As I sit down to write this post I am still not entirely sure that what happened this past Saturday at the Peak One Open actually happened. The Peak One Open is a great tournament run by Jeremy who works for the Town of Frisco, CO at their Adventure Park. I got to know him well when I played a couple of rounds with him earlier this year at Sakuna Matata. He clearly put a lot of work into the event and minus the lack of hearing what anyone was saying during awards, it was a great tournament. The best part was the free lunch that was included in the players pack, even for the pros, that included food from the Octoberfest festivities that was happening in the park during the tournament. Maybe there is something about cheese filled kielbasa with sauerkraut and spicy mustard on it that makes me happy.
Last year at this same event I played horribly. I was near the bottom of advanced and for some reason could not put two and two together. This year I have clearly been playing better disc golf, but after winning in Wyoming I stepped up to play in Open. And of course when I see the cards for the first round, I saw that I got the joy and privilege of playing with the top rated player in the state of Colorado. I had so many excuses as to why this should be a bad tournament for me. Prior to the first round though I went up to a friend of mine who I met playing out in California before I ever moved back to Colorado and said, I am playing with the best player in the state, what advice do you have for me? His response is perhaps the best piece of advice I seem to be hearing over and over again. Play your game. You can't play the same game as anyone else because they do things that you can't. For some reason hearing those words put me at ease.
It only took one hole to realize that there was something special happening at this tournament for me. I had a good drive but put myself in a place where making my putt would take one of my crazy push putts through the smallest gap in some pine trees that I have ever though possible to get a disc through. I watched the top rated player in the state miss his putt that was slightly longer before I hit my putt without really being able to even see the basket. I went on from there to shoot my best round ever. 43 throws is all it took my to complete the 18 hole course and somehow it meant I kept pace with the best player in the state who did end up beating me in the end by just one throw. There really were no words to describe the round other than I simply kept making good throws and kept making putts for the most part. There were still a few places where I would have liked to have done better which means there is still room for improvement. That is a scary thought. My favorite moment from this round came on a hole where I could not quite figure out what shot to throw. I watched the top rated guy in the state throw a thumber and said, hmm, that looks nice and I have that shot in my bag. So I threw the shot and ended up five feet closer. We both made our putts. This was about the only moment in the tournament when I let my decision be affected by this top rated player, but I still played my game.
In the midst of eating my amazing kielbasa, realizing that I would be on the lead card in Open for the first time in my life and only one throw behind the leader I literally said, no matter what happens in the second round I am so happy with shooting one good round that it really doesn't matter how well I play. I mean, I am playing with three of the top disc golfers in the state this next round, what could be better? I mean sure, I could win the tournament, but there is no way that is going to happen.
On the first hole of the second round I threw a tee shot that went way off the intended line and by all appearances, it was going to be a tough round. I managed to get my par and moved on to the second hole. That is when I got a glimmer of the possibility that it wasn't just going to be one round of amazing. I had five birdies in a row and then just missed number six. I just kept playing my game and kept having fun and kept shooting well. With about five holes left the rain started to come down and the temperatures cooled off a little bit. I really worked hard not to think about where I was in relation to the other players and focused on just having fun. It must have worked. When I looked back at what happened over the last three holes I figured out that I was tied with two other 1000+ rated players for second place and we were all three throws behind the top player in the state. I proceeded to birdie the last three holes and watched the two guys I was tied with go par, par, par and bogey, par, par. Of course, it was not my day to win the tournament as the top rated player in the state finished with three birdies of his own.
I am not entirely sure what happened. There is no explanation I can give for anything I did. I can only give the credit to God. I had a blast and focused on having fun and doing the best I can do. I have not seen round ratings at this point as the scores have not been uploaded to the PDGA site, but the estimates I got from the guys I played with put both of my rounds near 1020 as far as a rating is concerned.
I learned that if I play my game and have fun, there isn't a single disc golfer out there that I can't beat on the right day. I may not always win, but I know I can keep pace with the best. Don't worry about the bad shots, and forget about the good ones in the moment. Play your game and not anyone else's. I think that with my improved consistency, this could be the start of something amazing. Up next is The Johnny Roberts Memorial, once again playing with the pros. If I keep the same attitude and mentality, there is no telling how much fun I am going to have.
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