enjoy this time with the family for the next few days.

Thanks for watching for the week Pa!

Inan

1 ABABA, JHONNEL 70 68 4 3 4 4 3 3 4 4 4 33 3 3 4 3 5 5 2 4 4 33 66 204 -6 Won in playoff
1 BAYRON, JAY 67 66 4 5 5 5 3 4 4 4 4 38 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 33 71 204 -6
3 BERNIS, ROBERTO, JR. 71 69 4 4 3 4 3 5 4 3 4 34 3 4 3 4 4 4 3 3 5 33 67 207 -3
4 DUMANDAN, MARVIN 68 76 3 4 4 4 3 3 4 4 2 31 3 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 3 33 64 208 -2
5 BALASABAS, JERSON 69 72 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 3 35 3 4 4 3 5 3 3 4 4 33 68 209 -1
6 CASAS, CASSIUS 67 74 3 7 4 5 2 3 4 5 4 37 2 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 32 69 210 0
6 SANTOS-OCAMPO, CARL 72 68 5 4 5 4 3 4 4 4 4 37 3 5 3 3 5 4 2 4 4 33 70 210 0
6 BAYRON, RUFINO 68 72 4 4 4 5 3 5 4 4 4 37 3 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 33 70 210 0
9 BONDOC, GENE 71 68 4 4 4 5 2 4 4 4 4 35 4 4 4 3 5 5 3 5 4 37 72 211 1
10 ZARATE, DANNY 67 72 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 5 36 3 4 5 4 5 4 5 4 3 37 73 212 2
11 MAGADA, BENJIE 72 71 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 34 3 4 5 4 5 4 2 4 5 36 70 213 3
11 DELOS SANTOS, CHRISTOPHER 72 70 4 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 36 2 4 4 4 5 4 4 5 3 35 71 213 3
11 ECHAVEZ, PAUL 71 71 4 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 5 37 3 4 3 3 5 4 4 4 4 34 71 213 3
11 SASUTIL, RUBEN 71 69 5 4 4 5 4 3 4 3 5 37 3 4 4 3 6 4 4 4 4 36 73 213 3
11 BECIERRA, DANTE 69 71 4 4 4 4 3 4 5 5 3 36 3 4 4 3 4 6 5 4 4 37 73 213 3
11 DELOS SANTOS, DANILO 69 70 4 4 5 4 3 4 5 4 4 37 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 37 74 213 3
17 NALLOS, ALEXES (AM) 70 73 4 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 4 36 3 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 4 35 71 214 4
17 SINFUEGO, ALY 73 69 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 5 36 4 6 3 3 5 4 4 3 4 36 72 214

PGT Iloilo 2nd Round

Written: July 21, 2011

            After spending the night and getting some good sleep in Smallville Hotel, it was time to checkout again and pack up our bags.  Onto the course for brunch then teed off on hole 10 at 10:45am.  Hole 10 is a 168 yard par 3.  With no driving range for a warmup, boy did I really use that first tee shot to crack my back and get me going.  I pulled it way left and over the green enroute to one of my two bogeys for the day.

            From there, I seemed to feel it out well throughout the day.  Even par on my first nine with 2 bogeys and 2 birdies.  Then on the second nine, I made two birdies and no bogeys for a clean 2 under 68.  That round jumped me from 24th position into a tie for 7th.

            Tomorrow, I’ll be teeing it up at 8:50am, 3rd to the last pairing.  I’m feeling so confident about my game right now that I know I don’t even have to play flawless golf to pick up a good finish.

            Jay Bayron leads at -7 then second place is at -2.  Another day tomorrow, another challenge.  Gotta love it!

Tricycle!

PGT Iloilo 1st Round

Written: July 20, 2011       

        Without a driving range and only a small putting green, no one in the field feels quite ready when its time to tee it up.  With adequate stretching and a couple full swings, I was able to hit a really solid drive on the first hole.  It felt good to get things started that way.  After remaining at even par through 8 holes, trouble started on hole 9 when I flew my second shot over the green enroute to a double bogey.  Similar misfortune befell upon me on hole 10 where I actually did well to save bogey.  Three over in an instant after 10 holes.  Good thing I was able to par out and roll in one in the last hole for a birdie to stay in the mix with a two over par 72.

            Finishing early at around 11am, my dad and I took a taxi this time to head to the city which is about 20 minutes away.  There are more choices of hotels and restaurants in the area.  We ended up finding this hotel some of the pros were recommending called Smallville Hotel.  We basically bummed out the entire afternoon then went to dinner in the evening to try Iloilo’s famous Bachoy recipes.  Upon returning to the hotel, more bum time as we watched movies on tv.

            Tomorrow, late tee time at 10:45am.  Two rounds on this tricky course should be enough to really figure it out. We’ll see how round 2 goes. 

Upgrade

Smallville Hotel after the 1st Round

PGT Iloilo Pro-Am Day

Written: July 19, 2011

            My dad and I arrived in Iloilo yesterday morning just in time for the typical Tuesday pro-am.  Our flight got in at 6:20am and from there, we took a short cab ride to the golf course.  Like Bacolod, I played with an all ladies group.  

            Getting to know the course proved to be quite a challenge.  Iloilo Country Club or otherwise known as Santa Barbara Golf Course is the oldest golf course in the Philippines.  Built in 1907, the holes present a rather tricky layout.  On par 4’s, from a driver to a 9 iron, you could be hitting anything off the tee.  Adding to the peculiarity of the course are the firmness of the greens.  I’ve never played greens these firm ever. You’ll be hitting a full swing wedge shot and the ball would be bouncing a good 10-25 yards forward.  Firm greens indeed but also very slow.  Overall however, the course seems to be in good shape in preparation for this tournament.

            Once the pro-am was finished, my dad and I took a tricycle to the hotel, Pension House.  Take a look at the pictures below.  It’s only a 5 minute ride from the course and this is where all the amateurs, Coach Cassius, and the rest of the pros are staying.  Tomorrow, tee time 7:10am on hole 1. Let’s get ‘em!

Marvin and I

Oldest Course in the Philippines

Pro-Am Partners

PGT Bacolod Final Round

Written: July 15, 2011

Pactolerin’s winning putt on the 4^th playoff hole.

An exciting finish to the final round of the PGT Bacolod. It sure looked like Juvic Pagunsan was a lock to win the title as he mounted a 5 shot lead halfway. To read more about that exciting finish and the 4 hole playoff between Tony Lascuna and Robert Pactolerin, check out Mike Besa’s blog on pinoygolfer: http://pinoygolfer.com/2011/07/2011-ictsi-negros-occidental-championship-final/

            As for myself, it wasn’t pretty starting out as I bogeyed hole 6 and made double on hole 8. A nice save for par on 9 yet at that point, I was way down in the leaderboard. It wasn’t as if I made a lot of mistakes but the 3 over front nine looked as though I did. So for the third day in a row starting out slow, I once again gathered myself together to post the best final 9 for the day, a 32, 3 under par 9 on the tougher side of the course. That was highlighted by making two twelve footers on 17 and 18 for par. It certainly felt good to finish that way and to slip into the top 10.

            As we headed home, Chuck, his friend and I stopped over for some local Bacolod pastries to bring home to family and friends at home. It sure was an enjoyable stay in the city of Bacolod. Great hospitality, challenging golf course, fun travel buddies, accommodating hotel... It has made me already looking forward to a return trip next year.

            For now, its back to Manila for the weekend to await the arrival of the family! Casey, mom and dad!

1 PACTOLERIN, ROBERT 69 69 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 4 33 3 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 34 67 205 -5 Won in playoff
1 LASCUÑA, TONY 67 67 4 6 3 4 6 5 4 3 3 38 3 4 4 2 4 4 3 4 5 33 71 205 -5
3 FERNANDO, MHARK 70 66 5 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 36 4 4 3 3 5 4 3 3 5 34 70 206 -4
3 PAGUNSAN, JUVIC 66 67 4 4 2 4 3 5 4 4 4 34 4 6 5 3 4 4 4 4 5 39 73 206 -4
5 ARDIMER, RODULFO 71 72 4 4 2 4 4 3 5 3 3 32 3 4 4 2 4 5 3 4 5 34 66 209 -1
5 DUMANDAN, MARVIN 71 70 3 5 3 5 4 4 4 3 4 35 4 4 3 3 3 5 3 3 5 33 68 209 -1
7 BERNIS, ROBERTO, JR. 75 66 5 4 3 3 5 3 4 3 4 34 3 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 5 35 69 210 0
8 SALVADOR, ELMER 71 71 4 4 3 3 4 3 4 4 4 33 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 5 36 69 211 1
8 SINFUEGO, RICHARD 71 69 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 37 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 4 5 34 71 211 1
10 SANTOS-OCAMPO, CARL 70 72 4 5 3 4 4 5 4 5 4 38 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 5 32 70 212 2
10 MURAKAMI, ARTEMIO 72 69 6 6 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 37 3 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 34 71 212 2
12 GARALDE, RANDY 75 68 3 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 34 3 5 4 4 4 3 3 5 5 36 70 213 3
12 ORTEGA, RAMONITO 70 72 4 4 4 4 3 3 5 3 4 34 4 4 4 3 5 4 3 5 5 37 71 213 3
14 GIALON, ZANIEBOY (AM) 73 72 4 4 3 3 4 3 5 3 4 33 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 5 36 69 214 4
14 AUNZO, FERDINAND 71 72 3 5 4 4 5 4 4 3 3 35 4 5 3 3 5 4 3 4 5 36 71 214

PGT Bacolod 2nd Round

Written: July 14, 2011          

            Having gotten good rest the night before and two rounds in prior to this second round, I thought I was prepared to take on the course.  Like last week, I got hit with an early blow with a double bogey on the par 5 2^nd hole as I walked up and missed a tap in bogey putt from literally a foot away.  It was very reminiscent of last week’s mishap in Malaysia’s Negeri Masters when I double bogeyed hole number 2 of the second round.  That’s when things went array as I tumbled down to ultimately miss the cut by a shot.

            This time would prove different.  The best cure was to let it be, move on and stay calm.  That attitude, along with some good ball striking led me to isolate the bad hole and finish with a 72.

            With one more round to go and currently at 13^th place, I feel confident that I can sneak into the top ten with a solid round as well as a solid mental attitude.  Time to enjoy another night in Bacolod with the guys. So long!

Card Throwing in Bacolod 2011

Written: July 13, 2011

Finding something to do in our spare time, Brent, Chuck and I took on this so-called card throwing sports. Apparently you can do a bunch of cool stuff by throwing cards. Look up videos on YouTube. But before that, watch ours!

This was the night prior to the second round of the PGT Bacolod Tournament July 13-15,2011. Got a good round going finishing with a 70 today, even par. That’s after going three over after the first 4 holes. Enjoy!

ASEAN Tour Negeri Masters 2nd Round

Written: July 8, 2011

            2^nd Round action began today then was momentarily postponed abruptly.  Upon playing the first hole and making par, inclement weather came in.  After hitting the tee shot on the par 3 2^nd hole, lightning way too close for comfort struck the ground a few hundred yards away.  Back to the clubhouse for a two hour delay.  Returning to the course was an immediate wake up call.  A four putt double bogey from 60 feet away.  I really tried to hold my ground there on the front nine.  An eagle helped a lot but the bogeys and doubles kept coming as I turned in 4 over par.

            Perhaps feeling the pressure of trying too hard to make the cut got to me.  On the back nine, the bogeys kept on coming. One on the 10^th and another on the 12^th.  Fortunately, that would be the last of my bogeys.  Finishing the round at one under in the last six holes really helped my chances to make the cut only to fall one shot short.  One of the positives that I’ll take away from the week was the clutch saves down the stretch when I knew I was right around the cut line.  Learning to play and execute under those conditions will go a long way to more success in the future.

            For now, I’m going to have to pack up and change my flight for an early ticket home to Manila.  My status on facebook was, “turned out to be a costly tuition fee for a learning experience in Malaysia.”  I know in the long run, this experience will be beneficial to learning how to deal with similar situations in the future.  The good thing will be that I won’t have to wait a long time to tee it up again.  Bacolod for another PGT leg next week July 13-15.

For more pictures, check this facebook link for the album.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.904902081867.2378370.5619325&l=76a02acfdf&type=1

Pro Caddy for the week, Sha

ASEAN Tour Negeri Masters 1st Round

Written: July 7, 2011           

           With the morning’s first tee time at 7:30am, I was up at 5:30am in the hotel room.  A quick breakfast in the hotel, shower, then took the earliest 6:15am shuttle to the course.  Warming up on the range at 6:40am and it was still dark.  Since Malaysia is in the same time zone as the Philippines, but Malaysia is a two hour plane ride to the west, then consequently, the sun rises later and sets later in Malaysia compared to the Philippines. 

            Teed off at 7:30am on hole 10, one of the tightest driving holes on the course.  But with a carefree attitude and a focus on the one spot on the fairway I wanted the ball to go, the out of bounds on the left and the trees on the right didn’t matter. I hit a fairly good drive but it got a bad kick to the right ending in the rough a tree in the way.  A punch shot under the tree was struck well but didn’t kick right with the contour of the fairway thus landing me in the bunker.  With an awkward 20 yard bunker shot, I did well to hit it to 8 feet.  The indoor hotel putting practice really did help as I calmly sank the sidehill putt.  Over the next eight holes, I would make 4 birdies to turn in the front at 4 under.  Man, I wish there were live scoring because I’d probably be right up there! Haha

            It was a tale of two nines as I played most of the back nine defensively by making some good par saves.  The only unfortunate break was when my ball fall in the water on the par 5 6^th as I ended up with a double bogey.  However, I was pleased with an overall score of 70, 2 under for the day and top 15 in a big time event.

            This solid performance just goes to show you that if you put in the scores, it doesn’t matter what field you’re playing against. You’re gonna beat players.  This performance also gave me confidence that my own game can stack up against the best.  No miracles necessary.  Stay tuned for tomorrow’s update.

ASEAN Tour Negeri Masters 2011 Pregame

Here's the 1 minute video blog in the hotel room prior to the tournament's first round. Ton, Marvin, and myself roomed together for the week.

ASEAN Tour Negeri Masters Pregame

I just made a video blog of Ton, Marvin, and I goofing around our hotel room after dinner. Unfortunately, the internet is pretty slow at this time so I'll upload it tomorrow.

Tomorrow is finally the tournament after being here for 5 days already. It has been a lot of fun and a good learning experience so far.  I look forward to the next couple days. Since we're about to sleep, I'll cut this short right now. Here's a link to the pregame writeup on their website:

http://www.aseanpgatour.com/media/news/latest-news/359-cream-of-asean-golf-assemble-at-negeri-masters.html

There ought to be livescoring as well on the same website.

Goodnight!

Cars Cars Cars

              Enough with the golf talk. This time I'd like to share with you another one of my hobbies which is: Cars!  Perhaps it may have been the early influence from my uncles to watch Formula One racing that sparked my first interests in cars and in speed.  From there, my interest grew from racing and spilled onto cars.  I remember when I was about seven years old wanting to collect all those model Ferrari cars from the Shell gas station.  I eventually collected a whole lot more during the subsequent years.  Another milestone in my racing and cars obsession was the day I could drive and get my license.  At 16, my parents handed me the keys to that car below. That was 7 years ago and to this day, I still treat that car with the utmost care.  It's like my baby and I'll forever be appreciative to my mom and dad.

2004 picture of the then-brand new BMW X3 3.0

              Now that I live in the Philippines and away from the BMW family garage in Florida and not owning a car, that itch to find cars online or check out cars on the road is back.  It's like I guess, if you don't have a wife, then you're constantly out hunting sizing up the different brands and models for what you like and what you have a shot at attaining.  Did I really just use that analogy? anyway...  So here's a list of cars and links to their websites that I've been looking at:

             My number one pick right now would be the Lexus CT 200h.  It's a new line in the Lexus brand and it seems to hit the right spot for what I'm looking in a car.  Great gas mileage (I hear it gets 25k to a liter), small but large enough to fit a golf bag, compact, nimble, new model and hey, how could you go wrong with a Lexus? It's a luxury brand!

Here's a link about the Lexus CT200h from a Philippine Magazine:

http://www.autoindustriya.com/car-reviews/2011-lexus-ct-200h-f-sport.html

             Then there's another car that's caught my attention: The BMW 1 Series. (BMW 118d).  Again, it impresses me because it compact, small, good gas mileage, and since its a BMW, it must be an ultimate driving machine!  With car prices so expensive in the Philippines, this is the most affordable BMW luxury car.

Link to a BMW 1 Series magazine review:

http://www.zercustoms.com/news/2012-BMW-1-Series-5-door.html

2012 BMW 1 Series

             So there you have it, my two dream cars for the Philippines.  But wait, there are other cars on my prospect list.

            The Subaru Impreza hatchback, which seems to be on the same line as the Lexus CT and the BMW 1 Series. Here's a link to the price list. A much more affordable choice than the BMW and Lexus cars.

http://www.motorimage.net/PH/buying/info/files/pricelist.pdf

Subaru Impreza hatchback

              Last but not least, there's the Ford line. What interests me are the Ford Focus and the Ford Fiesta. Here's the price list: http://www.ford.com.ph/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1137383216945&pagename=Page&c=DFYPage&site=FPH

Ford Focus

Ford Fiesta

               As a car enthusiast, its fun just looking at these cars and salivating.  As to whether one of these cars will make it to my garage remains to be seen.

               I hope ya'll enjoyed this blog post on cars for a change rather than the usual golf.

Monday Qualifier for Negeri Sembilan Masters

Written: July 5, 2011           

          Happy 4^th of July!  Before writing this, I saw a status of my Canadian friend saying: Happy 5^th of July for all my American friends.  I just thought it was pretty funny.  Last year I was spending the 4^th of July the American way back in Decatur, Alabama.  Hotdogs and burgers on the house porch with the Nixons and a fireworks show in the pier with the boys Josh, Connor, and Jeremy.  One year later and across the world, I find myself in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  What hasn’t changed is the game.  Its still golf and its still all about one thing: getting the ball in the hole in the fewest number of strokes.  One year later however, I feel like I’ve come a long way in doing just that.  With hard work, sweat, and adjustments in the mental and physical game has allowed me to make some progress.

            Earlier was a Monday qualifier as I mentioned in my previous blog.  18 hole shootout with 80+ players for 20 spots.  The odds were more favorable than some of the qualifiers I’ve played in the past.  Nonetheless, it’s all about performance and its you against the course.  With Tonyt Fernando’s help as a caddy for the day, things went just as planned.  A smooth one under par 71 was the final result.  3 birdies and 2 bogeys.  I hit the ball very good from beginning to end especially off the tee.  It’s one of those courses where if you get it in play off the tee, it makes things a whole lot easier. 

Upon finishing with the round, Tonyt, Ton and I had a nice lunch in the clubhouse before heading back to the hotel where we showered and immediately headed to the mall to eat, play arcade games, and watch Transformers in 3D.  Not a bad life I’d say.  Back at the hotel and there’s finally internet so I can post blog, write messages, and stay in touch with the world.  Tuesday’s a rest day then Wednesday is the official practice round.

            Take care!

Malaysia, Truly Asia!

Written: July 3, 2011         

   Just another adventure in the golfing life, living the dream.  This time, I set off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday, July 2^nd.  Took the Cebu Pacific flight late morning and arrived in the “Low Cost Terminal” of Kuala Lumpur at around 1pm.  After passing through immigration and baggage claim, it was quite easy to find the taxi counter and give them the address to Klana Resort, which was about a 40 minute drive from the airport.  The last time I was here in Kuala Lumpur was a decade ago.  It’s hard to believe its been that long considering I remember that trip so vividly.  My dad and I took a trip that time to watch the Formula 1 Gran Prix.  What a trip that was! As the taxi left the airport, I noticed the Sepang track with the huge grand stands.  Brings me back to the days when I was a die hard Formula One fan during the Schumacher era.  This time however, I’m actually getting into Formula One once again since its always shown on television in the Philippines.  As I continue to familiarize myself with the drivers and the strategy, I’m sure I’ll appreciate it once again as much as I did before.

            That’s it for side tracking. Upon reaching the hotel, I met up with Ton who was already in the room.  Hotel dinner that night and hotel breakfast in the morning then off to see the course.  I was rather surprised upon reaching the course.  Mainly because the dried up, poorly maintained carabao grass course looked more like a Muni public course rather than one that would be hosting the year’s highest purse tournament on the ASEAN Tour.  Nonetheless, you play with what you’ve got.  Ton Asistio, Rufino Bayron, Tonyt Fernando and I set off to play 18 in the afternoon.  We seemed to have gotten a good feel of the course, the clubs to be hit off each tee, and the breaks and speeds of the greens.

            That afternoon, Tonyt, Ton, and I took a cab to a mall to eat some good old familiar KFC and Mcdo then shopped around for some various supplies and food.  Now, back at the hotel and ready for bed before the Monday qualifier tomorrow.

            I’ve never traveled this far for a qualifier before.  The longest prior to this was pretty far as well: an 8 hour drive from Florida to Atlanta for the Dogwood Invitational back in 2007.  It’s a big gamble, but there are big rewards as the purse for this tournament is $160,000.

The main thing is that I’m having fun, learning and gaining experience from competitive experiences like these.  By the way, the game is looking sharp so look out!

            Goodnight!