The Battle Begins

Hi All!
        Once again I have fallen behind on my blog writing and for that I apologize. Let's see, where did I leave off.... Oh yes, EUGENE!! After Bruce and I left Coeur d'Alene, we headed to Eugene where we got to be apart of celebrating two awesome marriages. With a week between the "I Do's" Bruce and I got to spend a lot of time at my old college course, Emerald Valley. It was so much fun to be back in Eugene to visit with friends, old teammates and family. I even got to take part in a friendly Thursday competition amongst the wonderful members at Emerald.
          After spending ten great days in Eugene, it was time to pack up the car once again and drive 1,250 miles to my hometown, Gilbert, Arizona. As soon as we arrived in Arizona, I realized how much I had been spoiled with Oregon and Idaho summer weather!! 110 didn't feel as nice as I remembered it. With limited days in Gilbert, Bruce and I spent many hours with my coach, Kene Bensel. Within the first few seconds of Kene seeing me swing, he told me it was the best he had EVER seen me swing!!! WEWWWWW! What a giant boost of confidence right before LPGA Qualifying School. After making sure my swing was in check and my putting looked good, we packed up again and headed for  Palm Springs, CA.
         Arriving in Palm Springs, Bruce and I were ready to take on the Sun Coast tour in preparation for Q-school that would take place on the same courses in the following week. During our practice rounds we played great, despite 115 degree temperatures and the muggy blanket that covered us. After the practice rounds we were ready to go!! That brings us to yesterday, August 18th when I teed it up in my second professional tournament. After hitting the ball so great for many weeks straight, I thought it would be impossible for anything to go wrong. However, I was wrong...very wrong. It seemed as if something it my swing changed over night, and for those of you who play golf you know that this can happen. I really struggled my first day of the tournament shooting an 80 and feeling totally disappointed. I couldn't believe my game seemed to be crumbling in front of me at such an inopportune time. After spending the afternoon cooling down, I started thinking about my swing and wondering what I could do differently the following day. With some love and tons of encouragement for Bruce, we decided to wake up early the next day (that being today) to try and figure out what went wrong. This isn't something I would normally do in the middle of the tournament, but I decided since I had a huge week ahead of me and that I didn't tee off today until almost 1pm, I had plenty of time. After a little bit of freaking out and watching some video, Bruce and I were back to hitting it great!!! I went out on the course today with a ton more confidence and a swing that was easy to score with. Despite a few little faults and missed putts, I shot a one-under 71! Although I kind of shot myself out of the competition with my first round, I had been looking at this tournament as a very extended practice for the week ahead in the first place. With two more days of competition ahead, I hope to continue playing better on these courses and have tons of confidence heading into Qualifying School, beginning August 26th. You can follow my progress in the Sun Coast Tour event at http://www.suncoastseries.com/ . Also, check back here to hear my thoughts about Q-school and a few words from my wonderful caddy, Bruce! Thank you all for your kind words and support, we couldn't do it without you!!