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September 2002
9 September, Formby Hall Challenge, 1st Round 79 (+7),
2nd Round 70 (-2)
Sorry for the delay in getting this report to you, but the technology
has let me down this week. Played OK in 1st round, starting from the 10th,
but came unstuck at the two back to back par-5s. At the 14th, 600+ yards
into wind, I took 3 shots to get to the front edge and then 3-putted for
bogey and at the 15th I lost a ball and took 7. Made birdie at 17 and
was going along well until a thinned wedge out of bunker at the par-3
6th cost me a double bogey. Overall though, I played pretty well but just
missed a few putts. The second round was better, even though my play was
a bit more scrappy, I was getting up and down well. I was 4-under with
4 to play after birdies at 7, 9, 10 and 14 and I felt I needed to get
to 6-under to make the cut. At the 15th I missed the fairway, hit a tree
with my second, then hit a 210 yard 3rd shot to the front of the green,
only to three putt for bogey. That forced me to attack the next and I
missed the green at 16 and got short sided to make another bogey and by
then it was all over. I feel things are coming together though and I am
looking forward to this week's event in Sweden. I have two chances to
try and get into the top 80 for the Grand Final, so hopefully I can play
like I did in the second round and get up the rankings. For the last couple
of weeks I have been using new clubs and the irons in particular are great
and give me a slightly stronger ball flight. See the Tour Bag page for
more details. Speak to you soon. David
12 September, Telia Grand Prix, Sweden, 1st Round 66 (-6)
At last! Played OK and putted pretty well. My short game was also good
and I even holed a nice pitch! First off this morning at 7.50am, I parred
the first five holes, then birdied the par-5 6th and the par-3 ninth to
turn at two-under. Coming back I birdied two of the three par-5s at 12
and 18, plus 13 and 15 as well for even halves of 33 and 6-under. I am
tied for the lead at present although there are a couple of guys on the
course at 5-under with 9 to go, so I may not stay there. However I am
delighted with my score, which is the lowest since I turned pro by 3 shots.
It's nice feeling the adrenaline running through my veins again! David
13 September, Telia Grand Prix, Sweden, 2nd Round 74 (+2)
Got off to a good start from the 10th this afternoon, with birdies at
12, 14 and 18 and turned in 2-under, and it could have been a couple lower.
Coming home though was a different story - I lost a ball at the 1st, but
got a birdie with my second ball to only drop one shot. I doubled the
next when I got caught in the heather and really got stuffed at 15 when
I made 6 on an easy par-5 for 39 home. A perfect tee shot kicked 90 degrees
left under the lip of a bunker. Splashed out sideways then my next shot
bounced back into greenside bunker and my putt for par horse-shoed out!
I got a bit steery at the end, and hardly made any putts at all, but at
least I made the cut in around 30th place! Looking forward to giving you
a rare weekend report tomorrow! David
14 September, Telia Grand Prix, Sweden, 3rd Round 71 (-1)
It was a lot windier today, so the scoring was not so low, so I am pleased
with my 71. Got off to a bad start with another double at 2. I tried to
hit it over a tree rather than round it with my second and it clipped
a branch at the very top and went straight right into deep heather. I
then three-putted the next to drop to 3 over after 3. However I got back
on track with a birdie 2 at the 4th and another birdie at 6 to turn at
only 1 over. Coming back I birdied 11 and missed from four feet for eagle
at 12 to get to two under. Then made a bad double bogey at the par-4 13th
when I ballooned my tee shot into a strong wind and ended up in the water.
That put me back to 1 over, but I managed to get back in the red with
birdies at the last two par-5s at 14 and 18. Overall I played well and
putted better on the back nine and if I can cut out the double bogeys
tomorrow I will be in good shape. I am tied 15th and a couple shots outside
the top ten and only five off the lead, so if I can post a number early,
you never know what could happen...Cheers, David
15 September, Telia Grand Prix, Sweden, 4th Round 78 (+6)
Not the final round I was looking for. Got off to another poor start with
my usual double at the second followed by a bogey at third for the second
day running and that had me on the back foot for the rest of the day.
I dropped more shots at 7 and 9 to turn in 5 over, and from then on it
was damage limitation. Made my fourth birdie of the week at 12, but that
was the only highlight as I bogeyed 16 and 17 to fall back into a tie
for 32nd at 1 over par. Disappointing end to what started off like a promising
week, but it is a cut made and more experience gained. Unless I win in
the final event in Holland in a month's time, there is only one more event
to play in and then it is back to Spain and the European Tour Qualifying,
Stage 2. Bye for now, David
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