Upon the request of some writers from a magazine and newspaper who wanted an inside scoop on what a player goes through in a tournament, they asked me to produce a 'tour diary' style writeup. Wait for it in the newspaper and magazine!
Short Bio:
Writeup recapping the two weeks of Davao and Cagayan:
Short Bio:
Started the game at the age of 6. Competed on the Philippine jungolf circuit in his early years representing the national team in numerous occasions including the Junior World Championship. Moved to Florida at the age of 14 and continued to compete on the national level, earning several top finishes on the AJGA (American Junior Golf Association). Won the Florida State Junior Championship and a 2-time Optimist International Junior Champion (‘02,’05). Played collegiate golf at the University of Notre Dame, a division 1 NCAA program and graduated with a finance degree. 2-time participant of the U.S. Amateur (‘08-‘09) including round of 64 match play (‘08). Upon graduating in May of 2010, played for the ICTSI Philippine amateur team. Turned pro March, 2011. In his short career on the PGT (Philippine Golf Tour) circuit, has produced 7 top 10 finishes including a career best 2nd at the Mimosa C’ship (’10). Hopes to play full-time on the Asian Tour in 2012 and from there, the PGA Tour.
Writeup recapping the two weeks of Davao and Cagayan:
Last August, the ICTSI sponsored Philippine Golf Tour (PGT, www.pgt.ph) swing reached Davao and Cagayan. Getting the opportunity to travel and participate in tournaments internationally and domestically outside of Luzon always comes as a thrill. Having turned professional only recently back in March of this year, each and every tour stop is a new experience. You quickly come to realize that when you get to a tournament as a touring professional, there’s more to just familiarizing yourself with the golf course. Figuring out lodging for the week, places to eat, how transportation works to and from the airport/hotel, where the practice facilities are located and which caddy to pick are just a few of the many factors that a pro must handle. Embracing these challenges as an adventure rather than being dreadful of them facilitate in getting comfortable as soon as possible. Of course, the more comfortable you are with your surroundings, the more chance you have of playing to your potential so it is essential to get situated not only with your game but also these external factors before teeing it up come Wednesday for the first round.
Currently, the Philippine Golf Tour has a healthy mix of veteran pros like my former coach for the amateur national team Cassius Casas, Antonio Lascuna, and Anthony Fernando who really help out and mentor us younger guys while on the road. Golf is a lonely sport as it is, so having a travel buddy with you where you can spend your practice and downtime together really helps. I’ve been fortunate to meet a group of young players like myself in Chuck Hong, Ryan Lam, and Ton Asistio who share the same aspiring goals as I do. Our similar goals and competitiveness motivate each other to push ourselves while at the same time, we get to share a bond traveling and exploring together.
The two weeks of tournament golf on the PGT began in Davao on Aug 8-12. Coming off two solid performances, a 10th and a 6th place finish in the PGT Bacolod and the PGT Iloilo the month prior, I felt confident and ready to take on Apo Golf Club in Davao. Fortunately for Monday’s practice round, I had the opportunity to play with two veterans who happen to claim Apo Golf Club as their home course. Tony Lascuna and Elmer Saban taught me local knowledge of the course and assisted me with all there was to know. They certainly felt comfortable with the course and knew where to place the ball. I started to think in my mind that if I were to play well that week, I figured I had to get caught up quick to be ready by Wednesday. The good thing about PGT events is that if you are invited to the Pro-Am, which I was for that week, it gave me a second opportunity to familiarize myself with the course.
I can easily recap the three-day tournament from Wednesday through Friday in one word and that is: scramble. Not being able to hit greens in regulation at the usual high percentage that I had been, it was up to my putter and wedge to do the work. On the first day I dug myself in a hole going 5 over par through 7 holes that it took some gutsy birdies (4 of the last 6) to salvage a one over par round. The remaining two days of the tournament were played with less than perfect golf but with a sound mental approach and a gritty putting performance, I was able to overcome the flaws and manage to turn in back to back rounds of even par 72. The one over par total of 217 over three rounds landed me into a tie for 12th place.
Talking to my sports psychologist Bob Rotella the following day and explaining to him how different the tournament felt compared to my other solid finishes in the weeks prior, he made clear that there are different ways to get the job done. Sometimes you play well because of good ball striking and sometimes it’s with a good short game. There’s no reason to feel guilty finishing well even if you didn’t hit the ball well. Either way, the only thing the leaderboard shows is your final score – how many strokes it took you to get the ball in the hole.
With the following week’s tournament in Cagayan (Aug. 15-19), a lot of the pros and myself decided not to fly back to Manila and instead take the 6 hour roadtrip straight to Cagayan. The tournament will be held in Del Monte Golf Club, home of several local pros including the legend Frankie Minoza. Getting situated a few days prior to the first round, I have Martin Lorenzo to thank for letting me stay in his gorgeous house, which is conveniently located on the golf course. Without this, then I would be searching for hotels an hour’s drive away in the city. Instead, I got a cozy queen size bed, a spacious bathroom and room that includes cable T.V. and a pretty sunrise with a view of the 14th fairway. No doubt that the adequate rest and the peace of mind of not having to travel back and forth from the course contributed to my success for the week.
After a steady even par 72 for the first round, I followed it up with a second round of 4-under 68. 13/14 fairways hit and 14/18 greens hit and 28 putts that round. It felt as easy as hitting the fairway, hitting the green, and seeing whether the birdie putt would fall in the hole. With six birdies, putts did fall. On the practice range warming up that morning, it helped build confidence in myself knowing that I was hitting it really straight and really solid, which was night and day from last week’s scrambling effort. I said to myself, “wouldn’t it be nice if I hit all the 18 greens today?” That thought stayed in my mind all day. Setting the bar high but having acceptance if I didn’t reach it was the recipe for success that day.
For the third and final round of the tournament, I was paired up with Filipino heavyweights Jhonnel Ababa and Angelo Que, a pairing I was very much looking forward to. With all of us tied at 4 under for the tournament, we teed it up at 7:20am with the leaders at 9 under par teeing off a few groups behind. Taking the feeling of confidence and calmness to the first tee, my ball found the smack middle of the tight first hole. From there, I was off and running. Staying patient was the number one goal for the day and while I was at it, I relished the moment playing with Jhonnel and Angelo.
At the day’s end, I shot a 1 under par 71. The 3 day total (72-68-71), 5 under par was good for a tie for 7th place. Despite the several missed putts down the stretch, I left with no regrets and grateful for living another day’s challenge. For the 4th tournament in a row, I’ve been no worse than 12th place. Consistent play thanks to solid ball striking and reliable putting but by no means perfect. That’s the beauty of it. Finishing well doesn’t entail perfect golf as I once perceived it to be. What I have figured out is that accepting mistakes throughout a round and letting go as quickly as possible really goes a long way when it comes to finishing well in tournaments.
Many thanks for the unwavering support of ICTSI, Beneficial Life Insurance (www.benlife.com.ph - You may contact me at csogolf@gmail.com for a list of insurance policies) Mizuno, and BerryWell Health Products (www.thenaturalshelf.net)
With every tournament, I leave with lessons learned and some unforgettable adventures along the way. Having a quick chat with Bob Rotella after the PGT Cagayan tournament, he once again reaffirmed, “There is no such thing as talent, Carl. Real talent is perseverance.” Through the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour, it gives us Filipino golfers that very opportunity to persevere and enhance our games from local, to Asian Tour then one day the PGA Tour. May we keep the dream alive!
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