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Last Loop in Texas

This week in Texarkana was the final trip out to Texas for the summer. I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot, but these trips are always so fun. I really do love what I get to do for a living.


However, this trip was a bit different than most. For starters, my mom didn't come with me. There were things that needed to be done at home, and she deserved a break from all the travel. Host housing wasn't available this week, so my friend Haley and I got a hotel room together. She and I also got our first experience in the hassle of checking out a rental car at the airport. That almost made me wish we had driven the 17 hours instead of flying haha! But at the end of the day, we got it all squared away and found ourselves comfortably in Texarkana ready for the week.


The tournament this week was also very different than the previous events. For starters, both the men's and women's All Pro Tour were competing in the same location. Next, we were be playing two courses this week instead of just one: Northridge CC & Texarkana CC. Thankfully, despite all the changes and leaving my mom at home, I did have one sliver of consistency. My friend Alex was nearby and was able to caddy for me again. Bless that guy. He's the best.


Day one of the tournament was a Northridge CC. The course had an awesome layout. Just about every tee shot was blind, lots of hard doglegs, long distance, and mother nature added some challenge by making the course extremely wet. Thankfully I never needed my umbrella during the round, but it was a guaranteed mud ball after every tee-shot. Golf wise, it was frustrating. I had one "bad" hole on my 3rd hole of the day. Water came into play which led to a double bogie, but the other 17 holes weren't anything to be angry about. I had 3 other bogies which were annoying, but bogies are going to happen. The downside was I only managed 1 birdie for the day. I had hit some good approach shots, Alex and I felt confident on the lines, and I felt like I was putting a good stroke on the ball. Just wasn't my day to have the putts drop. I finished the day at +4. Nothing horrible, but not the best round to have before the cut. Thankfully I had a great group of people around me. Haley played great the first day which helped her to have good energy. And Alex is fantastic at analyzing without judgement, and helping create a positive game plan for the 2nd day.


Day 2 was played at Texarkana CC. For those who have never played this course before, you need to add it to your bucket list. This course is insanely pure. It reminded me of playing Augusta National. Honestly. The fairways and all parts of the course are so pure. The greens are in great shape. And you can set the course up to be a massive challenge. Which is exactly how it was set up on Thursday. I am happy to report that I did not have any double bogies on Thursday. The downside was that I had a couple more bogies. I made two birdies to finish at a solid +4. Again. For the 3rd round in a row. To say I was annoyed is putting it lightly haha. One positive that I took from the day was that while I posted a 76 for the day, the mean score for the entire field that day was a 78.64. So even though I missed the cut by 3, I gave it my best and competed well under the tough conditions.


It hurts to miss the weekend, but I can see the growth. I know I'm close. My game is there. I just need to eliminate one or two bad swings, and then I'll be seeing red numbers. In the meantime, I am thankful for a quick turn around. I'll fly back to Atlanta with Haley on Saturday, and then she and I will start getting ready to play the Georgia State Open on Monday and Tuesday!


As always, thank you to everyone who has been involved with my journey. Every text, every message, every encouraging thought and/or contribution. It means the world. I couldn't be doing this without the support of those around me. And through it all, may my story be a reflection of Christ and His love!





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