Destination: Congressional CC

Four spots were on the line to advance to the sectional qualifier of the U.S. Open last Monday at Bunker Hills GC in Coon Rapids, MN. The 61 player field was full of hopes and aspirations of playing at Congressional CC in Maryland at the second major of the year next month. Once again, the typical spring elements in Minnesota came through as thunderstorms and lots of rainfall passed through during the night and into the morning. This caused tee times to be backed up 2 hours later than originally intended. When we finally teed off it was cool and breezy, but luckily enough we didn't have to deal with any more rain.

My round got off to a solid start with a good two putt par. A wayward drive at the second led to a bogey on one of the shorter holes. Nearly making birdie at the par-3 third, I knew I'd have a good opportunity to get back to even at the short par-5 fourth. Finding the fairway and having 5-iron in my hands I was able to get it just in front of the green, and make a good up and down for a birdie. After another solid chip to save par at five, another wayward drive cost me a stroke when I found the hazard. The par attempt from 10 feet just wouldn't fall, and I was back to +1 after six holes. Following routine pars at 7 & 8, I was left with a great birdie opportunity from 18 feet on nine. The putt was online the whole way but wiggled at the hole and rimmed the cup on a hard lip out. It was going to be a day where I would have to earn each shot as the ball just wasn't going to fall in anywhere but right in the middle of the cup.

Scrambling again to get up and down on number ten for par gave me some momentum as I headed into a stretch of holes where birdies could come in bunches. Splitting the fairway with a drive, and a 3-wood up near the green left me a chip and a putt away from getting back to level par. One of my better shots of the day lifted the ball high over the short side bunker and soft onto the green, leaving an easy four foot birdie putt. The next five holes would prove to be full of missed opportunities. On four of them I would have makeable birdie putts inside 15 feet. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any of them to fall as they either burned the edge or just didn't have the right speed. Sitting at even par for the day with two holes left, I figured -1 would give me a great chance to move on, or even a look at a playoff at Even par. A flared iron shot on 17 tested my chipping abilities yet again. The cushion I was looking for going into the last hole almost came on the very next shot as my chip sat on the edge of falling in for a birdie. I was happy with par on the difficult par-3 knowing 18 can yield some birdies if you can find the fairway. Doing just that, I had 131 yards to a tucked front right pin just over a bunker with the wind in my face. Taking dead aim, I caught the ball just a little thin causing it to spin and climb in the air, therefore coming up short of both the green and the bunker. My 60-degree wedge would be put to the test yet again to try and save par. I hit a great shot under the circumstances, leaving myself an 8-foot par putt for 72. I was confident in my reed, and put a good stroke on it, but the ball wouldn't take the brake as it skirted the edge of the hole on its way by. Devastated, and knowing I had probably missed my chance I tapped in for 73.

The scores continued to come in, and the more and more it looked like 72 would be a playoff. In the end, my 7th place finish would cause me to miss out on a 4 player for 2 qualifying spots playoff by 1 shot. Two years in a row now I've just missed out by 1 shot to move on to the next stage to qualify to play in the US Open. It's times like these that I have to take as learning experiences and opportunities to become a better player for the next chance that comes along. I'll continue to work hard and get better everyday until the next time I tee it up. Results like these only fuel my desire to get better and achieve greatness at the next level.

My next scheduled tournament is the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am at Southview CC. This takes place June 10th-12th in St. Paul, MN. Between now and then I am looking at playing in one additional event outside of Chicago next week. I will be sure to keep you all posted as I'll be firming up those plans in the next day or two.

That's all for now from "the tips", but until next time remember...."You're either getting better or getting worse, there's not such thing as remaining the same. You make the choice!"


Bryce

Home Sweet Home!

The long drive back home to Minnesota from the desert had me excited to compete and get back on the course. After a couple weeks of practice and preparation at the Alexandria GC, I headed down to "the cities" for the Minnesota Golf Champions event at Minneapolis Golf Club. The weather finally cooperated for the first two rounds after a very unpredictable stretch of conditions to begin the golf season here in Minnesota. My first round found me struggling to hit fairways and give myself the opportunities for easy pars and makeable birdie chances. I was fortunate to make some great up and down par saves on the front nine, and head to the back at only +1. Another bogey on the 230 yard par three tenth followed by a sloppy bogey on twelve, quickly had me at +3 and trying to grind out the rest of the round and have some damage control. One more bogey on another long par three, followed by a couple gritty par saves over the last two holes allowed me to get in the house with a first round 76. I was very disappointed after getting off to yet another slow start in a tournament. Finding myself in 25th place, it lit a fire in me to perform the way I know I can. The afternoon was used to find some answers to get myself back in the tournament over the last two days. Playing 18 more holes (non-tournament round) in the afternoon at a course nearby gave me the chance to regain some confidence and gather a couple positive swing and putter thoughts for the next day.

Round two yielded much better results, and I think the afternoon the day before is to thank for the positive turnaround. Two quick birdies through five holes got things kick started as I looked to move up the leader board. One bogey on yet another tough par three on the front tallied up to a one under 35 as we moved to the back nine. Things really started to heat up on the back nine with a great par save at 10, a near birdie at 11, followed by birdie conversions at 12, 14, and 15 to get to -4 on the day and even for the tournament. An unfortunate break on the 18th pegged my ball directly behind a tree forced a chip out, and resulted in a bogey and a round of 69. This score was enough to move up the leader board all the way to 10th place with one round to go.

After two prime days of weather, we were bound to run into some elements in the final round during a Minnesota spring. A windy and rainy day made the already tough course tougher, and longer. The scores reflected the conditions as the rain began to come down harder as the round progressed. I wasn't able to connect on a couple early birdie chances, and a couple gritty par attempts just wouldn't fall. A front nine 38, and a bogey on 11 to fall to +3 on the day caused me to have to dig even deeper as the conditions worsened. My patience paid off as the turnaround shot came in a blast from the fairway bunker on #12. I found myself in a soaked fairway bunker 217 yards away and desperately needing a birdie to get things headed in the right direction. The 4-iron blast just cleared the lip of the bunker and carried to the front edge of the green, and trickled all the way to the pin at the back of the green. The ball came to rest just 10 inches from the cup leading to an eagle 3, and back to +1 on the day. I was able to put the first 11 holes behind me and had a new found confidence and swagger to climb my way back inside the top 10 on the leader board. I kept clawing my back back with a near miss at 13 for birdie, a great sand save at 14, and a two putt birdie at 15 got me back to even. Easy pars at 16 & 17 gave me one last chance to get back to even for the tournament as I walked to my ball in the 18th fairway. A solid 8-iron left me a 10 foot downhill putt to achieve my goal. The putt tracked the entire way, and fell in the cup for a round of 71.

The 7th place finish wasn't what I was hoping for beginning the week, but I was pleased the way I fought through not having my best and climbing my way back up the leader board. Finishing -4 over my last 7 holes left me confident going into the US Open Qualifier the following morning.

That's all for now from "the tips", but until next time remember....."golf is the only game in which the players are their own referees. It's all about integrity"

Bryce