Can’t hate a top 10
The Monroe Invitational. In a week that felt like a whirlwind, I now have time to reflect on it, both the good and the bad (although I will admit there was a ton more “good” throughout the week).
Getting into the field just a couple days before the first round, I made it a priority to feel “settled”, as if I had known I was playing in the tournament well beforehand. I did a few extra mindfulness sitting meditations for about five minutes in the hotel room. All my mindfulness has been taught by Arthur Hoffman, and we have worked together since I was in high school. We connect each month or so to see if I need anything extra in order to feel as present as I can on the course and in my daily life.
Once I felt settled, it was time to practice. Whenever I get to the course for the practice round, my main objective is to get lines off the tee with different clubs, and most importantly, dial in the speed of the greens. I have picked up on a couple of drills I will share later on from some really good players in an attempt to dial in the “feel” of seeing greens for the first time.
The course was set up pretty tough. The greens were really firm which would leave difficult up and downs if missed and making tucked pins virtually impossible to get close to, but fairways were pretty generous which is always nice. I would have to rely on my iron play, which I love to do, considering it’s one of the better parts of my game. Hitting it to 25 feet all day will never hurt, and if I were to see a putt drop, then I can heat up a little bit.
Round 1: Wednesday was about settling into the tournament, making stress-free pars and the only goal is to not play myself out of the tournament. Even a good score always. However, the day was anything but stress-free, as I made a 6 footer for bogey to start the day; not ideal. A day that included 6 bogeys and 5 birdies, I hung around to shoot 1 over par 71.
Round 2: Playing with the same group as the day before, there were little nerves. I felt more comfortable and felt like I could free up the game plan a little bit, being a touch more aggressive when I had a wedge in my hand or a shot that fit my eye. A back nine 32 got me to 4 under for the day, -3 for the tournament and vaulted me way up the leaderboard and into the second to last group for the 3rd round.
Round 3: With a 12:30 tee time, there were more than enough seconds to count down before heading to the golf course. I tried to sleep in as much as I could, but that only got me to about 8 am. Oddly nervous, I scroll through tik tok and watch The Office letting time pass. Once on the golf course, I was totally comfortable, which was funny looking back on it. I played with two new kids, who play in the SEC and Big 12. Both were super impressive the whole day, I even was floored with some drivers they hit, yet when adding up the scores, I beat them both.
Final Round: After a 2 under 68 yesterday, I went into this round with a mindset pretty similar to every day prior. “Let me make a bunch of good swings and hopefully the putts drop.” Sitting 3 over thru 10, I wasn’t pleased with the day. I ended up birdieing holes 12 and 13 to get it back to 1 over on a tough scoring day, yet would double 17 and three putt 18 to sign for 74, definitely not my best.
A 1 under finish for the week put me a T6, not bad for being the last man in. This event has been a huge confidence boost. When I feel in control, I honestly believe I can beat anyone. More importantly, I am excited to come back to Pittsford, New York and compete in the Monroe next summer.
