First Round of the Florida Natural Charity Classic began on Friday. I had an afternoon tee time at 1:10 pm and conditions consisted of a high of 29 degree Celsius and winds up to 20 km/h! It was the first round and was up early for my late tee time, so I took my time getting ready after a 9 hour sleep and was pumped to tee it up.
Once I had got to the course, I started my routine warm-up that usually takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes which includes bathroom breaks and walking between practice facilities. I begin with hitting a few putts to get a feel of the greens for about 15 minutes and head to the range. I do my dynamic warm up for about 5 minutes and start hitting balls. The time I spend on the range before my round is about 20 minutes to get my body up and running for my round. From there I walk over to the chipping area and chip for about 10 minutes getting my feel for the grass and the sand bunkers. Its about the time to hit a few more putts on the green from distances between 5-10 feet to get a better feel and hone in on my stroke before tee off. My warm up is nearing its end and I head to the tee to prepare my pin sheets and quickly review my yardage book to start managing my playing strategy. The first tee. I have never been so nervous on the tee when the announcer called my name (except for the time at the 2010 U.S. Women's Open at Oakmont when I teed it up) and I had my hands shaking and could barely tee my ball up! I have played this game for 12 years and I still shake on the first tee at events no matter the occasion.
I had 18 holes ahead of me. I started off with a bogey which was all nerves. Once I finished the hole, I was really ready to take on the course. The round was an all around good round. I was able to make sand saves and get up and down from around the greens and made putts. I have been hitting the ball well so I am confident in my ball striking which had helped me a lot. The greens were rolling at about a consistent 11 on the stimpmeter and I was making key putts. My short game is always a work in progress but never in my life had I been so confident with it and today had been the day. I finished my round at +1 (73) and was in a good spot. I had confidence in myself for the second round, aka moving day.
It had been a long day with my afternoon tee time and was left with less time for rest before the next round, so every hour of my 7 hour sleep had to count.
(Amy and I after Round 1)
(After my cool down practice, I had an hour to relax while I waited for Amy to finish her round)
(LIJA Selfie!)
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