Ever since the end of last years Memorial, I have been looking forward to going back and playing better. My parents went down to Arizona early and were living the dream in the nice weather. I on the other hand played a tournament in a blizzard, barely made it home alive. Found out my flight had been canceled and needed to find another flight to get to Arizona. It was a crazy day or two simply trying to go back to the place that had been so much fun but started my rough year last year.
After flying standby to get on an earlier flight, I finally made it to Arizona in time to get one of the two practice rounds I had hoped to play in. Sure, I played the last few holes in near darkness, but I made it and did so without loosing a disc. Though lest be honest, if I had not thrown near perfect tee shots on the last two holes that probably would not have been the case.
The next few days brought more practice rounds including some windy conditions that I was not too excited about. Thankfully the there were still lessons to be learned from that round. I also had the chance to play a practice round on the new course to the tournament with the likes of Nikko Locastro, Max Nichols and Jessice Weese. It was entertaining to watch Nikko and Max go back and forth with each other and to see what practice really meant to them. Ultimately it was also an encouraging round as I realized that it was not out of the question that I could make the effort to find myself at a much higher level than I am now. That is really the best way to describe it.
The first round brought nearly an all Colorado card together. I felt bad for the one guy from Utah until I realized that I played with him last year at the Memorial. Other than that I was also with Jared Roan and Lance Trott. It was exactly what I needed and made for a relaxed round. I made a few mistakes and missed a few putts that I would very much like to have back, but largely I played well at Fountain and shot better than I had the previous year. It was not a great round for any of us, but it was fun.
The second round was an early morning at Vista. It started out well including a birdie on the first hole, but some poor putting once again led to some disappointment. I also tried a roller on the 15th hole that rolled straight into the water and the loss of my best roller disc. Even to this day as I am writing this much later than I had intended, I still miss that disc. I have tried to beat in other discs but with no success. The round was also followed by a nice lunch with one of the guys I played with and some other disc golfers that I knew and someone donating $50 toward our bill. Thank you very much to the person who decided to do that.
The third round for me was the biggest roller coaster ride for me of the tournament. There were some great holes. I threw one of the most amazing roller shots I have ever thrown early in the round. But I also had some of the worst tee shots I have ever had including one of the worst rollers I have ever had later in the round. There were bad rolls and shots that were just a tad to short or a tad too long. Putts were not wanting to fall and even a dead center putt on 18 to salvage a descent round would not stick in the chains. At least the course was right next to an IN-N-OUT.
As I did not make the cut, I also had the joy of caddying for Paige Bjerkaas, a dear friend of mine from Colorado as she played in the final round. I was not the caddy that I wanted to be for her and she did not paly as well as I know she is capable of playing. It was still a fun experience.
There were also a couple of other amazing things that happened on this trip. First was having dinner with JohnE McCray and his wife Jen. They are some really awesome people. I met JohnE and Jen last year at the Memorial. JohnE loves God and we even prayed together before his first round. It was probably one of the highlights of last season for me as I mentioned in a previous blog post. This year included praying before the tournament again and even having dinner with JohnE and Jen. I am blessed to be able to call them friends.
JohnE and Jen also introduced me to Dustin and Hanah Leatherman at this years Memorial and I am blessed to have made new friends whom also love Jesus. I hope there is more news to share in the near future concerning meeting Dustin.
It was quite sad to leave the nice warm weather in Arizona and go back to a place where the weather was still cold and snowy. But, Colorado is home. I do look forward to being back in Arizona again next year for the Memorial and doing even better.
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