My debut on Tour …
What an exciting week it has already been and such a great experience it will be regardless of the result. I do know one thing for sure though, and that is that this environment, these facilities, the whole setup is definitely something I could get used to week in week out.
I do know it’s only a small event on the European Tour schedule, but it’s on the schedule and that can only mean one thing … It is my debut!
So after a few days’ practice, and raiding the Titleist and Mizuno Tour van for as many goodies as possible for me and Steve (caddy), I was set to tackle the very windy and very tricky Saint Omer GC in France.
I had only heard crazy things about this place from many of the players, and no one really had anything positive to say, so I was looking forward to making my own judgement.
After practice round …
I’ve certainly not played many courses like this one, it’s very similar to home soil to play off, but the greens are pure, fast and very, very sloped in parts! The number of stories I’ve heard from fellow pro’s of balls running back into bunkers off greens over and over again just shows how tricky it is. Patience will certainly be required and taking the rough with the smooth a must!
Rd 1 – 8.10am
Well round 1 certainly had its fair share of ups and downs!! 6 birdies, 4 bogeys and a double…! It’s a good job I hit it close a fair few times out there, as it could have been interesting. But on a positive note it’s great to make the most of a round when you are clearly not firing on all cylinders.
That really is something I’ve learned more and more and really appreciate how good the guys at the top are who hardly give a shot away to the course. Tiger has been such an
example of this.
After a bit of lunch and some practice, and with the weather being as shocking as it is, myself, Laura and Jess headed off to ‘Blockhaus d’eperlecques,’ a mile from the caravan site we were staying in.
This was a bunker where the Germans built V2 rockets in World War 2, and bombed England with over 10,000 of them. It really was quite an eerie place knowing what happened there and how the prisoners of war were treated.
I guess it puts things in perspective when playing golf, and understand how lucky we all are to do what we all do!
Friday: I had an afternoon start for round 2 (1.05pm). So I stuck at my normal routine – headed up to the club for some practice, followed by lunch in the players’ lounge before I started my warm up.
This pretty much stays the same week in week out …
10 mins putting, (pace work)
5 mins chipping, (variety of shots)
30 mins hitting balls, (all clubs)
5 mins putting, (holing out)
10 mins early in the tee (meet partners, relax)
TEE OFF!
I played very similar to round 1, and as my tweet said – it was a round of the good, the bad and the ugly!
But as everyone knows, there are no pictures on any scorecard and I signed for a pleasing 68 (-3) to move up the field to T3rd, one shot behind the leaders. That was a satisfying start to my European Tour debut.
The cut fell at +3 with notable names such as Simon Dyson not making it to the weekend.
I was pretty hopeful for rounds 3 and 4 if I could cut out the bad shots from my game and still make a few birdies. But to start the 3rd round with three bogeys and not really hit a bad shot was disappointing. That just shows how tricky this course is, and why it’s so hard to explain to everyone at home that I’m not playing too bad but scores don’t suggest that … Crazy game, crazy course!
Round 4 was pretty similar, but the weather was nice! And I really could not believe that the best score of the day was -4 and that there were only a few others under par. Again, another example of a tough course, when the standard is so high on the European Tour.
I made a few poor bogeys near the end and fell back to T42nd, a shame after such a great start! But for my debut on Tour, I have to be pretty happy knowing I can compete and that I have posted a bit more money on the Challenge Tour OOM and I’m now on the Race to Dubai OOM on the European Tour!
That’s the start of dreams and ambitions!
So a long drive back North after getting the EuroTunnel and a week with my family, recharging before I set off on the CT journey again to Austria.
I can’t wait to learn more about my game and hopefully compete again somewhere near the top!
I will keep you posted
Chris
@hansonprogolf