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August 14^th & 15^th, 2020

Well, this is my first tournament in August. My game is feeling pretty good, but I'm still traumatized from Urbana (hopefully I don't do it again). Because of that, I have been working extra hard on my mental and physical game, and it's time to put that into play.

I'm pretty confident because I always do well on this course. Also, we're staying at Aunt Judy's place, and her couch is always good luck. Yesterday in the practice round, I was making a lot of putts on the green, and I am CONFIDENT that I will do well. Also, today is my birthday, and this is the first day of me being 14!

Starting off the first tee, I keep jumping around to get my nerves down, but that isn't working. Finally, she calls my name, and I go off to the tee box and hit it straight down the middle (not too shabby). I hit my second shot, and I PULL IT. I focus on my line and try to get it near the hole, but then, IT DROPS IN! I made my first birdie from a 33 footer! The next hole my fairway went straight down the middle, and I played it as always. I got a 9 footer for birdie, but I missed. Ahhh… maybe next time!

Now, this next shot was one of my proudest shots in the tournament. Hole 3 was a par three, and we were backed up by two groups. Finally, the group in front of us finishes. Going up to the tee box with my 6 iron, I strike the ball 2 feet from the hole! This is one of my favorite birdies in the round.

On the fifth hole, which is a par 5, I made a mistake. On the second shot, the right side is trees and the left side is completely open. I take my 3 wood, which is known to draw, and am standing on a slope. And when I strike the shot - next thing you know - it drew right into the trees (I learned my lesson there and hit a hybrid the next day). I ended up minimizing the damage and took a bogey there. The next two holes were just par and par (boring I know).

On hole 8, I struck my drive straight down the middle and had a 100 yard shot in. The pin was tucked right in the back with a 10 yard width and a slope right in front of it. I take my wedge and strike it 9 feet from the hole on the left. It was a downhill putt (the greens were fast), and I focused on my line and stroke, and next thing you know it went in! Finally back to 2 under! The next two holes were par and par again.

On hole 11, ahhh… I still remember it. I had a 107 yard shot going in, and I took my wedge, and the ball landed right next to the hole. However, for some reason, it back spinned and rolled down the hill but was still on the green. Now instead of a 3 foot putt, I had a 54 foot putt. I ended up three putting it because on my second putt for par, IT LIPPED OUT. But you know, you take what the course gives you. On the next four holes, I parred them.

Hole 16 is a par 5 with a narrow fairway on the tee shot. The wind was blowing a bit, so I hit a 2 wood and pushed my ball a little to the left, but it was still safe. I hit a hybrid to get a 80 yard shot, and I struck that to about 9 feet. I concentrated on my line and stroke, and I ended up making the putt for birdie! Now I'm back to 2 under! On hole 17 (a par 3), I clubbed down and had 54 put in for birdie. I struck it, and it hit the pin and bounced out!!! I ended up taking par for that hole.

Hole 18 is another par five. I hit a solid drive down the middle, and took a 5 iron to lay up short of the bunker. From there, I had a 80 yard shot going in, and I hit it 6 feet from the hole. Focused and determined, I putt that right on my line, AND I MADE IT IN!!! Yay! I made another birdie!

I shot -3 for that round, which was the best I did this year. Even though it was only the first day, it made me really happy because my putting had improved so much in a span of 2 months, and obviously, I shot a 69, which is one of my favorite numbers.

After the round, I took a shower, and when I was putting on my leggings, my leg felt like it broke into a thousand pieces. I don't know what happened to it, but it hurt for the rest of the week. And that same thing happened to my shoulder the next morning. I'm pretty sure it was because of my sleeping position, but I was able to get through those today.

Now today is the second day! I'm playing in the leader group with Jasmine and Alice. I've played with Jasmine before, but this was my first time playing with Alice.

I remembered that today was really windy, and my full swing and putting was not as sharp as yesterday. However, my chipping was pretty on, and the pace of play was a lot faster since we didn't have to wait on every hole.

In the front nine, I had many birdie opportunities, but they kept lipping out! I had one birdie, which was from 15 feet, and I also had some chips. My chipping was pretty good because I kept getting in 2 feet, but I had one bogey because I made a 3 putt. I ended up shooting a 36 in the front nine, which was okay; however, I was 3 down from Jasmine, who I was tied with yesterday.

I had a birdie opportunity on hole 10, but I struck it too hard, and it ended up going 3 feet past. I took a par on that hole, and on hole 11, I also had a birdie opportunity from 21 feet. However, I was too aggressive and stuck it 15 feet past. Determined, I dialed down on my line and ended up making the putt. That was such a relief!

But the next hole, my driver wasn't too pretty. The wind was "helping" the ball, so i tried to swing it really fast to gain more distance. However, I ended up pushing it left to some pretty thick rough. From there out, I had a 130 shot in, and I clubbed up and hit a 7 iron. Unfortunately, the grass "caught" my club, and I hit it 15 yards short of the green. I chipped the ball a little too far and had a 6 foot putt going in. My ball went a little off line, but it went in the hole, so I made par.

On hole 13, my driver, once again, was a little off, and I pulled it a little off line. I had a 140 yard shot going in, but the wind took it, and it went into a bunker. From there, I picked my landing spot and landed a little short of it, but I gave myself a 6 footer for par. Unfortunately, I missed it and got a bogey on that hole. Now I was three back again.

On this next hole, I struck my drive solid and straight down the middle; however, it landed in mud and my ball ended up being embedded in my own pitch mark. Instead of a 60 yard shot, I had a 135 yard shot going into the green. I took my 7 iron again and hit it straight this time, but the wind took it and I ended up being 5 yards short of the green. Close to my ball, Jasmine was the first to chip, and when she chipped it, the ball back spinned instead of rolling as usual. I took this into account for my chip, and I put it in the back of my stance and ended up making it. I got my first birdie in the back nine! I parred the next hole.

On hole 16, the wind was going against us, and I hit a 2 wood off of the tee. I hit it straight, but it bounced off of the fairway and into the rough. I take my hybrid as usual and hit it down the middle, leaving myself with a 80 yard shot. I took my gap wedge and struck it 2 feet from the hole! This was one of my best shots today, and I got a birdie on that hole. We were all tied now.

On hole 17, I made a mistake. I hit my 6 iron and struck it on the green, leaving myself with a 15 footer that was downhill. I was too aggressive and struck it 6 feet past. My hands were shaking a lot from all of my nerves, and I missed the putt. I took a bogey on that hole, and we were all still tied with each other.

On hole 18, I went for it today. I hit my drive solid and had a 205 shot going in. I decided that I would hit my 3 wood, and I pushed it a bit and left myself with a 30 yard chip. I barely chip it over the ledge and leave myself with a downhill 12 footer. I struck right down the line but left it short because I didn't want to make the same mistake as last hole. Alice and I ended up getting par on that hole, and Jasmine got a bogey on that hole. Now I was tied with Alice and Alyson for first.

We went into a 2 hole playoff. I was first to hit on hole 10, and the wind was helping. I took out my 5 iron and ended up hitting it over and onto the fringe. I putted it missed by an inch. I took a par on that hole and advanced to hole 11.

I was first to tee off again, and I ended up pushing my ball. It was safe, and I gave myself a 90 yard shot in. I pulled by ball and gave myself a 21 footer for birdie. I did not read the line right, so I missed the putt. However, Alyson had a 6 footer for birdie and made it. She won the playoff, and Alice and I took second place.

This was one of my most memorable tournaments so far. Not only did I do well, but also I took second in a Toyota Cup! I'm so happy and will be working more so that I can shoot even better next time!