Shizu Hills is a very strong golf course and it was made a lot tougher today by some very tough conditions with 40-50 k/hr winds and some rain too. Not a nice day to have an outdoor job!! I have been playing really well back home after recovering from my sickness but for some reason today my driver decided to go walkabout and that spells disaster at this course. I played a very average front nine but chipped brilliantly to salvage the nine and turn in 1 over. Unfortunately when playing these events you have to stop for 1 hr between nines and today that didn't help. You aren't allowed to hit balls in that hour either.
When you are struggling off the tee and for timing and rhythm an hour off is the last thing you need. And to make matters worse the first three holes not the 2nd nine required very good tee shots. I didn't hit them and made three really easy bogies. I knew it was tough and thought 4 over would be around par in these conditions but when I had a plugged ball near the face of the bunker on the next hole with no shot to hit it on the green, a double bogie followed. I rallied over the closing 5 holes, probably the toughest 5 hole stretch on the course. I still made 2 bogies coming in for an 8 over total and 7 over on the back nine...... what a tough day. The good news is that I have a new day in front of me tomorrow and plan on executing my stuff a whole lot better.
Amazingly only 4 out of 152 players broke par and the cut line is at 4 over so I am still in with a chance should I be able to produce 2 under or so tomorrow. I had my first session with a sports psych guy from the UK that works with Louis Oosthuizen, Darren Clarke, Charl Schwartzel to name a few. It was a good session via Skype and he has already uncovered some key stuff missing from the mental side of the game and in particular with my putting. I finished the session feeling very excited as I feel this is another key add in to my team. I have been given a mental challenge by Karl for tomorrow and the coming weeks so looking forward to seeing improvement!! See you next time you check in. Below are some photos of the course this week!!