German International Amateur Championship, July 25-28

With seemingly most of the summer already in review, I have finally managed the time and energy to step back onto the golf stage and compete in a tournament.  With much anticipation, I traveled to Frankfurt to play in the 2013 "IAM".  130 players from 16 countries have also made the trip and are vying for the trophy held by Moritz Lampert last year and Daan Huizing one before.      

We are playing in Golf Club Neuhof near Frankfurt.  This is a track I absolutely love as it is particularly well maintained and very challenging.  Incredibly tight from the tee yet many par 4's are 420+ and force you to hit driver.  Since I tend to hit driver anywhere, this suits me quite well.  At the players' dinner the night prior, many of the players were discussing how often they play driver.  I heard everything from 2 times to 7 times.  I hit driver 11 times in my practice round and plan on no less in competition.  This aggressive style might get me in trouble, however I can speak from experience that this strategy also dominates when you are running hot.  It worked for me a few years back...   :)

Round one

To summarize round one: I followed through hitting driver in all situations and was very happy with the result, but could not reap the benefits.  I had short irons to pins where others were hitting 5 irons, but I could not convert the putts.  Very frustrating.  At the par 4 15th Tee I was a disgruntled level-par and questioning the seriousness of my situation.  Then, out of nowhere, I one-hop hole out with a wedge for eagle.  I have absolutely no problem leaving the putter in the bag for this one :)  

I par the last three and shoot an opening 70 (-2).  I'm T8 and 5-shots !?! behind the leader.        

Round One 

Round Two

Moving Day(s)

In rounds two and three I continue my aggressive style, and over the next 36 holes I make another eagle, 6 birdies, one bogey and a double-bogey.  The driver was hot.  Most of the leaders after 36 gave some back on Saturday due to tougher conditions, but I was able to take advantage.

Sunday Finale

After 3 rounds of 70 69 70, I find myself tied for 3rd at -7, 2 shots back of the leader Sebastian Von den Hoff.  Sunday I am privileged and excited to play in the leader flight and have another chance at this Championship.

The fan support on the final day was tremendous.  Many Frankfurters came out to line the fairways and watch the final round of the IAM.  For me, I had a very special visitor.  Completely unannounced, Philomena left Munich at 4:30 in the morning and was standing on the driving range even before I arrived.  A wonderful surprise from an amazing girlfriend.  Philo wandered with the crowds the first nine, and as the tension rose on the inward nine, she came inside the ropes, living every decision, every shot and every moment at my side.  My friend and caddy Jonas was the third in this 3-person team.  I had everything I could possibly ask for. 

The final round started off brilliant.  On the fairway of the first, my ball found a sandy divot.  I had to take a step back because the camera man wanted to zoom in on the lie.  He proceeded to say "that's unlucky".  Thanks, man.  I put a 7-iron to 4 meters and made the downhill breaker for birdie.  So much for unlucky.

Friendly vibes with Rotluff after making some putts

I make a 5 meter birdie putt on hole 2 and for the first time in this tournament, find myself tied for the lead with Sebastian Van den Hoff and the German National Team player and Arizona State All-American Golfer, Max Rotluff.  Game on.  

I proceed to lose some momentum as I three-putt the third hole.  I follow that with a pulled 4-iron into the hazard on the par 4 4th hole.  I take a penalty drop, followed by a poor 6 iron to 25 meters (85 feet) and have that left for par.  To add to the drama, Von den Hoff is close for birdie.  I hope to two putt and regain momentum on the par-5 5th.  But... as unexpected as the day-one hole out on 15, I drop the bomb for par and stoically act as if it was standard.  Thank you, thanks, I tip my hat.  

I go on and birdie the 5th but so does Max Rotluff, who is now -10 with Von den Hoff.  I am -9.

I bogey 6, 8 and find the water on the par 5 10th.  I make a solid par on 10 to stay -7.  New stance:  

Von den Hoff -9

Rotluff -8

Foos -8

Ohorn -8

Schmieding & 2 others -7

I bitterly graze the edges, lip-out and manage to miss birdie putts in painful fashion on 11, 12 and 13.  

On the downwind 14th, I attack a short pin from 135 with a gap-wedge, but land short on the bank, ending up back into the water.  I manage to up and down from 50 meters, but still concede a bogey.

I bounce back and make a lengthy birdie putt on 15.  On 16, 17 and 18 I hit three of the best drives I can remember hitting, especially under such tight circumstances, but have to settle with a par, par, par finish.  Von den Hoff has a tough finish after badly missing the fairway on 17 and 18.  The calm and confident Rotluff plays the final four holes in flawless fashion, and finishes the tournament -10, enough to win by 1 shot ahead of Marcel Ohorn and the Danish star Mads Soegaard.  I shoot an eventful, but insufficient even par 72 for the day, finishing the IAM at -7; solo 5th place.

Final Leaderboard

4 Day Scorecard

Up and Down par on 18.


In the end, I was 3 strokes short of the winner.  Slightly disappointing to come so close, but I'm not going to dwell on it.  Although my job has put a major damper on my golf career, I will continue to devote my free-time to bettering my game.  Heck, I practiced only a few days before this event and was able to contend.   The excitement of playing in the final group is tough to beat, and I plan to keep knocking on the door at these international events.  

Link to the IAM 2013 Video

German Bundesliga Division 1

In addition to playing individual tournaments, I will be representing my men's team at Golfclub Olching, in the Division 1 German Bundesliga.  A quick summary of what this entails: In Germany, club teams compete in a season long competition in hopes of moving up divisions, and thereby bringing prestige to their clubs and ultimately being crowned German Club Champion.  There is a tremendous push to build strong club teams, and players are often incentivized (like many other professional sports).  Club teams are a mixture of professionals and amateurs, however a pro must have played at least 3 years of golf at the club they plan to represent.  Amateurs have no requirements, other than they must be good enough to play for their club team.

There are 5 teams in our German Division-1 South.  We have 5 tournament days, one at each home course with all 5 teams present at each.  A day consists of 36 holes, 8 singles stroke-play scores and 4 alternate shot stroke-play scores.  The total scores are compared and the 5 teams earn points based on their finish.  1st place = 5 points, 2nd place = 4 points, last = 1 point.  At the end of the season, teams with points at rank 1 & 2 are eligible to compete for the National Championship, rank 3 holds the Division and place 4 & 5 are relegated into the second division.  There is the same system for the lower divisions, with their goal being to reach the first division.

Our team won its way into Division-1 last year in epic fashion, as one of our youngsters shot 66 in the final group to put us through by 1 shot, for the first time in our club's history.  We are incredibly excited to tee it up against the power-houses of Germany.  Nearly all division 1 teams have playing pros from as high as the European Tour.  Our Golfclub Olching is 100% home-grown amateurs.  Our goal is to hold the division, which would be quite a feat.

A good photo of our Men's and Women's team.  Our life-long friend Tim turns 50!  Spunky, you are the best!

In addition to competing as a club, there is german individual ranking which is comprised of the individual scores and finishes of all the tournaments.

Matchday 1 - Stuttgart

The first tournament was played at Golfclub Stuttgart May 11 & 12.  The conditions were very poor - just barely above freezing, rainy and windy.  Nearly unplayable.  In a strong field, including European tour pro Mo Lampert, not one player was able to break par.  The best round of the day was a 72.  I shot 76 (+4) and finished a remarkable T-4 given the score, which helped me gain some individual points.  Finishing 4th in division-1 south as an individual put me in place 44 of 920 in the German Liga rankings.

Despite the miserable weather, there was still a respectable gathering of spectators.  Beer and Bratwurst stands were set up for those who could handle the storm.

Our team was shown that division-1 is not for the faint of heart, and despite being in place 5 for most of the day's live scoring, we ended strong with some team birdies and finished in 4th, ahead of Golfclub Feldafing and secured 2 points.

Matchday 2 - St. Leon Rot

The second tournament took place the weekend of June 1 & 2 in Golf Club St. Leon Rot.  Again, the weather was not cooperating.  It has rained for days on end and much of Germany was under flood watch.

The first green - one day prior to the tournament.

In the nearby city

However, the skys cleared on Sunday morning and we were able to play under sunshine.  For the first time in 9 months, I was able to put a round together.  I was 100% off the Tee and the putter was... decent.   I managed to shoot 67 and win the individual title at St. Leon Rot.  It felt great to put this round under my belt.  It's about time.

Even more exciting was our success as a team.  At half-time (after the individual rounds), we were in second place.  I was very frustrated with some comments a few weeks back along the lines of "What is Golfclub Olching doing in the first division?"  Today, individual positions 1 & 2 were taken by GC Olching and we were (at the time) in second place as a team.  As I later made clear in an interview - "We are here to stay"

In the end we finished 3rd, 6 shots behind first place and about 20 ahead of 4th.  3 points.  

After Matchday 2, Golfclub Olching is in place 3 and, for the time-being, out of the relegation zone.

  

With the 67 in St. Leon Rot, I moved up to place 2 in the German Liga Rankings.  

More to come soon...

Dedication

Alas, my 7-month hiatus from golf is coming to an end.  The coming of April should provide the first snowmelt and I’m looking forward to see some familiar faces again.  I have, to my own surprise, assiduously followed the Dr.’s orders (which I hardly ever do), and successfully healed, strengthened, and retrained my back from last year’s injury.  

Much has happened outside of golf this winter – the excitement of career and family outvies the feeling of making birdies, BUT that being said, I still plan to make some noise in Germany & Europe, so stay with me…   

20-4-13

Despite my inability to distinguish spring from winter, my motivation to relearn the game is fresh.  I love this sport and I am out here in the snow, rain, and hail for one reason: to win golf tournaments. 

TU Golf Lab, Munich

 

  

The season begins in Ascona, Switzerland at the Ticino Championship, aside the gorgeous Lago Maggiore.  If you have previously read this blog, you might remember I finished 2nd here last year shooting 70, 71, 67.  I absolutely love this venue, the surroundings and the Italian food.  We left the Bavarian snow and arrived two days early to practice... golf in pants and a polo... heaven.  

Tee 16

Round one:

I wasn't sure what to expect after nearly 8 months off from golf.  Long story short, I hit the ball OK... fairways & greens - no problem.  The putting is a disaster.  I don't even want to say how many 3-putts I had.  In the end, a 74.  The leader, a Swiss player I had never heard of, shot 68 .  I'm T-21 and 6 back.    

Day two... there was no day two.  A rather nasty storm took on the Swiss-Italian region and day two was rained out.  We spent the day practicing and working on our Italian in the town of Ascona.  

The course was unplayable.

In the end, the rain did not subside and much to our disgruntlement, we took the 6-hour drive home.  The Ticino Championship is such an incredible tournament, and I was saddened to leave on this standard.  At least I didn't shoot 64 in the first round...

We did have one evening at Grotto Baldoria.  This is the restaurant without a menu, you are just served an amazing Italian meal.  The elderly couple that run it only speak Italian.  The bill, at the end, is whatever Antonio decides you should pay.  In our case, it was 30 CHF per man.  He must have liked us.  The amazing pasta was served from a 20 KG stone pot.  Absolutely perfect. 

The next tournament is in 4 weeks and takes me to Vienna, Austria.  

The PGA of Germany: Adamstal Open.  

May 27-29.

  

July-September 2012 - International German Championship & Deutsche Meisterschaft

This time I have really been on hiatus, but there is much to update.  Since the success at the British, my competitive golf drive has lost some of its steam.  This may sound negativistic, but I assure you, such is not the case :)  My attention and focus has wandered more and more away from the golf course.  In short, my investment work has provided me a golden opportunity, and I'm going after it.  This has blossomed a new serenity in my life and simply speaking, put golf in the backseat.  But this is a golf blog, so let me get to it.

July 19-22.  German International Championship

We are playing the beautiful Green Eagle Golf Course in Winsen, Germany.  I pull in after my 6 hour drive and succumb to goosebumps as I take my first glance at the course.    

Green Eagle is the ultimate rose analogy.  This meadow has thorns in the form of excessive water, gnarly rough, wind, undulated lightning speed greens, and... 7208m (7925 yards) from the tips.  Top 10 longest courses... in the world.  Brute.

The weather has pestered me all season long, so it's only fair I get to play this gem in beautiful weather.  I think my next photo will save me a paragraph of frustration.

Last year, I titled my entry to this tournament "Heartbreak Sunday", and that is because I lead the tournament after all three rounds, only to give the lead away to Dutch phenom Dann Huizing on day 4 and finish 3rd.  The field is equally as talented this year and I'm excited to play this tournament with some history and respect amongst the players.

During the players party the evening beforehand, the DGV asked a few players to come up and speak about their biggest successes in golf.  These 5 were put on the spot, and after hearing "when I won this, when I beat him" a few times, it was my turn.  I said, "I pride myself not to have shot a round in the 80's in the last 8 years and to never have missed a cut in my amateur career."  Can you say karma???

Freddi and me playing round one together ^^^^

I open round one in 79 (+6) in the pouring rain.  Puts me in T-55 of 120.  60 and ties cut after 3 rounds.  Moritz Lampert, who has been seemingly winning every event he plays, brings home a 69 (-4) and leads the way.  +2 in round two brings me to T-25, but I'm clearly not playing my best and now playing for position.  The third round I completely break down and shoot "an" 82 (+9).  I don't think I've ever used the article"an" when posting a score.  Great timing after my wise choice of words a few nights back.  Somehow I make the cut (phew), and fire "a" 73 in the final round, ending my misery in T-42.  Btw, Moritz shoots (-10) for the tournament.  No one else finished under par...

September 6-9.  Deutsche Meisterschaft Golfclub Hardenberg

The German Golf Association has been a phenomenal backing to the development of golf in Germany.  This week again, in Hardenberg, we are privileged to compete on another fantastic golf course.  This unique layout brings an unusual obstacle into play.  Namely, stone.  Many of the fairways and greens are surrounded by artistically crafted walls of stone, prompting some interesting lies and ridiculous improvisation shots.  The course again, is a championship design and extremely challenging.  I don't expect to see too many red numbers this week...  

I shoot 77 75 and again, am not really on my game.  I don't get to practicing and my focus just isn't there.  On top of that, I have been dealing with some back problems since July, and for the first time in my career, I contemplated withdrawing

.  

But, my spirit refuses to give in, and after a heated discussion with the mental coach of the national team, who argued I was being egotisitical to continue, I decided to play one more round.  I want to make the cut, and then I can retire.  At least I will keep that statistic.  Reaffirming that golf is a game of confidence and heart, I close with one of the low rounds of the day, making putt after putt for a 72.  I climb to T-18 of 102, make the cut, but still withdraw from the final.  

To this I am taking a longer break from golf, but I plan to heal my back and intensively train my body through the winter.  If I can balance it in with work, I will select a few specific events next year to play... Most likely Como, Italy and perhaps in a few similar life-inspiring locations.  It is now time for Oktoberfest here in my city.  The last hurrah before winter, which I am very much looking forward to :)

  

The Amateur Championship, Royal Troon Golf Club,  June 18-23

If there is one tournament you want to win as an amateur, it’s the Amateur Championship.  The structure is as follows: 288 players at the start.  We play 2 rounds of stroke play and then the top 64 make the cut and are placed into a matchplay bracket, which we then play down to 32, 16… etc.  Pretty tight as 224 of 288 players will be flying home after only two rounds.  I have again arranged to practice with the German team for this event, which is great as I won’t be in Scotland for 10 days on my own.  7 others and myself will be sharing two swing coaches, a mental coach and a physical therapist for the week.  It’s good to be German… not even the American’s have this much service with their squad. 

The three days of practice were absolutely miserable.  Damn you Scotland.  Each day we had sub 50* weather, 30+ mph winds and of course rain, rain, rain.  As if Royal Troon wasn’t difficult enough.  We played one practice round in Western Gailes and not one player broke 80.    However, by some miracle, the heavens cleared just in time for round one.  Even though the wind continued, it was refreshing to wear fewer than 5 layers.

Round one: Royal Troon

Cheers to Martin Shaw for hooking me up with Andy Wright on my bag.  You are the man Andy!  

I began a bit nervy.   Believe me when I say, Troon heartlessly punishes the slightest imperfection… like a championship links course should.  I began bogey, bogey, par … and then something just clicked.  I stood over a 25 footer on the 4th and knew I would make it.  I followed with another birdie on the 225 yard par 3, 5^th and went on to birdie 8, 9, 10.  I’m -2 through 10 and rather pumped.  All the practice and time in the rain was paying off.  We walked to the nasty 11^th, where two groups were stalled at the tee because only “one of each two tee-balls have been put in play” today.  This is one of the most ridiculous golf holes I have ever come across. 

Royal Troon Hole 11:  Par 4, 490 yards Hcp 1.  The tee shot is blind as we must drive it over a giant bush.  It is important to trust your caddy here and pick a target in the distance while weighing in the prevailing winds.  You must carry it minimum 220 just to clear the shrubs, left are impenetrable thorn bushes and right you’ll find the railroad tracks (OB).  100 meters dead left is a hill with a spotter standing on top, holding a red and green flag .  You can guess what each represents. 

Link to ----> Royal Troon Hole 11

I hit my driver and Andy’s silence brings me an immediate chill.  I look over to the hill and the spotter lifts the red flag.  I was just a few yards left of my target and it wasn’t even a draw.  I re-tee and hit a similar shot and again look over to the hill; green flag.  Like I said, ridiculous.  Then I have a hybrid into a green where the o.b. posts are literally on the right edge and left looks just as ugly.  I make triple bogey and go back to +1, still a great score through 11 at Troon.  I gather myself with a clutch up and down par on 12 and refreshingly make two more birdies on 15 and 16.  An opening round of (-1) 70 at Troon with 7 birdies.  Sweeeeet.

Link to ----> Stroke Play Scorecard

The scores were surprisingly good, but then again these are the top amateurs in the world.  I’m in T-12 out of 288 and looking at the leaderboard, I estimated tomorrow’s cut to be +2… if not even +1. 

I did however make the day 1 leaderboard :)

Round Two: Gailes Glasgow links

I have an afternoon time and the wind is howling.  Gusts of 50mph… what is this, hurricane Andrew?  I grind my pars for a while but find a pot bunker on 7 and 10, both resulting in double bogeys.  I’m +5 thru 16, +4 for the tournament and expect the cut to be +1/+2.  I need to birdie 17 and 18 to have a chance at matchplay.  I have a 50 footer on 17 and leave it 8 feet short… great.  I guess that’s it.  I make the 8-footer despite being adrenaline deficient and hit a solid drive into the wind on the long 18^th.  I walk up to my ball to find it in a divot, the nasty kind of divot.  Andy gives me a rye smile and says, at least you didn’t make the 50-footer on 17, making positive of my bad luck.  I pull 4-iron from 208 and bang out a low stinger, which rolls more than flies.  It then keeps rolling… and rolling… somehow missing the greenside pot bunkers (cool), and ends 20 feet above the hole.  Walking to the green, some of Andy’s friends shout over to us “the scores today are silly high in this wind”.  Immediate adrenaline.  I spend a good 3 minutes reading and discussing my putt with Andy.  Downhill, 2.5 paces right to left… don’t leave it short.  It goes right in the heart.  (+4) 75… in the poker world we would call this “running good”.  And yes, I truly “ran good”, as I then waited 4 hours and watched the scores, only to find out +3 for the tournament put me in T62 because the last 3 groups could not bring in a round under 75.  Matchplay, here we go!!!

Matchplay round one opponent: Peter Valasek (Slovakia)

We are the very first match of the day.  7:00 am.   Once again I made the wonderful decision to visit the Red Lion last night with some locals for the England vs. Sweden match.  How much do the Scots dislike the English? … Let’s just say you wouldn’t make it very far down the street in a Three Lions jersey. Ibra had a game but the Limeys take it 3-2.

To golf.  I begin par bogey par and am 2-down thru 3.  I already see where this is heading… I bounce back by birdieing 8 and am gifted number 11; All Square.  Peter counters with birdies on 12 and pars 13; I’m 2 down, 3 to go.  I get lucky and drop a long one on 16 for birdie and we tie 17.  I feel like I’m playing a tour event with the all the advertisement and spectators lining the closing holes.  I go to 18 one down.  In the end, I have a 6-footer for par to win the hole… and it goes.  We both fire 73’s.  Extra holes.

I can tell Peter is nervous after losing his 2 up lead, so I play a conservative “fairways and greens” approach and will await his mistake.  We tie 19 and 20 with pars and on 21 Peter cannot up and down from a green bunker, leaving me with a comfortable 2 putt to win the match.  Round two – here we go.

Matchplay round two opponent: Daniel Young (England)

I have about an hour downtime for a quick lunch before we head out for the afternoon round two.  The wind has picked up a touch, but definitely mild conditions for Scotland.  Apparently two of the favorites: Daan Huizing and a French phenom (forgot his name) went busto in the first round.  Welcome to matchplay…

This match versus Daniel Young is one I won’t ever forget.  I was later quoted in the German paper saying, “This was the best golf I have ever played”.  Maybe a bit over-zealous, and I was definitely teased for this back home… but hey, not sure how else to describe it… we’re playing Troon here, not some neighborhood park course!!

I start by making back-to-back 20 footers for birdie on 1 and 2.  2-up.  We tie 3 with pars and tie 4 with birdie.  I birdie 5, 7, 8 and to add insult to injury, I hole a 75 footer from 10 yards off the green on 9.  I shoot 29 on the front and poor Daniel, with a solid -1, is 5 down.  He walks to the 10^th shaking his head, knowing the match is essentially over.  Had he played his -1 versus me in the morning, he would have been 3 up.  Daniel concedes my 5 footer on 10, which to me signals the white flag.  In the end I give a few back but take the match 3&2 after 16 holes.  What a day.  I’ve made round 3 of the British.  32 players remain, 20 of which are from the UK.  My friend Stephan Jaeger is the only other German to make it to the round of 32.  Booya!  Time to extend my hotel stay and rebook my flight.

I try to express my emotions of tournament golf best I can through this blog, and these last days I have had a few things on my mind, that in retrospect are the real reason I was still in this tournament; one thing wonderful, and something tragic.  Some emotions simply offset nervousness by providing perspective, as was the case this week.  Before I continue, I want to recognize my dear friend Helen, who I had on my mind nearly every shot today.  We talked last night after she unexpectedly lost her father.  Helen, I know you read this, so I’m going to add this photo for you.       

Round 3 opponent: Eduoard Espana (France)

Eduoard had a very intimidating image.  Sponsored out the wazoo and accompanied by a large following… but as I mentioned, not much can shake me today.  I come out of the gate hot again, birdieing 1, 3 and winning 4 with a par.  I’m 3 up through 4.  My confidence is sky high. 

The par 3, 5^th.  Playing into the wind, it’s 218 to the pin.  No less than a wood gets us there today, and I hit a bullet to the middle of the green.  A par here has a good chance to win the hole, and I could go 4 up… on a normal day.  Eduoard crushes my first theory by pulling a 4-iron and hits the shot of the tournament.  Never left the line of the pin.  His ball took one hop and he freaking jars it.  Hole in one.  Touché.  2-up.

We flipped a few holes and Eduoard then goes on to birdie the par 3, 8^th, and par 3, 14^th to square the match.  He played the par 3’s in 1, 2, 2.  My mind races “Well at least I can say I lost to a hole in one… nope, get that thought out of your head, stat… stay in perspective, enjoy the moment.”

We both have 6 footers on 17.  I make, Eduoard misses.  I'm 1-up going to 18.  I then put my second shot 5-iron to 10 feet on the last, and Eduoard can’t find the green in 3.  I didn’t even have to pull a putter.  The match is conceded 2-up thru 18.  All of a sudden I’m the last German standing and am into the 4^th round, with only 4 players remaining between Augusta and me. 

Round 4 opponent: Jacobo Pastor (Spain)

The sweet 16 of the British Am… how exciting.  Jacobo was also the last Spaniard standing and had his entire national team along for the ride today.  Surprisingly, the Spanish possy applauded and cheered my shots as much as his, emitting a warm atmosphere in a rather important match.  This match could not have been more even.  We drove the ball identical distances and made absolutely zero course-management mistakes.  Once in a while he would hole a putt, and vice versa.  I was 1-dn through 5, 1-up through 9, 1-dn through 13, and again 1-up through 16.  I miss a 10 footer on 17 to tie the hole and we go to 18, fairly, all square.  We are left with tricky 5 footers on 18 for par, but both take care of business.  Extra holes again.

 The round of 16 matches have been broadcasted on the UK sports network Sky, and us going extra holes had the camera crews all up in a tizzy, frantically relocating from 18 to catch us on hole one.  Very enjoyable. 

On 19, we both hit the green.  I’m about 4 meters out and Jaco is about 6.  He misses his and I have a chance to win the match.  I hit a really good putt that loses speed and grazes the hole on the low side.  I look over at Andy and he gives me a silent “Wow”.  Yes, it was one of those putts.  On 20, again we both hit fairway and green.  I’m about 10 meters and Jaco is out 5 meters.  I put it close for a conceded par and with camera’s rolling, Jacobo throws a big fist pump as he holes for birdie.  Good game. 

Honestly, I wasn’t the least bit upset.  I smiled and congratulated Jacobo, who, very simply put, beat me today.  In the end I took T9 for losing in the round of 16.  No Augusta this year, but a lasting memory and a plethora of world ranking points.  My 6 am flight is booked and I’m SO ready to get home to my friends in Munich.

My next event isn’t until July 19-22, where I will play the German International Championship.  See you then!