:: September 09
:: 10 September 2009
Hi guys, I am updating you from home in Florida after my exit from the Fedex Cup playoffs in Boston. It is definitely a bittersweet moment, mainly bitter, but the upside is after five gruelling weeks on tour, it feels good to have three weeks off. The five weeks have been a battle because I have been chasing points due to a slow start this season. After a missed cut by a shot at the US PGA, I put myself under pressure to really even get into the playoffs, so I added the Wydham Championship to my schedule which paid off as I probably had my best ball striking week, maybe of my career and certainly the year, to finish fifth. It felt good to be back in contention and once again when I get a little sniff of the leaderboard, I tend to hang in there well. Barclays I was under pressure to make the cut but a gutsy finish enabled me to play the weekend and advance to Boston. Basically what I am saying is that I ran out of a bit of steam once I had made the cut in Boston, and I shot 77 in the third round, which is the first erratic round for some time. That sealed my fate really in the playoffs, and without much to play for in the final round, I refocused to finish strong with a -5 66. It was nice to sign off that way heading into a little break.
I have been doing some work with a new coach, Sean Foley, which has been going really well and I feel that with some mental freshness and some attention on my short game that some great results will be coming soon. I really feel positive about the direction I am going in, not only with my technique, but also with my fitness with my new trainer, Justin Buckthorp. Although there are still a few events left this year, my mind is already set on a great 2010, where there are some great venues for the Major Championships and a lot to be motivated for.
Justin
:: 2 September 2009
The Playoffs for the FedEx cup are finally here and the first of four events where the field shrinks in size each week was at the spectacular Liberty National golf club in New Jersey.
I was in the precarious position in that if I missed the cut I would more than likely not advance to Boston and give myself some scheduling headaches for the remainder of the season. I did my best to put myself under pressure by making 2 double bogeys and 1 triple leaving myself +5 with 6 holds to play with the cut probably going to be at +4. I missed the fairway on the par 5 13th and caught a terrible lie. I hacked a 9 iron forward before hitting a great 4 iron into the wind and over water from 195 yards to 2ft. I then followed that up with a 9 iron to 3ft on 14 for another birdie and some breathing room coming in. By making the cut I was guaranteed my spot in the field in Boston. We are playing for 5 times points in the playoffs so you can really move up the rankings quick with a good week.
I shot 73, 72, 69 and 72 to finish T41st. I moved up from 92 to 80 in the rankings and am looking forward to Boston where I have played well and who knows, with a win can move into the top 5!
I'll leave on that thought!
Justin
