Coming into the tournament this week we had a long break on the Alps Tour, there was no scheduled events in August so I have had a nice bit of time off and chance to refresh and practice hard. I was able to assess my game and also went to see a psychologist whilst I was home to get my head back into the right state mentally for tournaments as the last couple of months have been a struggle.
This week’s event was in the beautiful mountains of Cervinia, Italy. We were at 2000 metres above sea level and in the valley of some very large mountains. At the glacier it was 4050 metres above sea level. Unfortunately I was unable to get the lift up to this as I needed to practice more on one of the practice days. I was able to get plenty of preparation in for this tournament and played many holes as well as plenty of time on the range and also plenty of time on the greens. I really liked the course and I felt like I had an opportunity to play aggressive as there were plenty of wedges which I have been working on a lot. There was also a chance to hit driver and play aggressive which I like to do.
Day One:
I was out early on day one and knew that if I could get off to a steady start then it would ease me into the round nicely as I knew I was bound to have some competitive rust from having a month off. I bogeyed my first hole (10th) a tough par 3 before making a par on 11 and then hitting a great shot on the par 3 to make a birdie and get back to level after 3 holes. I then went on to make eagle from the fairway bunker on the par 5 13th. Unfortunately I bogeyed 15,16,17 to reach the turn in +1. I started my back nine perfectly by driving the first green and making an easy two putt birdie. I then almost had a hole in one on the second leading to a tap in birdie. I then played solid for the remainder of the holes and missed a couple of great opportunities before dropping a really soft shot on the 7th my 16th hole. I hit it to six feet on the 9th (my 18th) and felt like if I holed this then it would have been a solid first round. Unfortunately I missed the putt which left a sour taste in my mouth over lunch. I was extremely rusty this first round and knew that there was plenty to build on. One positive I took though was the amount of birdies I had made which in previous tournaments I had been struggling with. Level par was a solid round to build on although the leader shot a 57 (-11). I managed to get in a lot of practice in the afternoon and figured out my swing to eradicate the right misses I had going on off the tee.
Day Two:
This week I was lucky with the draw and we had the best of the weather. In the morning on day two it was cold and wet but when we played in the afternoon we had little rain and it wasn’t as cold although it was still fresh. Today was a day where I felt great going into. In previous months I probably would have been uptight and worried about the cut and making mistakes but honestly I felt like I could gain shots on the lead today and knew that I was playing well enough to make a ton of birdies. On day two I teed off the first and played the course the normal way around. I got off to a really hot start and birdied the first two holes with ease. I then pared three before picking up another shot on 4, this meant I was -3 through 4. I kept pressing forward and missed a couple more great opportunities on the front nine. I went into the back nine at -3 and in great shape. I hit the fringe on the tough par 3 10th and had a poor 3 putt bogey. I managed to bounce back straight away with a birdie on 11 before making an eagle on 13 for the second day in a row, this time with a chip in. This left me at -5. I kept pressing and hit it to 6 feet and 10 feet on the next two holes but couldn’t capitalise on these. I made a huge error with my second shot into 16 and left myself in an awkward spot which I unfortunately didn’t get up and down from. I parred 17 before holing a good putt on 18 for birdie. This meant that I had shot a 63(-5) and was back in the tournament. I played great today and it could have been a lot better if it wasn’t for a couple of poor errors and a couple more putts dropping. Nevertheless I was extremely pleased with the round and it was great to see all of my hard work paying off.
Day 3:
Today was probably the most pleasant day of the three although pretty chilly. I knew that if I could get off to a hot start then I could really make a charge at the top of the leaderboard quickly. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be the case today. I was pretty useless compared to yesterday and all parts of my game let me down at different times in the round. I drove the green on 1 before 3 putting for par and then parred the next three holes. From here I had the strangest run of holes I’ve ever had with some great golf and some shocking golf. From holes 5 through to 14 I didn’t have a par. From hole 5 I went birdie, bogey, birdie, double bogey, bogey, birdie, birdie, bogey, bogey, birdie. This was a crazy run which left me at +1 for the day. I then had a steady finish although missing a short putt on 17 which left me going round in +2. A very poor day at the office and frustrating after the round I had yesterday.
Overall I am very pleased with the direction that my golf is heading. I have worked very hard on the mental side of the game and felt completely in control of my emotions and myself all week which is a huge step forward for me. This tournament wraps up my year on the ALPS Tour. A lot to take from the year, I have learnt a lot about myself and also about the lifestyle on tour. It most definitely is not all glamour. It will be nice to a have a few less travel days in the upcoming months. Next up for me is European Tour Q School at Frilford Heath which starts on 1st October- 3rd October. I am looking forward to getting back on the grind and working really hard on the aspects that need refining. I really feel like I have turned the corner this week and I am sure there are many successful weeks to come in the near future!
Many Thanks
Jack
