PGT Orchard 1st Round

Written: May 18, 2011

            An 8am tee time meant that I had to wake up at 5am, get ready, and leave for Orchard which is under an hour’s drive away.  The warm up session went smoothly and already, I could feel the intense heat as sweat poured down my shirt.  Tomorrow, it will probably be a good idea to wear a shirt for the warm up session on the range then change prior to teeing it up.  Anyway, back to the story, I headed for the first tee to chip and putt some.

            The night before, I had a nice chat with Doc Rotella who told me to play a round of golf as if you’re playing with your buddies.  Stay lose and stay insensitive whether you hit a good or a bad shot.  Just see if you can play “Great” golf.  Forget about who’s in the field, how big the purse is, the cut… Just see if you can play “Great” golf.  I did just as he told.  For the beginning at least. 

            Because of what Doc Rotella mentioned, I was able to calm myself on the first hole to stripe a drive down the middle of a narrow fairway to leave myself with only 100 yards to the pin on the 440 yard hole.  Even par after 5 holes, I sunk an eagle putt on the par 5 6^th hole to get into two under for the day.  Then with some lose shots coming in, I made bogeys on 7 and 9.  At that point, I really had mishit quite a few shots and the misses would be both ways.  No matter how confident I tried to remain and how focused I was on just getting the ball in the hole, my internal panic alarm was starting to get louder.  Even more so after blocking my 6 iron 2^nd shot on hole 10, 40 yards right of hole leading to another bogey.

            From then on, I managed to steady things out by hitting green after green.  I had rolled the putter so well for birdie putts from varying distance and all were glancing over the edge and not dropping in.  Then, on the home stretch on 15 and 18, two left misses off the tee led to a hazard an unplayable.  Double bogey and a bogey respectively.  The best shot I hit was on 16, 199 yards with a 5 iron.  The ball landed just in front of the hole and hit the pin!

            The final score of 3 over par 75 left me a bit confused since I knew the root cause of the over par score was because of my inconsistent ball striking.  Unwilling to pack up and head home, I went straight to range to iron things out.  After one bucket and finding the consistency I was looking for on the course, I took a break to eat.  Then went to the gym with Ton Ton afterwards, then onto the range again where Ton saw one fundamental flaw, which was that I was aimed too far left of my target.

            See, as I started to hit to crooked and lose confidence, I thought the answer would be to play the bunt fade by aiming left.  This only caused my club on the downswing to come further under-plane like a Fred Couples move.  To get back on plane, he told me to square up not only my feet, but my body as well.  Sure enough, the 2 week ball striking struggle was over.  After that, we went over to the putting green to roll a couple.

Man am I ready to play tomorrow!  Goodnight!

Drenched Hole 18 at Palmer course. Good thing we were finished

PGT Orchard Pro-Am

Written: May 17, 2011

            Today’s pro-am day served as a second practice round for this week’s PGT Orchard event sponsored once again by ICTSI.  The tournament will be played in the Palmer Course, site of the 1995 Johnnie Walker Classic attended by many of the once PGA Tour greats.  The course looks to be in great shape.  Greens are running smooth and fast while the fairways are nice and firm making the course play shorter than its yardage.  Because of the roll on the fairways, it’s important make the right decisions off the tee to place the ball in the correct spots.

Pro-Am partners beside their Titleist Advertisement Board

            It was my first pro-am appearance in an ICTSI PGT event.  You’re invited to participate if you’re ranking is high enough on the Order of Merit.  A guaranteed appearance fee of P2,500 is a great deal just to play the event and practice.  It’s also an opportunity to make connections with the amateurs you get to play with such as today, I got to play with the distributors of Titleist. 

            Tomorrow’s tee time is at 8:00am on hole 1.  I feel like I put in all the necessary preparation.  Tomorrow, it’s time to let it free, stay confident, and most importantly, have fun!  More updates to come!  Check www.pgt.ph for live scoring.

Philippine Open 1st and 2nd Round

Written: May 14, 2011

            It’s Saturday morning right now and I’m writing since I don’t have a weekend tee time at the Philippine Open.  Two days of tournament golf and a missed cut at my first Asian Tour event.  My scores of 80-77, a total of 13 over par, was 9 shots off the cut line.  It’s easy to say that well, I just didn’t hit it good enough, the putts didn’t fall, and I had a couple bad breaks.  But the question is, why did it happen while playing the biggest tournament of my career to date?  Was it coincidence that you just can’t bring you’re “A” game all the time or did it have something to do with playing a tournament of that magnitude for the first time?  Because certainly, I was capable of playing much better than that performance.  In the coming days, as I digest the events, I’ll gain better insight and ultimately take this as a valuable learning experience.

            Speaking of the experience, it’s one that I’ll always remember.  Warming up with new balls, golf sales reps everywhere, spectators, cameras, live scoring, corporate tents, world class players, a manicured golf course, and getting inside the ropes to compete… Being a part of it for the week brought emotions of thrill and excitement and also a nervous energy.  It’s the type of atmosphere I come to realize that “this is where I want to be.”  It’s almost the feeling as if I belong.  Playing the event provided a first glimpse of what guys like me who recently just turned pro are really in for.  And the experience only done one thing.  Actually, perhaps two.  One is that it has only driven me more to get to that level.  Two, getting a first hand look at the other top tour pros, I’ve certainly got the game to get there. No miracles necessary.  Just hard work and a positive attitude.  Gotta love the challenge!  

Tito Yeyo and I coming out to watch the final round

Big crowds on the 18th

Philippine Open Pre-Tournament

            Sitting in my room on the eve of the Philippine Open.  By “my room” I mean for a rare instance, not a hotel room.  My grandparent’s place here in Greenhills is only about 5-10 minutes away from the course.  Pretty convenient shall we say?

            This morning, I went over to the course to meet up with Coach Cassius to give him the grips he ordered from the States.  On the practice range were the club fitter guys from Custom Clubmakers who were ready to assist you with any of those related needs.  That’s not all! Basically, I felt like a kid in a candy store this morning.  I walked up to the Titleist representative for the Asian Tour. Gave him a little background about myself and how Titleist in the U.S. has been helping me out for a couple years already.  Then he immediately handed me over some Titleist balls and gloves.  I also signed a contract with him stating that with a top 10 finish, you’re eligible for bonuses.  Then I approached the TaylorMade reps who had a bunch of drivers at hand.  Asking for assistance in what driver I should use, they recommended me the TaylorMade Superfast Burner TP.  There’s been so much hype about this white headed driver.  After a few swings with it, I knew why.  Upon telling the reps that I really liked the driver, they handed it to me and said it was mine.

            Wow, what a morning! For noon, I relaxed in Magallanes with the Paras grandparents and Tita Bernie and Tito Dading.  Then in the afternoon I went back to the course to hit a couple more buckets before heading back to Greenhills.

Lexus CT200h, the car I want as a hole in one prize!

            Tomorrow’s tee time 12:55pm.  Check out the website asiantour.com for live scoring and more. What an opportunity this is to play the $300,000 Philippine Open.  I’ll commit myself to shooting the best score I can tomorrow.  Stay in the moment as much as possible and accept whatever comes my way.

            Goodnight!

           

US Open Qualifier

Written: May 6, 2011        

            The alarm clock rang early at 5:45am.  Hit the shower, packed the bags, then headed downstairs for the hotel buffet breakfast.  The typical bagel, yogurt, banana, and oatmeal diet was more than good enough to get the day started.  My dad and I got to the course over an hour before my tee time.  The thing is, I had to finish my warm up session about half an hour before my 8:10am tee time since the 10^th tee was a long ride away from the driving range.  I had a nice and relaxing warm up on the range by going through the bag from wedge to driver.  A couple putts to get the speed down and we were good to go.

            The starting par 3 10^th hole is a 180 yard hole into the wind and all carry over the water.  Carry is about 165 yards so if you clank it and don’t hit it solid, well, you’re going to have to re-tee again. Focused solely on my shot and disregarding the consequences, I struck a solid five iron that nestled inside 15 feet away.  The birdie putt just slipped by on the edge but there was nothing to complain about with a par on that hole.  On the par 5 11^th, I was left with 46 yards for my third shot.  Visualizing a 40 yard carry for the ball to stop right at the hole, I executed perfectly as I set myself up for an easy birdie from 3 feet away.  The next few holes however would prove to be a bit of a struggle. Pars and bogeys and even a double bogey on my 8^th hole of the day, a par 5 where I simply just hit a 3 wood second shot way offline.  Despite that stretch, I remained calm and committed to scoring the best I could for that day.  I followed it up shortly with a solid hybrid for my second shot from 209 yards away, in the rough, ball below my feet, into the wind, and all carry over the water.  Turning in 39 wasn’t the best, but there was still the front nine to be played.

            On the front nine, I came out hot with birdies on hole 1 and 2 by hitting a 90 yard shot and a 92 yard shot close and converting the putts.  The final birdie would come on the 9^th and final hole of my round when I stuck an iron shot to about 12 feet and made the putt for birdie and a 33 on the back nine.  As they say, it always feels good to make a putt on the last hole.

Picture taking by the Marina after the round

            The total of 72 came up just a bit short from landing one of the four qualifying spots.  There were two 67’s and two 68’s.  Anyways, it was a good experience again having my dad on the bag.  We’ve been doing this together since 2003 and its become one of our yearly events on our to do list.

            After getting a shower in the club, we headed down to Fort Lauderdale and killed some time in the Hard Rock hotel and at Hooters as I awaited my 8:30pm flight to Newark, New Jersey.  Once my dad dropped me off at the airport, it was all thank you’s and goodbyes.  Certainly, the time together with my dad, mom, and my little bro Casey was time well spent over the last 3 weeks. 

            I’m on the plane right now to Newark, New Jersey.  From there, it’s a train ride away to New York City where I’ll be spending the next two days before leaving for the Philippines on Sunday evening.  It’ll be great to visit the Big Apple for the first time since 2005 and get to stay with uncle Martin Limchayseng.  Another thing to look forward to: on Sunday I’ll be seeing my friend Kristin Wetzel who now works in New York.  We’ll be watching the Broadway play Wicked.

            Well, this has been a longer than usual blog post.  (Since I’ve been stuck on the airplane with nothing else to do) More posts to come soon! The visit with Bob Rotella and the Miami Heat vs. Celtics game.  Stay tuned! 

US Open Practice Round

Written: May 5, 2011

            Today, my dad and I drove to West Palm Beach, FL early this morning.  After the two hour drive, we arrived at Atlantis Golf Club for the minor league golf tour event.  Minor league golf events are 1 day tournaments in the east coast of Florida.  You get to play against other pros by paying an entry fee.  The entry fees collected is then used as the prize money distributed in such a way that 50% of the field gets a paycheck, 25% gets their money back, and the champion wins about a $1000 bucks. 

            We got there to the course and it was pouring.  The guys who were supposed to tee off in the earlier groups hadn’t teed off yet.  It looked like if ever there was a chance to play that day, the players would have to wait it out.  Having not yet paid the entry fee, my dad and I just decided to head up to Jupiter to play a practice round for tomorrow’s U.S. Open qualifier instead of sitting around waiting and wondering whether we could get this one day tournament in.

            Admiral’s Cove, the site of tomorrow’s U.S. Open Local Qualifier is what I think, one of the prettiest courses in Florida.  Situated right by the water, the course wraps around the water ways and canals.  Right beside many tee boxes and greens are boat docks and mansions providing so many good views.  As for the course, its also one of the most challenging I’ve played.  6850 yards doesn’t seem too long of a course but since it’s a par 70, it plays to its length especially since I played a round right after it had down poured the entire morning.  The multi tiered greens are running at a quick 11 on the stimp meter.  Special attention must be given for those downhill down grain putts.  Like most Florida courses, keeping it straight off the tee is essential as the course is guarded by several hazards and out of bounds.

            My dad, who will be caddying for me tomorrow, rode the cart and so we had a nice time spending some father-son bonding.  With the pin placements for tomorrow already marked with paint, we got to practice all kinds of putts and chips around the green.  The practice was certainly worthwhile and was definitely time well spent in preparation for tomorrow’s qualifying.

            8:10am tee time tomorrow.  Gonna go out there, have fun, and accept whatever happens.  Checked into this Fairfield Marriott Inn in Jupiter. Nice bed, so easy to fall asleep. Goodnight guys!

Back in the U.S. - Week so far

Written: April 25, 2011

            Its been a week already since arriving in Florida after that 44-hour trip from the Philippines.  Since then, I’ve gotten to play a lot of golf and spend it catching up with friends, golf coaches, and of course the family.  Golf at Tuscany Reserve,Tiburon, Kensington and Kensington’s gym. Chipotle, Sushi Thai and Sweet Treats. Trip to FGCU for an Easter dinner.  Golfsmith, PGA Tour Superstore, Costo.  Seacrest and CSN to bring and watch Casey play his baseball games.  Getting so much done in so little time feels good in some way.

            Coming home and seeing many familiar faces has also been a joy.  Seeing so many of them all over Naples from the neighbors, golf pros, the cart guys, waiters at restaurants (Sushi Thai), old classmates and friends makes it feel like I never left home.  And that leads me to the question: how does one define where “home” really is?  Is it where you were born? Where you grew up?  Can you only have one “home”?  A question from many of them was: “it must feel good to be home huh Carl?”  There is no doubt, it sure feels good to be home, as in, in Naples, Florida back with the family.  Perhaps that’s one definition that many people associate where home is – where your family resides. 

Ruth Chris' Family Steak Dinner. Yum!

Picture with Dad before dropping me off at the airport

            I’d like to think of myself as having a home in two places.  Here in Naples, Florida and the other in the Philippines.  In just 8 months in the Philippines, I have adjusted to the lifestyle, language, culture, and golf over there.  To ease the transition, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to both reconnect and form new relationships with friends, coaches, and mentors.  With plenty of family members there (uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents) to have company, the Philippines has certainly become another home.

            As for now, I’m sitting in the Fort Myers airport waiting for a flight to Charlottesville, Virginia for what I would call the highlight of my 3 week stay in the United States.  From Monday through Wednesday, I’ll get a chance to spend time with world renowned sports psychologist Bob Rotella who has worked with several PGA Tour players over the years.  It ought to be an amazing experience. Can’t wait! I’ll definitely be posting an update about that trip.       

Coach / Mentor Tom O'Brien