andrew scott jensen

Today was my second attempt at qualifying for a PGA Tour event.  The pre qualifier for the PODS Championship was at one of the most challenging courses I have ever played.  To add to the challenge, the weather was very interesting today.  It was around 10 degrees and the wind was blowing a steady 30-40 mph.

All that being said, I missed by 2 shots from advancing into the Monday qualifier.

I shot 77!

77!

Last week a 75 was out by 5, this week 77 is out by 2.  I think it speaks for itself how challenging the day was.  It was survival golf, make as many pars as possible.

I was frustrated for sure(and I took it out in the gym this evening)

I played very well the entire day, but struggled to survive with pars on my last 5 holes.  Maybe because my practice round was cut short due to weather yesterday, so I missed out on playing 14 through 18.  They were some very difficult closing holes.  I played those 5 holes at 4 over par.  I was coming right into the teeth of the wind and it was very difficult to hit the green and then getting up and down was no cake walk.

Here’s some examples:
17- 479 yards par 4 uphill right into the wind to a very sloping green.
18- 459 yards par 4 dead into the wind with a very sloping green.

I had putts at par on both holes, but could not convert.  Making them would have got me through.

Even though I did not get through, I have a load of positives to take away from this round.
-I trusted the minor change made in my setup.
-I only hit one bad shot, 2 less than last week.
-I made putts!  progress from last week.
-I hit a lot of half shots,cuts,draws: really controlling my ball, something  I have been working very hard on.
-The weather was great learning for eventual St. Andrews, Pebble Beach etc…

The forecast for tomorrow is terrible.  It will be a day to stay indoors and get some good work in the gym done, and then relax with a good book.

Looking back over these past two rounds, I am very proud of my play.  The scores don’t reflect my ball striking or attitude.  Getting the ball in the hole in fewer strokes on tour is something I must learn.  I will take tomorrow to have a serious assessment of what it will take to turn any round into something a few strokes lower.

Though I did not reach the goals set for these events, I learned a great deal.  I will allow these two rounds to teach me as much as possible.  I will take all this knowledge into my next event and so on and so on.

Next on the schedule is March 24th and a Nationwide Tour monday qualifier in Louisiana.  I have just under a month to tune up and get that much better and able to compete for one of the 14 spots up for grabs.

I only have 4 more weeks here in Florida!  I can’t wait to hit the road and have the Canadian Tour season start.  I can’t wait to start working on achieving the goals for 2008.

Here’s to learning and growing from past experiences…