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November 2001
6 November, European Tour Qualifying Stage Two, Emporda, Spain, 1st Round,
67 (-4)
Just a quick update to let you know I shot 67 today and am currently in
a tie for fourth one shot behind the leaders after the first round. I
am pleased with a good start after Australia and all the travelling. Three
rounds to go though and I will update you more after the next round. David
7 November, European Tour Qualifying Stage Two, 2nd Round, 72 (+1)
Played very well mostly, apart from two very dumb double bogeys. I missed
a lot of good chances but 72 still keeps me in the hunt at tied 16th.
I am not feeling to good, which is probably the jet lag catching up on
me. Therefore I am off to get some rest and hopefully will feel better
for tomorrow. Speak to you then, David
8 November, European Tour Qualifying Stage Two, 3rd Round, 69 (-2)
Played pretty solid today and nothing much good or bad happened. All the
scoring was on the front nine where I birdied 3, 5, 8 and bogeyed 6. I
missed three very good chances on the back nine which would have put me
near the top of the leaderboard, The top 32 qualify at Emporda for the
final stage, so as of now I am lying OK. I am still quite tired, but a
better tired now after that round. I am just going to practice a little
then rest up for the final round tomorrow. David
9 November, European Tour Qualifying Stage Two, 4th Round
The wind was gusting up to 35 mph today and, with balls moving on the
greens, play was suspended when I had played only 6 holes. It's absolutely
Baltic here and I have an early start tomorrow so I don't know when or
if we'll finish given the poor forecast. With the next stage down the
coast starting on Sunday, it has really messed up travel and accomodation,
but I suppose getting through is the main thing. Just 12 good holes tomorrow
required. Cheers, David
10 November, European Tour Qualifying Stage Two
After much hanging around play was finally cancelled around midday due
to strong 'tramontana' winds, so I comfortably made it through to the
final stage on my third round placing of T13th. The rest of today is going
to be taken up sorting out travel and accommodation arrangements for next
week. It's just a few hour's trip down the coast from Barcelona to the
San Roque and Sotogrande courses, which are near Gibraltar. It is a six
round tournament starting on Wednesday, with a four round cut. Hopefully
I can carry on my good form and I will update you from there. Adios, David
14 November, European Tour Qualifying Final Stages, 1st Round, 73 (+1)
A poor start today, but I still managed to grind out a 73 around Sotogrande.
Although the weather was nice it's still quite windy and generally my
play today was a bit sloppy, especially on the front nine. A poor shot
into the water on the 7th cost me a double bogey and although I played
better on the back nine, my 73 leaves me 8 shots off the pace and down
the field a bit. In the final stages of the Tour Qualifying there is a
cut after 72 holes with the top 75 players getting through to grind it
out over the last 2 rounds for 35 Tour cards. So still a long way to go.
Going for a rest now and then off the gym. Will update you after round
2 tomorrow. Cheers, David.
15 November, European Tour Qualifying Final Stages, 2nd Round, 73 (+1)
Really didn't play well today. I was playing at San Roque starting on
the 10th and got off to a terrible start with a 7, courtesy of a 3-putt
from about 3 feet. Then went on to bogey the 12th hole (my 3rd) having
paid a visit to the water. I did manage to knock in a couple of long putts
for birdie at the 16th and 8th and highlight of the day was a 50 yard
pitch-in for eagle at the 5th! Unfortunately, my second consecutive 73
leaves me pretty much in the middle of the field so I'll need to produce
a couple of solid rounds over the next two days to make sure that I qualify
for the final two rounds and give myself a chance to move into the top
35. More after round 3 tomorrow. Cheers, David
16 November, European Tour Qualifying Final Stages, 3rd Round, 73 (+1)
Back at Sotogrande today and I actually played pretty good although I
still finished with my third consecutive round of 73, largely due to some
dumb mistakes. Missed a lot of short putts on the front nine and managed
to hit it into the water on the 7th again! This time I went on to 3-putt
the hole and walked off with a treble bogey 7. Solid on the back nine
with a great birdie at the last - a perfect 6 iron to 8 feet and holed
the putt - a good way to finish the round. This is proving a tough week,
mentally as well as physically, as you feel that you are constantly just
trying to survive out there. Currently outside the top 75, so I'll need
a good round tomorrow to qualify for the last 36 holes. Will update you
after the round tomorrow. Cheers, David
17 November, European Tour Qualifying Final Stages, 4th Round, 68 (-4)
Well, I've made the cut! Played really solid today to shot 68 at San Roque.
The 4 round cut fell at +1, so I actually made it with a couple of shots
to spare. Although I can't say it felt relaxed out there. It really wasn't
much fun today with all that pressure, but I'm through and only 2 shots
off the top 35, so there is all to play for over the next couple of days.
Highlight of today was an eagle at the 14th - 3 wood to 4 feet! Off for
some rest now and prepare myself for the next 36 holes. More after the
round tomorrow. Cheers, David
19 November, European Tour Qualifying Final Stages, 5th & 6th Rounds,
71 (-1) & 77 (+5)
Apologies for not keeping you updated yesterday - technical difficulties
I'm afraid. Well, after a long week's work unfortunately I won't be finishing
in the top 35 and gaining full playing privileges on the European Tour
card for next season. I played OK yesterday to shoot 71, and that moved
me into a tie for 50th going into the final round. Today though I just
couldn't get going after a bad start. I hit the ball quite well, but putted
terrible with 3-putts at the 1st, 4th and 15th as well as missing 2 putts
from about 3 feet for par. Must admit to feeling very down at the moment.
At least making the 4 round cut means a Category 8 exemption on the Challenge
Tour for next year and a Category 14 exemption on the European Tour, but
it does feel like so near yet so far. Will keep you updated with my plans
for the coming weeks and months. Cheers, David
23 November, Relaxing at Home
I'm back in the UK now and it's nice to be home again after 5 weeks on
the road. Looking back on the Qualifying School, I achieved what I had
to do - that is making sure I had a Tour to play on next year - rather
than what I wanted to do. Since arriving home I haven't really done that
much other than catch up with my family and friends. I'm not going to
touch a club for the next couple of weeks, but after that I'll be heading
back up to Skibo Castle to spend some time working on my game with my
coach. I've also been working with a physical trainer from the Scottish
Institute of Sport this year and on Monday we are going to start on a
new programme for the winter months. As far as competitive golf is concerned
over the winter, I'm not quite sure yet what my plans are. Having made
the 4-round cut at the Qualifying School, I now have a category 8 exemption
on the Challenge Tour which means I will be able to play in pretty much
all of the events, and a category 14 exemption on the European Tour which
means 3 or 4 starts on that Tour. The Challenge Tour doesn't start until
March tough, so I may go over to the US or to South Africa and try and
play in some events before then. In the short term, my immediate plans
are to have a few beers tomorrow watching Scotland play the All Blacks
at Murrayfield! Cheers, David
29 November, Edinburgh
Now that the dust has settled after the Tour School, I am starting to
plan for next season on the Challenge Tour. However that has not quite
extended to playing any golf yet as my clubs are not unpacked from Spain!
Hope there is no old bananas lurking in the bag. Tomorrow I am heading
up to Dundee to see my personal trainer for a fitness test and to make
a training plan for the winter. Then next week I will go and do something
similar with my swing coach David at Skibo Castle, providing there is
no snow. It may be the off season but there is plenty to do for next year.
Speak to you soon, David.
Next Month
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