March Madness

Before the real "March Madness" begins on the hardwood later this month, the All-American Tour's version tees off this coming Monday. The top 64 money winners from this year's money list will square off in a single elimination match play event at Trilogy at Vistancia Golf Club in Peoria, AZ. This Tour Championship event has a lot riding on it, as the champion who outlasts everyone over the four days will earn an exemption into a Nationwide Tour event in June of this year, in addition to the winner's check from the $33,000 purse.

My first match finds me squaring off against Niklas Lemke at 12:42 pm on Monday afternoon. I've always enjoyed the match play format, as momentum changes continually keep you on your toes throughout the entire match. Strategy definitely plays a role in this format, and I believe it benefits the type of game I like to play. The link below will allow you to follow all the action in the match play bracket.

http://www.all-americantour.com/leagues/custom_page.cfm?leagueID=0&clientID=4367&pageID=5702

Gateway Tour event #6 Recap:

After a better start to this week's event at Palm Valley, I was confident in my ability to improve my position on the leaderboard in the second round. A string of 7 pars to begin the day, I had to keep telling myself to be patient and putts would start to fall. Numerous birdie chances in the early part of the round continually burned the edge or stayed just a roll short of falling in. Finally, on the par-3 17th hole (my 8th) I hit a great 5-iron into the wind to ten feet. The read and stroke were right on line and the ball fell in for a two. Making the turn at -1, I figured I needed to shoot -2 on the front to make the cut.

A great wedge shot on #1 to within two feet started the front nine off exactly how I wanted with another birdie. After a huge drive at the par-5 second, I found myself just 195 yards away from the green. Unfortunately, a poor iron shot and a poor chip later I walked away with a disappointing par. A bogey at the par-3 third was quickly followed up by two good holes to get me back in it. A lob wedge from 116 yards came to rest just a foot away for a kick in birdie at #4. With just a 7-iron in my hands at the par-5 5th hole, I made my best swing of the day to set up a 10 foot eagle putt. Even with a good stroke, a slight misread led to a birdie and a score of -3 on the day. Two decent shots into the wind on #6 left a 35-footer down the hill. A misjudged first putt left a six foot comeback. Things would get out of control quickly after two misses within 4 feet, and I walked away with a double-bogey 6. With only 3 holes left, I knew I'd need to make some things happen. Near misses at 7 & 8, followed by a good par save at 9 completed another round of 71. The week would end there as my score was 2 shots shy of making the cut. Progress was made in some different areas throughout the week however, so I'll take away the imrpovement in those areas to get ready for the coming week.

The last couple days have been very busy and productive with practice. Some work with my swing coach both on my ball striking and putting has me feeling some confidence again. I'm excited for the opportunity next week, as well as seeing some progress in my game despite the results. Each day I'm getting more and more comfortable and it's only a matter of time before things break out.

That's all for now from "the tips", but until next time remember...."doing the same things over and over and expecting different results is insanity."

Bryce