New Mexico state Open

Back in competition after a few weeks off ,after Made in Denmark. I played my first pro event in the US this past week. It was really nice to get back into competition mode, golf is a funny game, you can practice all you want but nothing comes close to playing a tournament.  

 

Round nr. 1. I was playing in the afternoon wave, which was not very lucky because the wind was blowing very hard and the greens were not great. Sometimes you get lucky as a golfer and get in the wave where the weather gives you an edge compared to your competitors, this was not the case here. I managed to shoot 67 in the first round, which I was very happy with. It was tough out there, but I managed to stay present and have full focus on what I was doing. I played very well and didn’t make many mistakes. I only had two holes where I had more than 3 feet for par, which was very pleasing in tough conditions like we had.

 

Round nr. 2. The weather was a lot better for the second round, but the pins were put in tough spots, where it was very important to be on the right side of the pin. I managed to hit 17 greens, which was nice. I shot 68, I felt like it could have been a little better than 68, but I didn’t hit it close enough to the pin. I had a very stress free round. I didn’t have a par put longer than 3 feet all day. When I am playing, I am trying to make it as stress free as possible, not having puts over 3 feet for par in a round is diffidently a stress free round for me.

 

Round nr. 3. The final round was a bit of a challenge for me. The wind was blowing very hard and I didn’t have my A game on the first 8 holes. I was not good of the tee on the first 5 holes, didn’t hit a fairway on the first 5. I managed to hit 8 greens on the front nine even know I was not hitting it well of the tee. Didn’t give myself any good chances so not making any bogies on the first 8 was good. This was a round where I could easily have let it go and shot 3-4 over on the front 9. 

I managed to make a birdie on 9 and I was in a good position to get myself back into the tournament. Made birdie on 10 and 11 as well. The rest of the round was a little bit of a mix. I managed to shoot 68 and finish 6th in the tournament. I felt like the game was better than I scored, but the purpose of this tournament was to get ready for q-school in the beginning of October. It was a very good warm up and I was pleased with how I handled myself.  Again I had a relatively stress free round. I only had two holes where I had more than 3 feet for par.

 

I looking forward to getting back in action and have a good showing at the first stage of q-school. I will come back with an update after the tournament.

 

Thank you very much for reading about my life as a golfer. 

 

Martin Simonsen