:: March 11
30th MARCH 2011
It has been a really positive 2 weeks of form as we head into the first major of the year.
My T5th at the Transitions Championship was some of the best ball striking I have ever had! Through 3 rounds I believe I lead driving accuracy and greens in regulation and was hitting it 9 feet closer on average than the next guy! That's a lot! Then Sunday came along! I actually got off to the perfect start hitting good shots, rolling the putter well and thinking well. I was -1 through six holes and feeling good. Then I seemed to hit a wall! 4 bogies in a row came from doing very little wrong. A little bad luck, then a couple poor chips and then a mental error chasing a pin that deserved respect! It's amazing how fine the lines can be out there. I feel that I wouldnt have done anything differently starting the day and felt confident so I think on this occasion it's best not to over analyze!
This doesn't mean to say I wasn't mad! I found the first few days a battle at Bay Hill for Arnold Palmer's tournament. Staying patient wasn't coming easily and again I was playing really well and not getting much out of it! But just like at Transitions, if you commit to doing the right things, generally you'll get rewarded and this happened on the last 9 on Sunday. Possibly one of the best 9's I've ever played. The pin placements were as tough as I've ever seen and the greens hard and fast! It felt more US Open than a PGA Tour event. I seem to like tough tests though! I made a few putts and got on a nice roll and focussed on my own game not paying attention to the leaderboard. When I got into the recorders trailer I saw how good that back 9 was and that I had posted a pretty decent clubhouse total. Martin Laird rode his luck well coming down the stretch and holed key putts which is what happens when it's your week! Congrats to him. But I did at one point venture out to the putting green to prepare for a playoff just in case! Steve Marino birdied 18 to finish 2nd and bump me into T3rd. A great result from the start of the day and a little redemption from the previous Sunday. I love the challenge of bouncing back and if you choose to take the appropriate lesson from every week you'll end up a pretty good player! That's the goal.
So all in all a good 'Florida swing' and the game is right where we want it heading into a major. Key is to keep playing like it's a game!
Thanks for the support,
Justin
7th March 2011
Apologies guys for the late update after the Accenture Matchplay Championship. I wrote out a long update then somehow didn't do it properly! Doh!
I guess looking back at the Matchplay Championship I can be fairly proud of the way I battled through as I really was pretty sick. I was cruising at 4 up against Zach Johnson before he got it back to all square with 4 to play. Once it was all square I really refocussed as if it was the start of a new match and that was the key to finishing strong and closing him out 2 and 1. I then ran into the future world number 1 Martin Kaymer, he was always going to be a tough match and it proved to be that way. I made a bunch of putts on the back 9 to fight from 2 down to eventually lose on 20th. One consolation is that he got all the way to the final and ended the week as world number 1. Congrats Martin! I had body and joint aches and ended up with the Flu after the few days in the desert. I thought it was the man flu but it lasted around 10 days and resulted in me losing 7-8 pounds. I had no energy this last week and only the last couple days have I felt like myself. This resulted in me withdrawing from the Honda classic which when I saw the tough conditions and the carnage at the bear trap looked like a good decision!
I have managed to put in a lot of short game practice this week which I hope will pay off soon. It is one area of the game where hard work tends to pay off sooner than others! My caddy Fooch was in town and so there was a lot of pacing out distances and measuring improvements. These 'work' weeks are really important and are the key to getting better. It is tough to make improvements on the road at times because your priority is to always be mentally fresh for the competing.
I'm looking forward to the WGC Cadillac championship at Doral. These World events are important when you're playing both tours. They provide the opportunity with good weeks to make big inroads to both the FedEx Cup and The Race to Dubai.
I leave in the morning. Can't wait as it is a tournament I missed playing in last year.
Thanks guys
Justin
