Two Weeks in Texas (and all in between) ~ week 2
The Beaumont tournament was over for me, but now I'm signed up and headed to the Texas Open.
I had a bit of downtime in between Beaumont and the Texas Open. 5 days to be exact. It worked out that we had family friends that lived in Beaumont, and they had just left to go on a trip to Peru. They were very generous and offered for my mom and I to stay at their house for a few days to help save money on hotels.
Perfect! I took Thursday as an off day from golf. My mom and I moved our stuff from the hotel to the house. We took the day to get settled in, make a game plan for what our travels would look like for the next week, and for me to reset mentally. We decided we would leave the house Monday afternoon and drive up to Dallas since my practice round was scheduled for Tuesday.
There was a small public course about 5 mins from our friends' house. I went over there on Friday morning just to check things out and see if I could practice there over the next couple days. The pros and staff at Bayou Din Golf Club were SO kind! They allowed me unlimited practice and play for as long as I was in town. I also want to give a special shout out to the assistant pro Alex. I knew I was struggling with my swing, but I couldn't quite pinpoint where I was going wrong. Turns out Alex knew the golf swing pretty well. He agreed to get to the course at 6:30am on Saturday and Sunday, and he spent nearly the entirety of both days playing and practicing on the range with me. Although I'm sure he regretted his offer by Sunday afternoon when I had him standing out on the driving range in the rain.
(Alex, if you read this, sorry again! haha!)
BUT! The hard work did not go to waste!! It was worth the rain!
Day 1 of the tournament was a roller coaster on the scorecard, but I kept it strong. I started the day with a double bogie and with a few birdies and 2 other bogies, I ended the day at even par. Not too bad. That score put me in the lead for the professionals after the morning wave.
Day 2 was also eventful, but a little more frustrating. I started the day with a hole out on the first hole. Yes. A hole out. I got a 2 on a par 4 from a 145 yards out. The emotions were running a little high that day, and I am continuing to learn to be comfortable and not care about the leaderboard. It wasn't the worst finish, but having started the day at -2, I was pretty frustrated when I finished at +2. However, I forced myself to look at the positives. I had made the cut, I was in a good spot on the leaderboard, and I was guaranteed to take home some money.
Now comes day 3. I'm sitting in 3rd place on the professional leaderboard. I got lucky and was paired up with Mikayla for the final round too. What a perfect environment for taking on nerves of the final round! I have one of my best friends in my group, my swing is loads better from the hard work in Beaumont, and I'm sitting in a good spot in the rankings. What a completely different story than what was happening less than a week ago. A total 360.
The day started out steady. I think I finished the front 9 at +1. Unfortunately, the home stretch was rough. I had 2 bogies and missed some easy birdies. Then on my 3rd to last hole, one bad swing led to a lost ball and carding a double bogie. I parred the remaining holes and finished the day at +5.
I was upset. I almost felt like I was back at Beaumont. The feeling of defeat just flooding through me. My mom was a rockstar and gave me time to process. It had been a long two weeks. I think she knew more than me how tired I was mentally. She told me how proud she was of me for battling all week long. I turned things around and I played good golf. She acknowledged that the final round was disappointing, but I needed to just take in the fact that I was continuing to improve and put myself in better positions. She encouraged me to focus on the growth and to trust my journey and my process. She said I should never compare myself to what anyone else was doing. I have my own story and God is the author. Even though it wasn't my best finish, I had played well, put myself into a good position, and walked away with one of my biggest checks since starting professional golf. The Texas Open was a success. And now it was officially time to start driving back to Georgia.
If you've made it this far in the blog, you're a champ. Texas was such a learning experience and I really wanted to share the details with y'all. I'm now in an off week before heading back out to Texas for a 3 week stretch. I took advantage of the free time and spent the start of this week up in Lake Toxaway. I enjoyed playing some golf, but most importantly, getting to see and spend time with all the people that I have grown to love so very much. I don't want to overstep and give out names, but just know that I could not be living my dream without all the support that comes from that amazing community. It's family there. And I will take any chance I have to see my Toxaway family!
Moreover, I plan on spending the next couple days packing, practicing, and then hitting the road on Friday. I can't wait to enjoy these next events. And as always, to God be all the glory!
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