July 14, 2009
Tuesday's Results
A Conversation with Brendan Livingston
Tuesday, July 14: Better, But Just Short
It was an early morning today when the alarm went of at five o'clock. After a quick drive to the course I was feeling very good during my warm-up on the driving range and the putting green. I started today on the 10th hole and did not get off to the greatest of starts.
The 10th hole that we played today was a hole that we did not play yesterday and I ended up making a bogey when I came up short of the green after my second shot in the long fescue. I rebounded well with a par on the par five that I had made a double bogey on the day before.
I followed that with two birdies in a row on a short par-three and a par-four. On the par-four my second shot ended up on the front of the green, when I putted it up it went past the hole. The slope was so severe that the ball started coming backwards to the hole and ended up going in.
I struggled to bring it in on my first nine again with a couple mental mistakes coupled with a few poor swings. When I made the turn I was faced with some lengthy par putts that I was able to convert, which gave me some confidence to try to build off.
On my 15th hole I made a sloppy bogey and told myself to try to bring it in strong and we will see what happens. On my 16th hole I made a solid par on the par-three that measured 195 yards. I followed that with a good up and down on the 17th for par.
My last hole of the day the par-four ninth that played 436 uphill. I hit a good drive, but my second missed to the small target to the right. I had a downhill chip left that I played to aggressively and made a bad bogey to leave a bad taste in my mouth to finish the day.
After all the numbers were added up it was a 78, better then yesterday but not good enough. I can think of a lot of shots that I left out on the course and I am disappointed with the way it finished. It has showed me I still have some hard work to do to be able to be ready for the start of the season. I felt both days that physically my game and my swing is in pretty good shape but I have to work on my mental preparation and my game/course management.
It was a great test of golf for the two days on a great golf course. I wish I could have played better and made it to the match play portion but I learned what I need to work on for the upcoming season and in the long run it will make me a better player. I will be working hard until the US AM qualifier in a couple weeks at Maple Gate golf club and we will see where my game is at that point.
I want to thank everyone who has read this as well as my friends and family for their support. I would also like to thank my good friend Chris Rogers who was a great caddie and really helped me out for the two days.
Monday, July13: The First Round
Just got back after a long, rough day at the golf course. We played the Open course today which was very challenging. The pins were in some difficult positions on the very small greens which made it hard to be aggressive.I started out very well and played the first seven holes at even par and was feeling very good about what I was doing. Then I made a few mistakes on the next few holes, including short-siding myself on the eighth hole, three-putting the next hole, and having to take an unplayable on the par-five ninth.
The back nine starts out with a few long, tough holes and I made a few mental mistakes. I started to get it back with a birdie on the par four 17th but followed it with a bogey on the 18th hole, when the wind knocked my ball out of the air on my second shot a I ended up in the front bunker.
All in all I ended the day with an 81 - not what I had in mind starting the day.
The good news is I didn't shoot myself out of it. If I can put together a solid round Tuesday I could get myself right back into the hunt before the cut to the low thirty two players. The scores right now are very grouped and last time I checked I was only five shots out of the 32 spot.
I hope to get of to a fast start early tomorrow morning and get right back into it on the regular course not the open course.
Sunday, July 12: The Night Before
I qualified for the Massachusetts Amateur Championship at Foxboro Country Club last month which is very exciting. The championship starts on Monday at The County Club in Brookline which has held U.S. Open Tournaments as well as the 1999 Ryder Cup.
I have been working hard on my game and feel that I am well prepared. I have worked with my coach Skip Guss and he has really helped me since I started working with him at the beginning of the season. The first two days are stroke play and then they make a cut to the low thirty two players who go into the match play portion of the championship.
My day one tee time is on Monday at 12:18 in the afternoon wave. I plan on being able to post some good news Monday night.
