I’m starting to run out of fingers to count how many times I have entered European Tour School, but the desire to make it is still as strong as it was in 2006 when I first took the plunge!
But this year feels different! I’m ready, my prep has been better than all previous attempts and I’m excited about what the future holds!
Golf is a sport where you go through many ups and downs, both physically and mentally, and this year has been no exception. But, as they say, what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger and I feel I’m getting better at learning from mistakes and taking as much as possible from all my rounds of golf.
I love learning about the game, and my game especially, and golf is the sort of game you never stop learning, as no one shot or round is ever the same!
Anyway, time to take off! So iPad off or the cabin crew will be after me!
….so, two and a half days’ of practice complete, and everything ticked off on my ‘to do’ list! Let’s see what 4 days of golf bring, every shot counts!!!
Golf round up:
Four rounds at 2nd stage Tour School saw me shoot scores of 64, 70, 67, 68, to WIN the qualifying stage on -15 by 5 shots!
*After winning Second Stage @ Lumine with Mike Stewart from the European Tour*
I am absolutely ecstatic at achieving my goal for the week, but I did feel that with the hard work I had put in, and the previous three weeks of competitive golf in the Emirates, I was ready to post some good numbers.
I’ve done some great work with Mark Pearson my coach and also Iain Highfield (Leap Golf) on my process and many parts of the mental game which gave me a massive boost going into the last 6 weeks too!
I really feel to have taken the emphasis off my scoring and back onto the only things I can control, such as my routine!
So, after a great week it’s time to wipe that slate clean and start a totally new tournament at Stage 3 (PGA Catalunya, near Girona).
As I said, it’s my first time at the finals, so it will be great to compete for that European Tour card! But let’s not forget, it’s only another 18 holes of golf each day! (for 6 days).
Can’t wait to try and keep doing what I have been doing these past 6 weeks and enjoy myself whilst I’m at it!
Hopefully the next golf round up will be as positive…..!
Final stage…
So the plan was… Try to get through second stage… Fly home on the Tuesday night, have a day and a half with the girls, repack the bags, and start afresh catching a flight (that I had prebooked) on the Thursday afternoon back to Girona (just in case I qualified!).
*the worst hotel iron ever*
So, I did qualify but as it ran over a day, due to very high winds, it meant I missed my flight home and could not get back, so subsequently missed my other flight… Bugger!
So two and a half weeks on the road again! Missing home already!
Me and Dan Gavin both got through at Lumine so we jumped in the car and headed north back up past Barcelona to Girona to prepare for final stage.
It was only a couple of hours but we were both very glad to crash out on arrival and get set for 9 long days of golf!
Prep starts now…
I had played PGA Catalunya in a pro-am a few years back; it’s a great venue, 2 fantastic courses (“Stadium” and “Tour”), brilliant facilities, so no excuse not to get your game in shape…. the only difference from the pro-am, we play the Tour course as a par 70 not a 72, so a little tougher.
This really is a challenging week on the Tour Schedule and just looking down the list of players here you realise the standard you are up against…
Richard Finch, Bradley Dredge, Philip Price, Nick Doherty, Anton Haig, Johan Edfors, Oliver Wilson and Rhys Davies.
Only the top 25 and ties gain a European Tour card from the 1000+ that enter and the 150 players that made it to the final stage… So here’s how it went…
Rd1: I played really solidly in places and hit it close plenty of times; if anyone had a peep at my scorecard I actually made 9 birdies, closing with three in a row to shoot -4. A great start; just cut out the errors and it should be easy…. Whatever!!!!!
Rd2: Now for the tough test, and did I make it tough! I was actually cruising on -2 through 12 holes and not actually playing that well. I then stood on the 4th tee, a demanding tee shot, and that day it played into a breeze. I planned to punch cut a three wood as hard as I could… Sound good?
I caught it well but out of the bottom of the club, it then snagged in the foot long rough at the end of the tee box and dive bombed into the sh*t!! Disaster, I ended up carding an 8 then doubled the 6th two holes later.
I ended up crashing in with a 77 +5, a great way to try and throw yourself out of the school! It felt like serving detention for a whole year!!
Rd3: Back on the “Stadium” course again, but this time in a very, very strong wind! For me, this was probably a good thing, I seem to commit to shots better in the wind and a good score on a day like this would move me up the board more.
After a shocking start I managed to pull myself together and play some good stuff! I made some clutch birdies and hit it to a foot on the 4th and 6th to make two birdie 3s.
I played those two holes in 8 shots better today!
I really don’t know where I found that mental strength to dig deep, but those next 16 holes were key, and the highlight of the year, and it gave me a chance the following day!
Rd4: I found myself in T67th position after three rounds and the top 70 make the cut to play the final two days.
I was back on the “Tour” course so I knew there were plenty of chances out there, as I proved in round one. But today I HAD to make them.
A poor bogey on the first after hitting the flag with my second shot (8 iron) was not the ideal start! But a nice run of 4 birdies in a row from holes 4-7 got me going. After a slightly nervy finish bogeying 17 but then making a career birdie up the last I comfortably made the cut which was -2 (I was -4).
A massive sigh of relief and a FULL CHALLENGE TOUR category for next year guaranteed, along with a category and membership on the European Tour before even playing the last two rounds.
*another exciting night of life on Tour, iPad on, rugby world cup, stuck in a rubbish hotel*
Rd 5 & 6: (both on the “Stadium”)
Over both rounds I played ok, nothing spectacular, probably not aggressive enough at times and perhaps I didn’t really give my putts enough of a chance.
But after 32 holes I found myself -8 total and in with a realistic chance of getting into the top 25!
What an amazing experience and exactly what I have been practising for!
A sloppy bogey up the 6th did not help the charge but then I played the last three holes great. Under the ‘gun’ I committed to my targets and hit some quality shots.
On my penultimate hole I nearly slammed my 8 iron on the par three straight in but failed to convert the birdie. Then on my last hole, the 9th, after a long wait I hit my best drive of the day followed by a text book 4 iron from 200 yards all over the flag!
In the end this shot needed to go in (looked like it may) but it landed over the flag and bounced up to an impossible position where I then made a double.
I can honestly say I walked off the course after 6 rounds very happy and knowing that I gave it everything, but this year it was not quite my time! But after the position I got into I now know that my time will come and I will be ready.
This game is a massive learning curve, and I can’t wait for the winter to get my game in better shape for the coming year on the Challenge Tour, where for the first time I will be able to plan the year and play all the big events with my new improved category!!!
I hope you enjoyed a little more of a detailed blog on my actual golf this time as I got up to nothing else for 20 days…. Golf, eat, sleep, golf, eat, sleep, – every day!
So it now only leaves me to thank everyone again for all their messages of support these last few weeks on Twitter, email, Facebook and text! It really makes being away a lot easier.
Hope to catch up with many of you around Christmas, but if I don’t, I hope you have a fantastic time and let’s make 2014 an even better year!
Thanks as always.
Chris