andrew scott jensen

My time off has been going great.  I’m getting in lots of gym time and lots of play/practice.

I am playing very well and improving on the things I set out to work on.

I’m optimistic that this will be good to carry into the last 4 events of the season

Now that I’m back home and have had some time to reflect back on last week’s event, here is a recap of what took place.

Thursdays round was very solid, probably the most solid of the week.  I had it 2 under very fast into the round and had my name on the leader-board for the first time this year.  I was one back of the lead at 3 under.  I went on to miss the par putt and promptly remove my name from the leader-board, but it was up there!  I went on to make a few sloppy bogeys and finally 3 putted my 17th hole to finish at a 1 over 72.  I hit the ball great but really didn’t get much out of my putter.

Friday started very poorly.  I bogeyed the 2nd, 5th, and 6th holes.  I was very frustrated and convinced that I did it again and blew my chances to make the weekend.  Things made a turn on the 7th hole, however.  I hit it to 6 feet and somehow guided home the birdie.  That birdie, as lucky as it seemed, gave me the jolt that I could break out of the slump and turn things around.  I birdied the 8th, after lipping out the eagle putt.  Making the turn at 1 over, I felt good about the back nine.

The 10th hole is when everything clicked.  I really focused over a 5 footer for par, and when it dropped I was fired up to start making putts.  I made a birdie on 12 to get back to level par.  On the 14th I made a great 8 foot double breaking par save, and then I knew that I was going to make the weekend.  I birdie 15 to get under par for the day.  I promptly made a great birdie on 16 to get 2 under.  17 was when I let up a bit, I just lagged my 20 footer and was happy with par.  On 18 my adrenaline was surging, I bombed a drive on the tough hole and was left with only a wedge(I hit 7/8 irons every other round).  I hit the wedge to 15 feet and left it 3 inches short.  The birdie would have been nice, but the security of the par confirmed that I was in for the first time this year.  I shot 69 to get to 1 under for 36 holes and make the cut on the number.

I was so excited to finally play a weekend and experience that atmosphere.  Looking back, it’s no surprise that my play on the weekend didn’t follow Fridays.  I took my foot off the accelerator and was content with the made cut, and not as motivated to close in on the lead.

This made itself noticeable with my putter.  It didn’t have the fire it had from Friday.  I 2 putted every hole on Saturday, it was so aggravating.  The ball striking was still great but the passion left the putter and my head on the greens.

Sunday’s round was much of the same.  I hit the ball great but putted awful.  On the 18th tee I stood 2 over with 5 3 putts, 5!!  Awful!  I went on to make a painful triple on 18 and experience first hand how to spend money on a Sunday on tour.

The experience was great, and well needed.  I affirmed to myself that I can get into the mix, I just needed to know what it felt like.  I am very confident about the rest of the year.  I believe that getting over this hurdle will allow my play to improve and my finishes to rise.

I have 3 weeks off and will work very hard on what needs to happen for me to duplicate my ball striking, and mental state made know in recent events.  I am even more motivated to work hard on my scoring clubs, to give myself a better chance at competing well to finish the season.

There are 4 events left, and I have to play very well to climb the order of merit and keep my playing privileges for 2009.  The task ahead is rather large, but I love a challenge and I’m embracing this challenge with open arms.

My blog will take a brief break over my break, but I will keep you posted on how my work has been going during this time off.

Off to the course…

I’m finally home.

I’m working on a recap of the Players Cup, expect it up tomorrow

Until then, check out this article I wrote for a fellow golf blogger

I finally did it.  I made a cut on tour! 

I fired 72-69 to make it into the weekend.

I’m very happy but also very determined to close the 8 stroke gap between me and the lead.

I tee off at 8:39 tomorrow morning.

follow my round at cantour.com

I’m in Winnipeg this week and I have limited wireless internet access.  I’m here for our first major, The Players Cup.  This explains the delay in posting on Friday’s round in Edmonton.

Friday went great!  The weather was very difficult and I still hit the ball so well.  I missed one fairway and four greens, the best ball striking I have displayed all year.  It’s very encouraging because I’m saying that every week.  Every week is getting better, so I am very happy and re-gaining confidence very quickly.

I putted poorly again on Friday, 3 3 putts and a few missed chances turned a great round into an okay round.  I’ve put in serious work and I think I have gotten to the root of the problem on the greens.  I’m confident that I’ll start rolling it as well as I was a month ago.

The course here in Winnipeg is great, very traditional with very tough greens.  The greens will keep the scores higher this week.  This course puts a premium on keeping the ball in play.  If I can continue what I’ve been doing the past few weeks and drop a few more putts, this will be a great week.

I’m excited to play this week and then head into a much deserved break.  I feel there will be no better way than to head into the break on a high note from this event.

I tee off at 8:50 tomorrow, and 1:50 on Friday.

Thursday’s round did not live up to my high expectations.  The morning was like none I have experienced out here.  I couldn’t get anything to feel right.  My range session felt awful, my chipping and putting session were much of the same.  On top of that I kept forgetting stuff in my car, so I had to run to the car 5 times before the round started.  It was a very off-timed morning.

For much of my front nine, my timing was still off.  I would either hit it perfect or terrible, there was no middle ground.  During the wait on my tenth tee, I tried desperately to settle myself down.  I did to an extent.  My back nine was far more consistent with many birdie putts looking good, but only one falling.  I went out in a 5 over 41 and came in with a 1 under 34.  I still have a chance for Friday’s round, but I need to play a the great round of golf that I keep expecting.

Following the round, I had one of the best practice sessions of recent memory, I didn’t want to leave but some ominous clouds forced me to head home.  It was a fantastic feeling. I was flushing everything, and knowing why I was flushing it.  I have finally put the sensation into my body that my coach has been explaining to me for a few months.  I feel great, and know that if I keep working hard at ingraining this feeling my game will improve a great deal.  I followed that practice with a intense gym session.  I told myself that no matter what the rounds I play I still have to work my hardest.  My goal is the PGA Tour, and it will take all of my work ethic to get there.  I’m not letting a poor round discourage me anymore.

The Telus Edmonton Open starts tomorrow, and I feel great.

I have had 3 great days of practice out at Windemere GC.  The course is very nice, it reminds me a lot of the courses I played much of my amateur golf on.  Hopefully this familiarity will allow me to go low this week.

My game feels like it is in the place where I can back up the aspirations of going low.  I have righted the ship with the putter, and I am still striking the ball very well.  I also feel very strong mentally.  Last week I overcame a big mental hurdle.  I finally ignored what everyone else was doing and focused on what I could control.

Over the past few years I have learned that all I can control is my preparation and process.  Unfortunately, I let myself focus on too many extra things early in the season, and it has been a tough climb out of that hole.  I proved a lot to myself last week.  I proved that I can be mentally disciplined enough to stick to a game plan.

I have finally re-shifted my focus to the process.

I am optimistic about this event, and am excited about moving forward from this place.
I tee off at 8:50 off 10 tomorrow, and at 1:50 off 1 on Friday.
Follow my scores at cantour.com

Well, Friday’s round didn’t go as I had expected.  I still played very well in the windy afternoon conditions.  I made two bad swings and they resulted in double bogeys and I had a lapse in concentration and 4 putted for a triple bogey.  This resulted in a 78 and another missed cut.

The other fifteen holes were great.  I hit many great shots, some of the best I have hit in recent memory.  The highlight was a 5 iron from 205y up hill into the wind, out of a divot.  I hit the 5 iron to 4 inches.  I was 4 inches from a double eagle!!(yes, I made the tap in eagle)

Last week I successfully ignored the scoreboard for both days, and never let a potential cut number creep into my head.  This was a big victory for me considering the cut number has been haunting me every event thus far.  This mental victory will help me a great deal in finishing out the season with solid play.

The two rounds in Saskatoon were the best I have struck a ball all year.  Which is great considering I said the same thing about my rounds in Calgary.

I am finally very excited to play golf again.  I am so excited because both my self confidence and swing confidence are rising daily.  I know that when I finally get it together for a round it will be a flood of good play that follows.

I am now in Edmonton preparing for the Telus Edmonton Open.  I am optimistic that this will be the week that it comes together and I get into the mix for the weekend.  I say this because the way this tour has been panning out.  If you make the cut even on the number you are no more than 8 strokes behind, and that is not too large a task that two great rounds can’t overcome.

It really is great having this optimism about golf again.  It really fell off in May and it has taken well over a month to get back to being confident and positive again.  I have learned just how important it is to stay positive and ignore all the negativity that I have brought on myself.

I realize that I have a large task ahead of me to keep my playing privileges for next year, but I love the challenge.  I had a large task in getting my card last fall, and hopefully this similar adversity will bring the best out of my game like it did last year.

Here’s to the great few months ahead…

Today went well, I hit the ball the best I have all year.

Unfortunately, my putter was cold again.  The upside is the fact that I stroked great putts but the ball kept catching the edges of the hole and not dropping.

All of this came together for an even par 72.

I don’t know where I stand and don’t plan on finding out until after tomorrow’s round.

Here’s to the putts dropping tomorrow…

It has been some time since my last post.  I apologize for the delay of this post.  I took advantage of being with a great friend in Calgary and took in some much needed socializing with a familiar face over the weekend.

I did miss the cut last week in Calgary, but I believe a breakthrough took place.  For the first time this year, I put together two rounds back to back of solid ball striking, the most solid to date.  Unfortunately, an ice cold putter wouldn’t allow my scores to drop.

I played great on Friday.  I went into the round trying to play well and gain more confidence for the next event.  I hit the most fairways and greens I have all year.  I made 5 birdies and an eagle.  I did a great job to offset those however.  5 bogeys and a double hurt.  4 of the 5 bogeys were 3 putts, which stings even more.  I struggled all week on the slower paced greens and it certainly was the reason for the missed cut.

With the weekend off, we went to Banff on Saturday and played the breathtaking Banff Springs course and took in all the beauty.  It was a great consolation for the missed cut.  Check out the photos here to see what we experienced.

I traveled yesterday and now find myself in downtown Saskatoon, and it is very nice here.  We are here for the Saskatchewan Open.  The course is a great one.  It reminds me of Whistling Straits where Vijay won his last PGA Championship.  It is long and very links inspired.  If the wind blows(as it should in Saskatchewan) the course will be very challenging and I’m sure the scores will represent that.  I fell in love with the greens right away.  I hope this ignites my putter to really come through for me this week.

I feel very good this week.  I am trying a new approach to the scoring this week.  I will not look at the scores online at all.  It will be difficult for me, but I am determined not to.  I feel that if I have no idea where I stand in relation to the lead or the cut line I will relax a little more and just play golf.

Follow my rounds at cantour.com