Sunday, April 27, 2014

Sarasota, FL

The victory is still sweet.  It’s been almost a month since I won but dang, I am still smiling.  It was a great week and turned out to be an even better week when I got home to Arizona.  I was playing in a practice round for the US Open Qualifier at DC Ranch in Scottsdale and I made a hole-in-one from 203 yards.  Ping i20 4 hybrid.  I didn’t even hit it that great.  The pin was tucked back behind a bunker and I knew it was either in the hole or over the green. The greens were extremely firm and no one really paid attention to my “that might be in” comment.  As we drove around to the back of the green I saw no ball so I ran out of the cart without a putter and sprinted towards the cup.  I peeked in. Ball! There was paint on the ball from it banging into the pin.  It had some steam on it.  I was being hosted by a Canadian couple who I had just met 30 minutes prior.  I get a little loud on hole-in-ones (3 in the last 9 months; 4 total) but thankfully they were just as excited as I was.  After that round, I needed to take a break from golf.

Since the win, I’ve been in countless airplanes and hotel rooms. It’s the story of my life.  The Tour had three weeks off and I chose to continue traveling.

Billy and I went to Vegas for the American Country Music Awards.  We were originally only going to be there for 24 hours but upon arriving, we were given free tickets to the Tribute to the Troops filming so we decided to stay an extra night.  I was able to see my man Keith Urban two nights in a row!  What more does a girl need?  We flew back to Phoenix at six on a Tuesday morning, arrived an hour later, drove home, unpacked, repacked, and I was back at the airport to head to OKC that afternoon.  Insane. So much for rest.  I visited the family for a few days and got to see my sweet baby niece who is getting so much older!!  Being an aunt is very important to me and I am doing my best to see her every two months or so.  I want her to know me and know how much I cherish and love her. 

I spent one week home in Phoenix to practice hard and get the cobwebs off my golf game.  I had taken 10 days off from the game and it was much needed.  I was able to lay out in my swimming pool a few afternoons and attend my church CCV for Easter Sunday. 

I flew out the day after Easter for a 5-week stint.  That’s a long time to be gone from home.  It’s an even longer time gone with each week dedicated to a golf tournament.  My first week on the road just ended in Sarasota, FL. We had the Guardian Retirement Championship at Sara Bay CC.  It is a 1926 Donald Ross design.  Typical insane greens so I got a lot of good chipping practice in.  I gave it my best but had too many unforced errors aka three putts.  I believe I had 6 three putts and shot 6 over.  That hurts.  I fought hard and had a ton of great par saves but it wasn’t my week to really get into contention.  I finished t-24th and dropped down to the 3rd spot on the money list.  47 more golf rounds this season…

I drove down to Ft. Myers, FL tonight and checked into my hotel and made my new “home” home.  It’s important to me to get settled in and put all my things where they belong in a hotel room.  It is not fun digging out of a suitcase all week and I like to make it as cozy as possible.  The majority of girls on Tour either stay in host housing or share a hotel with another player.  I LOVE staying by myself.  I can easily entertain myself and I love my “me time.”  I shy away from the “locker room” talk that almost always leads to negative golf talk so I prefer staying by myself.  I feel like I can play my best when I go this route. 

Tomorrow I am rating Calusa Pines in Naples, FL. It is ranked in the Top 100 on the Golf Digest List.  I try my best to sneak away on my days off and knock out as many Top 100 courses as I can.  This will be a fun round and not one I’m trying to grind to post a score.  It’ll be another busy tournament week on a new course for the Symetra Tour.  I am happy to be in a new town that I can discover and make some time for the beach.  I’m looking forward to a new week and planning on making it a more successful one than the last.


Thanks for your continued support! 

No comments:

Post a Comment