Delaney Shah
After a much needed week off back in Louisville, I was back on the road for another 3-week stretch of events. The first stop was in Abilene, Texas. The first round I started off hot, making three birdies in the first 4 holes. Knowing it was only going to get windier throughout the round, I was happy to get off to a good start. After making two bogeys, I made the turn at -1, before making another bogey and double bogey and bouncing back with a birdie on 17 to finish the day at 1-over. This put me at T15 going into the second round. On the second day my round started off slow, making two bogeys early before birding the ninth hole to make the turn at 1-over. Making two more bogeys on the back nine, I finished the day with a round of 3-over putting me in a tie for 23rd and making the cut! The third round I started off hot again, making 4 birdies on the front nine and making two birdies and two bogeys on the back nine to shoot a solid round of -4 and moving me all the way up to T9. The last round I had a friend on the bag and we had a very easy round consisting of 16 pars and 2 birdies to shoot a bogey free round 2-under moving me up to a T8 finish. Having another top 10 finish and under par rounds really helped the confidence.
The second week on the road we were in Anna, Texas. This course was hilly in spots, and is very placement oriented and can get tight. This would be a good test on the legs and the game. The week leading up to the event they had over 8 inches of rain and with aerated greens the course was playing super tough. The first round was hot, and having an afternoon tee time it was quite a scorcher. I started the first round with two bogeys on the front, before making the turn and making a bogey and two birdies to shoot a round of one-over putting me in T19. The second round was also super hot, but I had an earlier tee time so it wasn't as miserable, but it was also super windy. I started off with a bogey and birdie on hole 1 and 2, before making 11 pars in a row. I then made a bogey and a double to close out the round with 3-over. Even though I was bummed with the way I finished, I still managed to be in T25 to make another cut! I had been hitting the ball very well but not making any putts, so I was happy that the swing was holding up and knew I would eventually make some putts. I had my host dad on the bag for the third round who has been a member at this course for over 30 years, so I was hoping he would give me some good luck and good reads on the greens. However, the third round was not my day. This was the first round this season that I truly felt helpless. I started off with a good birdie on two and an amazing up and down on three, but it started to get away from me. I was hitting good shots, having a lot of approach shots landing on the fringe, and was struggling to get the speed right off those lies. I hit lots of putts on my line, but I guess I didn't match the line with speed because I burned a lot of the edges. Having 40 putts (including from on the fringe) really put me in a bad scoring spot, shooting 8-over and dropping me into 39th. The last day was the same story, hit it decent, had a few bad shots and bad breaks, but could not make any putts at all. My score of 9-over dropped me down to 41st place. This has been my poorest performance so far, and I was very disappointed with how it went. I realized that my body was very tired those last few days, and I needed a day of rest. After basically 5 weeks on the road my body started to fatigue in the heat, the hilly course, and the long rounds.
The last week on the road was in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. This course was by far the hilliest one yet, with long walks and steep hills. These greens were very bumpy because they were recently aerated which was frustrating, but I knew everyone was going to have to putt on them so I had to stay positive. The first round I started off strong with an even round, putting me in T5. The second day I struggled a little making putts so I ended with a round of 2-over putting me in a T12, meaning I made another cut! With very tired legs I was fortunate enough to have a friend caddy for me the third day where we shot 1-over and put me in a T11 going into the last day. This break of pushing my cart up these hills helped me recover for the last day and finish strong with another round of 1-over finishing the tournament in 9th place.
These last three weeks on the road have been very fun, but also very tiring. Making all 3 cuts was huge for my confidence, not only in my golf game but also how my body could handle walking three straight tournaments on hilly courses. After a long few weeks on the road, I now have a much needed month break before my next event, so I will be spending that in Louisville resting and recovering while getting some work and good practice in before the Illinois event!
As always, I will keep you all updated and I appreciate all of the support!