Bakker Crossing Pro-Am

On Friday morning I drove 4 hours from Minneapolis to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I traveled with three other friends also competing in the tournament. I did not really know what to expect when I got to the golf course for the practice round, but once I arrived I felt very comfortable. I was surprised how many other players I knew. I played a practice round with Ben Patrick and Andy. We decided to play a little competition called Umbriago to decide who would cook dinner, luckily Andy and Myself managed to pull off a win, but Ben and Patrick cooked a great dinner of spaghetti. I felt pretty good with my preparation for the tournament and was excited to tee it up the following day.

The tournament was a 36 hole event comprising of 91 professionals. My first round started off a bit slow, having two horseshoe lip outs from 6 feet on the 3^rd and 4^th holes. In the past I may have got frustrated that I hit a good putt that did not go in, but I managed to remind myself that patience is important because it will happen to everyone at some stage. The conditions were very windy which made the course challenging at times. I turned the front 9 one over par although I could easily had been 3 or 4 shots better I but still managed to stay patient. On the back nine I hit it close on a few holes and had three consecutive birdies on 12, 13 and 14 to post 2 a 2 under par 69 on my professional debut. I was happy with the performance but disappointed that I did not hole many putts considering how well I hit the ball. After day one I was tied 5^th 2 shots behind the leader.

Day two was the day where low scores were needed. The pin positions were slightly easier but there was hardly any wind. I turned the front 9 one under par with 8 pars and one birdie but once again missed a lot of chances. I knew if I had any chance of winning or a high finish in the tournament I would need a strong last 9 holes. I managed to make 4 birdies on the back 9 but also had 4 weak bogies, with only one par on my last hole. Shooting 70 cost me a lot of spots as people passed me in the easy conditions. One thing I learned from this week is bogies are costly. I had 10 birdies in two rounds, but also 7 bogies, to finish on 3 under 139. I finished tied 14^th 5 shots behind the winner.

The results can be found on this link.

http://dakotastour.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/dakotastour10/event/dakotastour102/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

I managed to pick up a small paycheck but I am left wondering what could have been. Considering this is my first pro tournament I have learned a lot from the weekend to take to my next tournament and know what I need to work on before the next tournament beginning Saturday. I am disappointed that I could not finish higher after putting myself into contention, but I know if I keep putting myself into contention I will break through.

I have three days back in Minneapolis to fine tune my game, working especially hard on my wedges and short game as this weekend I need to score low numbers to be in contention on a shorter golf course.

My next tournament is the Waterloo Open in Waterloo, Iowa beginning on the 17^th.

See you in Waterloo, Iowa.

Thomas