It barely seemed like I had left the course after round one before I was back there again for round two. My alarm going off at 4:15am was very rude to say the least and I was unsure how my body would feel about hitting balls at 5am.
The good news was that my alarm worked and I wasn't going to miss my tee time. Arriving at the course it was nice and calm and not a breath of wind. Once again I was hitting the ball well in my warm up and I stride to the first tee feeling good and confident of a good showing.
My tee shot down the first found the left trap and despite being the first player in there for the day, I drew a horrendous lie and was no chance of hitting it on the green. I pitched my third to around 10 feet but missed the putt for a bogey 5 to start the day. My old boss during my traineeship once said to me that sometimes your best rounds can start with a bogey, so I was now hoping that would be true.
I played two solid holes and had good looks at birdie on both but missed them. The fourth hole I found the rough and came up short with my second. A poor pitch left me with too much to do and before long another bogey was on the scorecard.
This wasn't in my plan heading to the course today and like the first round I found my self at two over and needing to rally. It was all about trying to do a great job playing my mental games, matching my kitchen swing feel with the one I was serving up. That was something I managed to do over the next 7 holes as I managed to pick up 4 birdies and 3 pars.
It has been a funny week really, playing really well in patches and then throwing in some poor shots and struggling for periods. No doubt part of it is nerves and tension and I need to find the way to relax and enjoy it more. Let go of the outcome even more.
I managed to make two more bogies and two more birdies over the next 4 holes arriving at the 18th tee. For the first time in the day the wind was now really up and straight into my face on the par 4 430m finishing hole. I hit an ok drive into the wind but still has 203m to the pin. I hit 2 iron and came up short and right of the green in some nasty rough. Given that the pin was on the right side by only 4m, it wasn't a good leave and was a particularly tough shot. I hit an average shot to be honest and once again my short game just wasn't quite up to scratch and I was left with 30ft for par.
While I was waiting for my playing partner to play I took the chance to look around and embrace the moment. The big 2 story grandstand was full already, the big screen to the side of the green was scrolling through scores. I was very surprised to see that I was tied 11th and I think that inspired me to hit a great putt that seemed to pause on the front lip of the hole before dropping in, almost in slow motion to the big cheer from the crowd.
Relieved, I headed to the scorers hut knowing I was done and dusted for the day and with the wind starting to pick up I knew I would be in a reasonable position by the end of the day. That turned out to be true and I start the third round in a tie for 10th. I am very excited about the opportunity to play over the weekend in the National PGA Championship, the first time I have done it in 3-4 attempts.
Here's to hoping that I move in the right direction on moving day!!!