Today is tuesday and i just got home to Orlando from my tournament in Texas. I played the HP Boys Championship and I played great. I knew from the first day that I got to the course that it was going to be a good week, I had a sense of calmness in me so I felt positive from the first day. We played a course named Carlton Woods it was a private course and very exclusive with excellent layout and lightening fast greens.
In the last couple of months the main thing I have been working on has been my mental game, I had a tendency of beating down on myself and getting very negative after poor shots. But this week that was the main focus trying to stay positive and looking forward instead of back at the negative and what can I say it worked :)...
The first day I played very solid shooting 35+35= 70 -2 with 2 bogies and four birdies. The second day was very equal with 1 bogie and 3 birdies shooting 35+35= 70 -2 after the round I was tied for 1st place with one other kid named Bobby Wyatt and a few guys at -3 total Jordan Spieth, Emanillio Grillo. So I just thought to myself if I go out and do the same thing I had been doing the last two days the Championship is mine!!!
So I went off in the last ball at 9.48am being a little nervous but in control. I played well the first 13 holes but never really got to make any putts so that I could hold the lead. But when we got to 15th tee I was 3 shots behind the lead, so I had to pump myself up and get mentally in the game, because when I am under pressure that's when I start performing well. So I set a goal for to birdie the last 4 out of 4. I birdied 15 but Bobby Wyatt who was leading by 3 three then bogied so I was only 1 behind. I missed a 20 footer on 16, then I proceeded to birdie 17 and then it was all tied. What I then figured out after 17th hole was that Jordan Spieth in the goup in front of me was also tied with us at -5. So I knew I had to birdie 18 to at least tie or maybe even win, I hit my second shot to 10 feet, and Bobby Wyatt bogied from the middle of the fairway, so I had a 10ft putt to win the tournament by 1 shot over Spieth, I hit a perfect putt but the ball didn't go in so I looked over at Jordan and smiled because I knew now it was time for a playoff. Ending up with a total score of -5 70+70+71.
In the playoff we were both a little nervous I think but in a good way, we both got up and down on the first playoff hole to tie on a par 4. The second time Jordan hit his ball toward a fairway bunker where he got a funky lie, I pured my driver down the middle to a easy second shot. Jordan had to lay up short of the green so that to a little pressure of me so I could just go ahead and swing comfortably with my 9 iron from 142yds. I was perfectly on line with the pin and I yelled out "be right" and I saw it land 1ft away from the hole and the audience went nuts :) it was a great feeling walking up to the green knowing that the Championship was in my hands because Jordan had an impossible chip. I knocked my birdie putt in the hole and I felt great... Jordan came over to me and said "that's a hell of a shot under pressure" and I gave him a hug. It was a great experience to put away the tournament myself rather than letting my opponent mess up :)
This is probably the golf experience I have ever had so far in my career but hopefully there will be many to come in the future.
Now its back to a normal day with school work and golf practice, see you next time....
