Got The Nerves Out!

So today was my first round.  Let me begin by saying that yesterday's practice round was a massive race against time to play before a huge storm rolled in around 10:00 a.m.  Needless to say, today was mine and everyone else's first long look at the course...and you can tell by our scores!

I ended up the day shooting an 81.  I was NOT happy, however, when I entered the scoring tent, I saw that an 81 didn't put me at the bottom of the leader board believe it or not!  The leader shot a 1 under, 72...so I'm 9 strokes back.  No biggie, right?  It was a tough day for a lot of us!

I have to admit that the nerves got to me the first couple of holes.  Put those together with a couple of poorly executed shots, and the situation only got worse.  I'm going to attribute that to the first tournament of the season.  Nerves aside, I made some course management mistakes today, and definitely learned better ways to play certain holes.  I've got to say, this is a tricky little course!  It may not be terribly long, but it's got a fair share of blind shots and trees stuck in the middle of fairways!  However, I did manage to putt pretty well, squeak out a pair of birdies (one chip in), and pull it together in the end.  I FINALLY settled down and focused on my target:  fairway, green, putt.  Despite a rocky start, I felt much better about my finish and got in some reassuring practice afterwards.

Tomorrow starts at 10:40, and I'm excited about a new round!

And So It Begins!

My first tournament of the season is almost underway!  I will be playing in a Suncoast Series event this Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at Mission Inn Golf Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, FL (yes...that is an actual place...haha).  I made the drive today, and arrived just in time to check into my hotel and check out the course.  I have never been to (and never heard of) "Howey-in-the-Hills," but it turns out that it is a resort style village set on a huge lake.  It's a very nice place, and I'm hoping the course is as great as it looks!  I was able to practice a little bit late this afternoon.  There are two courses on the property, and we'll be playing El Campeon this week.

My practice round is tomorrow morning, and the tournament begins Tuesday!  I tee off at 11:18 a.m. Tuesday, 10:40 a.m. on Wednesday, and Thursday's pairings and times will be announced Wednesday afternoon.  I'll keep you updated!

Welcome to the Blogging World!

I have officially become a "blogger."   If you are reading this post, chances are you were directed here through my Facebook fan page, and I must say a big "THANK YOU" to you for your continued support and encouragement!!!  You have no idea how much your kind words mean and how nice it is to see a "Good Luck!' before I tee off!  I was so overwhelmed by the outpouring of encouragement last year when I created my Facebook page, that I wanted a place where I could share more than just a few sentences about my experiences on the road this season!

Obviously, this is my first time in the "blogging" world, so please be patient with me as I figure out how everything works.  I wanted to put several links on the home page that you can easily reference for live scoring.  The Suncoast Series and the LPGA Futures Tour are the two tours that I will be playing on this season.  Also, the LPGA has open qualifiers for both Alabama events this year, so I hope to be in Mobile and Prattville this year as well!

I am so unbelievably blessed to have the chance to practice and play at FarmLinks Golf Club!  It is a phenomenal facility for a golfer to test and hone his or her skills, but also an absolutely beautiful venue for anyone who loves to be outdoors.  You can find a link to FarmLinks website on the right hand page, and I encourage you to check it out if you haven't before!

Also, for those of you who know me, I have the pleasure of becoming an "elf" around the Christmas holidays at a lovely gift shop in downtown Sylacauga.  Magnolias is the perfect place to grab a gift for any occasion, and has the best gift wrapping in town!  A link to Magnolias website can also be found on the right hand side of this page as well.  You can find anything from Merle Norman makeup to Vera Bradley to Sorrelli jewelry to tableware and any other unique gift you can imagine!

But most of all, thank you for your interest and support as I follow my dream!  I will be hitting the road for my first event next week in Florida!  More updates to come!