:: July 08
7 July, European Open
It is a case of change the record, I am afraid. The cold putter continues. After two rounds of the tournament, I was tied 5th in greens in regulation, but I wasn't just hitting the greens, I was hitting the ball close to the hole and creating lots of birdie chances. I couldn't capitalise on any of them and after two rounds I was -2 and significantly off the pace. On Saturday I saw the wind blowing and I saw this as a good opportunity to move up the leaderboard. But again, after not being rewarded for some good play after 10 holes, maybe a little frustration set in and I had tough run where I dropped 6 shots in the last 8 holes, including a triple bogey seven at the last, to finish in style...not. I continued this fine run with a double bogey on the first hole of my final round, but then got my act together and shot -3 for the last 17 holes in pretty awful weather.
I moved up from 60th to 38th with a -1 round, and all in all, although the result wasn't confidence inspiring, I feel the week was actually pretty good open preparation, due to the fact that it was windy, and you had to judge a good 2 or 3 club wind most of the week, which will be a likely scenario at the Open.
Due to the face that I was up at Birkdale in May, this week I'm just going to be fine tuning the game at home and really just getting fired up for the biggest event in golf! I'm going to leave my cold putter down south and head to Birkdale with a spring in my step as I attempt to go 3 better than I did 10 years ago! Come on! Justin
21 July, The Open Championship
I am shattered. The whole week was a tale of dropping a shot every three holes. I didn't think it was bad golf. It was golf that was scattered with the odd mistake and it added up to a pretty horrendous total of 21 over par. I never felt I played as bad as rounds of 74,72, 82,73 might suggest.
I think not gaining momentum cost me. Every time I got a birdie I seemed to hit it in a bunker on the next hole. I felt my head never went down out there though. All in all I'd give myself 6 out of 10 for the week. The attitude was pretty good even if the golf wasn't great. Golf-game wise I wasn't anywhere near where I wanted to be. I felt I was losing the ball right. When the wind was from the left I was having a hard time keeping it on the fairway so there were some issues there.
There were positives, too. My short game on the first and second day kept me in the tournament. I worked hard on the putting, saw some results for the first time in a long time. I felt confident over the putter. I am looking forward to carrying that momentum into the next few weeks. Having my caddie Fooch help me line my putts worked really well the first two days. I enjoyed the camaraderie of working with Fooch and the teamwork that created. It's nice to share the disappointment of a missed putt as well as sharing the enjoyment of a good read. We will carry on doing that.
One thing about playing in a wind is that it spoils your balance. Guys who grow up on these golf courses generally have ugly swings or bad grips but they have learned how to fashion the ball around a golf course somehow. In bad weather you're manipulating the clubface all the time where normally you're trying to be as neutral as possible. I have to go back to normal.
I knew there was going to be a lot of pressure on me this week. I accepted that. I don't really think it affected me. It has been a really hard year. The game is coming and going this year. If it is not one thing it is another and I don't seem to have been able to build up any momentum. I don't know if I have set my schedule up the wrong way. I don't feel as though I have been able to set a sustained run of form. I can't quite put my finger on what the issue is. The conditions didn't play into my hands this week. I was on the wrong side of the draw.
Perhaps I should have played a little bit more links golf coming in to the week. I made a conscious decision not to due to the fact that I wanted to try and keep my swing as neutral as possible. I didn't see the sense in going to Ireland for four or five days and playing in horrendous weather. I might consider doing something different next year.
I have a a week's holiday now. I might try to hit a few shots if it is a nice day but it will be nice to be back in London for a free week. We will use the time to catch up with friends. We haven't spent a free week in London for some time. Thanks for your support at Birkdale. It's great to play in front of my home fans again. Justin
