andrew scott jensen

As the title suggests, I was DQ’d for the first time ever in my golfing life this past Monday.  Not exactly the return to competition I was anticipating after Q school.

Monday was the first round of a 36 hole platinum event on the Great Lakes Tour.  Thanks to overnight and morning rains, the round was delayed and my tee time was pushed from 10:50 to 1:20.  I was actually quite happy with this since I have been battling a terrible cold since Sunday.  We played 5 holes before the horn was sounded and we had to come in and wait out some more weather passing through the area.

This is where my DQ fell.  When the horn sounded, my two other playing partners had already holed out and I was the only one left to putt.  We were all unsure as to whether the horn was signaling us to come off the course or hit our next shot and take shelter.  I erred the wrong way.  I made my par putt after the siren, which promptly disqualified me from the event.  5 holes in and I was playing well, it’s very unfortunate to say the least.

What’s more is the fact that the second round was cancelled due to an unplayable course.  I was in prime shape to post a solid first round which would have cashed me a nice check and moved me up the order of merit.

I held my place on the order of merit and need a great show at the year end tour championship next week to finish in the top 10.  This was one of my goals for the year on this tour.  Considering that I will only play 10 events compared to most others playing 15, this would be a respectable campaign out on the GLT.

The tour championship is in Brantford on the 6-7 of Oct.  I’m heading for a 4 day getaway to Calgary tomorrow.  I’m excited to head out there and spend some time with one of my closest friend and his family.  It’ll be a nice change of pace to not be in the same city as my golf clubs for a few days!

I’m back home in Ottawa enjoying some rest after the grind of Q School.  I’m happy to report that I got my Can Tour card for next year!

The week was a long and stressful one to say the least!  I did a very good job of dumbing down the importance of each round of golf and just focused on having fun and enjoying the pressure that Q School brings.

out of the bunker in round 2

Here’s a brief recap of the week:

Round 1
I shot a two under 69 and was sitting in a tie for 12th.  This was a great way to start the tournament.  I was very calm and patient all day.  Some adversity came up after a double on the 7th but I handled it well with a birdie on the 8th and 3 more coming home.  The week started in the right direction!

Round 2
I shot 70 and moved up to a tie for 9th.  I was so happy to break par in this round!  I started off very slow with 2 bogeys in my first 4 and shot 2 over on my front nine.  I drew upon my patient play form the first round and just plotted myself along my second nine and finished with two straight birdies to shoot 70!

Round 3
Much like round 2, I shot 70 after a slow start, being 3 over through 8 holes.  I stayed patient and battled back with 4 birdies in my last 10 holes to post 70 and climb to a tie for 7th.

Round 4
This round didn’t go like the first 3, which was the plan! I hoped to start strong and finish strong for the final round.  I knew that no matter what happened, my strong mental state and putter would keep me in it and ultimately get my card locked up!  I was tested all day on how well I could stay focused on never giving up.  I never seemed to get any momentum and also got a handful of very poor bounces on the rock hard greens.  I finished bogey-bogey to shoot 75 and finish at even par for the tournament.  I was very disappointed to finish so poorly, but nonetheless I still hung on to a card for next year with a tie for 22nd.

I was very proud of myself on how I managed the struggle in the final round.  I could have easily gotten frustrated, lost my focus and missed a few putts and completely missed a card for next year.

My tie for 22nd gives me a conditional card for next year, which isn’t all bad.  If I play well I will shuffle out of my category and be granted more starts as the year goes on.  I’m excited at the fact that I have a card for next year.  I’m also excited that my card is conditional because it will force me to keep working hard and keep me focused on improving and not taking anything for granted like I did in 2008.

Thanks to all of you who’ve been encouraging and supporting me through your comments and emails! It’s all really helped me stay motivated and focused on working towards this goal.  Now I’m excited to make some new goals for the off-season and 2010 and look forward to sharing them with you all!

It’s been some time since my last blog…and I do apologize.  Having said that, there hasn’t been a whole lot to write about of late.  My last 3-4 weeks have been a very focused and at times very repetitive run.

I haven’t played any competition in a month so I’ve been using the time off to work very hard on my entire game.  I’ve used the time to improve my swing, and stay on top of my short game.  I’ve also shaken up my fitness routine in an effort to aid the work I’ve been doing on my swing.

What has this all looked like? Well, it’s been early mornings followed by long days of work that lead to early nights in bed.  My social life has certainly taken a hit, but it’s a necessary sacrifice in the quest to get back out and get competitive in 2010.

Canadian Tour Q School begins on Wednesday, and that’s been the motivation for the intense training regime of late.  I’ve had to look back over the last two years and draw on all that I’ve been through to help me prepare for this Q School, my 5th in two years!  I feel very sharp mentally and physically.  One major improvement is how much calmer I am approaching the event.  I’ve down-played the significance and by doing so, I feel much less pressure going into it.  My Achilles heel has been to put far too much pressure on myself before a Q School, so  through much work on my mental approach I feel great!

I’m heading down to Burlington on Tuesday to play and practice at Hidden Lake, putting the final touches on my 100% preparedness for Wednesdays first round.  My key for Q School is TRUST.  My goal is to trust myself, my game, and all the work I’ve put in since last year when I crashed and burned at Q School.

I’ll keep constant updates on my play with my twitter and will sit down to reflect on the rounds with blogs has the tournaments progresses.