The Weekend

Justin finished in a T-34 for the tournament, with an overall score of 283, or 1-under for the week.  The winner was Martin Pillar with a final score of 12-under.  As you can all see, it's very competitive out here and every stroke carries with it great significance.  We were looking for a couple more under today as he had his best round of the week, but couldn't quite figure the greens out (and the course for that matter).  An ok week because he made the cut, but a bit disappointing for him because he was near the top of the list in ball striking stats for the week.  After a week off, we move onto South Carolina and play in the Celebrity event in Greer.  Should be fun.

I had a good time this week.  People were very nice, Justin was very patient with his rookie caddie, and I'm happy to have had a new experience.  I hope that I can get nothing but better from here.  The week off will help me rest my legs and I should feel strong for the BMW event.

For those of you just learning about golf, the first paragraph in English:

• T-34 means a tie for 34th place.  Finishing alone in a place is always more ideal than tying for a place, as then the player must split prize money for his finish.
• Tournament scores are referenced in total strokes played for the four rounds (283), and also in a score relative to "par."  Par for one round in Athens was 71 strokes, therefore par for the tournament would have been 284.  The 1-under means that Justin used 1 stroke under the par total for the week. The winner was 12-under, therefore shot a 272.
• When Justin feels like he left a couple out there, he means that we had opportunities to score better but let them slip away or got bad breaks...but such is life and golf, no?
• Figuring out the greens and course is a week to week adventure and challenge.  Each course may have different grasses, speeds of greens, wind, fairway and rough lies (of the ball in the grass), and lines of play that make navigating the course easier or more difficult.  World-class players adjust to all conditions in addition to competitive pressures, but all players have preferences and play better on average given certain course conditions.
• Making the cut, as described in a previous post, means that Justin made a check.  That's a good thing.  I also make a little more money as I receive a percentage depending on the finish.
• Having good ball striking weeks means that you have more opportunities to score lower.  Leading or being near the lead in ball striking for the week but finishing in the middle of the pack means that we did not take advantage of the excellent swings and shots Justin made all week.
• For all who care...Kevin Costner usually plays next week.  So if you want to see him because you're a fan, come on out.  But we'll know it's really because you want to see us.

That's all for now...waiting for my flight back home at the Atlanta airport.  I'm gonna take a nap.