andrew scott jensen

Round 3’s in the books and I managed to stay idle.  I shot 73 and still sit in T13, 1 stroke out of a conditional card and 6 strokes out of a full card.

One could look at it and say that today’s round was a decent round relative to the field…but today’s round really made me shake my head when it was all over.  I made so many dumb little mistakes today.  I had 4 penalty strokes and 3 putted twice.  Just wasting strokes away!

Today was really an internal struggle.  2008 Andrew showed up with the terribly timed poor swings.  2009 Andrew climbed back time and time again with patience and birdies at the right time.  The 3 putts were not acceptable but a little less frustrating given the poa annua greens taking the ball for some unwelcome bounces.

I’m frustrated that I didn’t make a move up the board, but I’m still very optimistic about tomorrow.  I finally struck the ball well today, hitting 13 greens.  With the exception of a loose drive and two irons into some water, the ball striking was solid.

My goal for tomorrow is to keep striking the ball solidly, find some more fairways, and trust my putter.  If I stay patient and trust my abilities, I will play well.  Like I’ve said all week, the goal is to play well.  I’ve played well all week with the exception of a few holes each round.  Here’s to hoping that tomorrow will be the first round of the week that comes together and I play well all day!

Well, today was a tough go around Morningstar.  I struggled with all aspects of my game, and it was certainly a huge test for my patience.

I shot 75 today.  Made 3 sloppy bogeys in the first 8 holes.  I turned it around between 9-14 where I never had a putt outside 12 feet for birdie.  I made 2 of them and burned the hole on 2 more.  The last 4 holes were terrible.  I feel back into the sloppy play from the first 8 and made 2 bogeys.  Needless to say, I was a little bummed after finishing as poorly as I did.

I fell back to T13 and sit 4 strokes back of a full card, and 2 strokes back of a conditional card.  I had some great practice after the round and feel like today was just a minor bump along the way.  I hope to go out tomorrow and stay patient and play well.

One round under the belt, and I’m happy with where I stand.  I shot 2 under today and sit T8, 3 strokes out of the lead.  The round was a great way to start this event.  I came out hot with 5 birdies in my first 8 holes, but cooled right off to 2 under.  My putter wasn’t there for me late in the round like I would have expected.

That being said, I’m very encouraged moving forward.  My confidence is still very high; and with every round I play, I’m learning to believe in myself more and more.  The goal was to play well, and I did.  The goal remains the same for tomorrows round.  I’m going out there to play well and that’s the only concern!

I tip it at 7:40 pst tomorrow.  I’ll tweet immediately following the round on how it went.  Follow along at twitter.com/andrewjensen

I’m sitting here on my flight from Ottawa to Vancouver, allowing what happened on Wednesday to sink in a little bit more.  It’s amazing what some time to reflect and journal about a round of golf can do for the confidence!

Wednesday was a special day.  Winning a golf tournament is always exciting, regardless of the field, event or tour… we want to win.  That being said, going into the round and throughout the round, the thought of winning was never the intention.  The intention of the day was to play well.  I went into the round wanting to see if I could trust my recent work and play well in competition looking for a boost of confidence heading into Q School.

The day started a little suspect with a double from 100 yards on my second hole.  I didn’t lose focus though, I still knew I could play well.  I birdied the next hole and knew that more could come.  The day just kept moving in the right direction.  I was playing the course for the first time so I was conservatively hitting 3 wood off all the tees.  Luckily, all my short game work paid huge dividends.  I got up and down from inside 120 yards all day.  6 Birdies and a bogey later, I stood on the 18th tee at 3 under thinking I was near the top of the leader board.

I laid up to 130 yards on the par 5 and was faced with a difficult and exciting shot to a tucked pin.  The leader board behind the green was too hard to look away from.  I saw that 3 under had been posted and was leading, with only myself and 2 other guys left on the course who could match it.

What took place for my approach shot is something that will be great for future situations like this in my career.  I began to think ahead about what could happen with a birdie, par, and bogey.  I shook it off and did my routine, but still had some bad thoughts over the ball.  I had to back away and start the routine over again.  I threw myself back into the moment and the shot at hand and ignored the consequences.  I proceeded to hit the best shot to date of my short career.  I stuffed it to 3 and a half feet from the stick!  The putt was easy and my trust in the routine really helped me beat the nerves and roll it in.

The 2 other players couldn’t match my round and I won!  It was great to hold up the trophy at the end of the day.

My confidence got the exact boost it needed heading into Q School this coming Tuesday.  I’m going into the event focused on maintaining the same thoughts and intentions to play well, and to accept where that leaves me on the leader board.  I’m left to trust that my playing well will be enough for me to be smiling after the final round next Friday.

That’s right, I won my first professional tournament on Wednesday!  I won the Great Lakes Tour event held in Newmarket, ON at Silver Lakes GC with a 4 under 68.  I’ll write a recap of the day on my plane ride to Victoria tomorrow.  I just wanted to post the exciting news!

Yesterday was my first event on the Great Lakes Tour.  Unfortunately, it was a less than stellar debut.  The weather was cold, wet, and windy…which are conditions that I’m actually very happy to compete in.  Pairing my comfort with the weather with the good vibes I had entering this event(after a long month of hard work back home in Ottawa) I went into the round expecting to play well.  Most importantly, I went into the round with the hope to find my feet again in competition after a month and a half away from it.

The first tee was awful!!!  I have no explanation for what happened, but I laid the sod over two consecutive 3 woods and dumped them both into the hazard in front of the tee.  I walked off the first hole with a quintuple bogey 9.  Frustrating, to say the least.

I chose to make the best of the blunder.  I told myself that if I made a 2 or a 9, my mental approach would have to be the same; I’d have to attack the next 17 holes with the same mindset or patience and focus and ultimately the ability to stay present.

This was a big victory for me mentally.  I didn’t let myself get concerned with what others would say or think about me playing yet another poor round, but focused on me and trying to hit great golf shots.  I played the next 17 holes well, not great but well.  I drove it well, hit a descent amount of greens, but struggled with my reads on the greens.  I played the next 17 at 2 over par, not stunning play, but play that re-assured me of the work thats been put in will pay off with patience.

So, I fired a 78 and finished well outside of the money.  But, that’s not what I’m concerning myself with.  I’m concerning myself with the process.  This round is just part of it.  I have to assess the day and take the positives and move forward, with my focus set on my next event, a one day great lakes event on the 12th of May.

If I keep moving in the right direction, this year WILL be the great year that I’m hoping for.

Well, Q School is finished, and I’m disappointed to have not gotten status back out on tour.  I played well today and shot another 2 under, 70.  This was only good for confidence since my second and third rounds really took me out of the race for a card.

This is not what I had worked toward nor expected.  It’s very humbling to work very hard for months in preparing for these four days and coming up short.  It’s a very different feeling than that of missing out last fall at Q School.  I’m not as defeated, discouraged, or depressed as I was in September, so that is progress in the right direction.

I learned a few important things this week about both my game and myself personally.  I learned that my game is SOOOOO good.  I’m making great strides of improvement with my abilities to play elite golf.  My stats were great this week, all and all my stats were better than all of last year, which is forward progress.  My mental game and my putting was solid, not great but solid enough to compete.

More importantly, I learned what is really holding me back.  When things got rough during the second round I was attacked with thoughts of “you did it again, you always do this, you always screw it up”.  Which looking back, was the thoughts to killed me all of 2008.  I tried to ignore them going into the third round but once the struggles came the same negative talk came.  Bottom line, I have to work hard on my self-belief, self-confidence, and self-talk on the golf course.  Failures happen, they don’t mean I’m a failure, I have to truly believe this if I’m to succeed as a pro golfer.

Today I went out with positive self talk and self belief as the sole objective, and it was a great experience.  I didn’t play perfect golf, I made mistakes, I left a lot out there, but not once did I let the negative talk get into my head and bring me down.  I’m very happy with todays round.

The fact that I succeeded today at a positive self-belief encourages me into knowing that I can get back out on tour.  I don’t really know what the path will look like next…and that’s okay.  Believe me, I’m still going to be working hard on getting better. This tournament just brought another thing to my attention that needs to be improved, so it’s not all lost.

Sometimes we have to take some steps backwards before we can go forward again…and I’m okay with that because at the end of the day, I’ll still be moving in the right direction

I have a long trip back home to Ottawa to think about what’s next.  I’ll write about what my future will hold when I have a better idea.  I do know one thing though, I need to get a regular job as soon as I get home.  Not the dream scenario but all part of the process!

Today was a struggle yet again.  Very disappointing to say the least.

I will more than likely not get my card for 2009.  Only a miracle round of 64 or better with some help from the players inside the number will get me back into the hunt for a conditional card when tomorrow is said and done.  I could do it, I hope to do it, but I’m not holding my breath.

…crazier things have happened…

I’ll write more tomorrow night.

Today didn’t go as hoped.  I struggled today and carded a frustrating 5 over 77.

My day started with hitting my first tee shot out of bounds and making a double.  I was on the uphill climb right away.  I did re-group well and give myself many birdie looks over the ensuing holes, but failed to convert them.  Then came my 8th hole; another ball OB, and a triple.

I was really behind the 8 ball now.

I did all I could to give myself chances at birdies(14 to be exact) but didn’t get any positive momentum going(36 putts).  The two birdies I did make were offset by two bogeys.

I was very upset after my round with the immediate thought that I threw it all away with this score.

Thanks to the long drive home I had lots of time to think and discuss my round and my “demons” with Brian, my caddy.

After some time removed from the immediate frustrations, I’m back in the positive.  I’m sitting 4 strokes out of a conditional card, and 5 strokes out of an exempt card.  This is not too daunting a gap to cover in 36 holes.  The most important thing I’m drawing on is the fact that I’ve done this before.  I’ve played well over the final 36 holes of Q School, which are the most important holes.  There are no guarantees after 2 rounds, all ground is made up or lost over the final two.  I’m hoping to draw on the experience from 2007 Q School to allow me to do it again this year.

I tee it up at 8:40 tomorrow morning with a good buddy, which will be great to push each other to play well.

Well, one round is in the books here at Florida Q School and I’m very pleased with my start to the tourney.  I fired a two under 70 today and sit in a tie for 7th place and 5 back of the lead.

Looking back on the round, I’m very encouraged!  I didn’t have my best stuff out there but managed to get something out of it.  I really struggled off the tee and was band-aiding it the best I could.  Thankfully, I was keeping it between the trees and my irons were finding the greens.  I made some nice putts early that allowed me to trust that the putter could potentially save the ball striking today.

I made the turn even and then proceeded to hook a 5 iron way let and into a hazard on the 11th, which led to a double and put me at 2 over par for the day.  I settled down on 12 and then had a big turn around on 13.  I made a great swing and stiffed it to 4 feet for a birdie 2…

I missed the putt!

As opposed to getting frustrated and thinking that my putter would let me down yet again, I dug deep and focused on giving myself chances for birdies coming home.

I birdied the next 4 holes in a row! I made an 8 footer, 2 footer, another 8 footer and a 15 footer.  The putter was not letting me down like last year.  I made a great up and down on 18 for par and was very pleased with the start to Q School.

Today is very encouraging because my mind and my putter kept me in it, which is exactly what I’ve spent the winter months working on.

Tomorrow we play Silverthorn, not Southern Hills like today.  I really liked Silverthorn when I saw it Sunday, which is always a good feeling.  I hope to carry the momentum from my last 5 holes today into tomorrows round.

Here’s to another solid round tomorrow…