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My Duramed Futures Tour Q-School Experience - Making the Cut
I made the cut after the fourth round in the Duramed Futures Tour Qualifier here in Lakeland, Florida, and after having a good first three rounds, today was a bit of a different story. I hung in all day and finished with a 78, good enough to make the cut, putting me in the final round tomorrow, played at Lake Region Golf Club.
I can’t even begin to explain the emotion that has gone into the last four days of golf. My first round was definitely full of the jitters. I was nervous the entire front nine until I drained a 15 foot slider for par at the par 4 seventh hole. Sometimes it only takes one swing, one putt, one something to turn the butterflies off and really get you comfortable in your round-that putt was it. I turned at 3-over and started dropping putts to make 3 more birdies and 1 bogey to shoot a 1-over 73.
Tuesday’s round was at Ridgewood Lakes Golf Course, a resort style course that has large fairways, and even larger greens, it’s a good thing because the wind started blowing at 8 am and never stopped. This was by far my best putting round of the four days. My dad and I added up my footage and came up with 160 feet of putts made including a 30-foot downhill slider on the first hole and three in a row on the backside from 15-25 feet! I worked my way through a not-so-great ball striking day to post a 2-over par, 74.
Yesterday, we teed it at The Club at Bridgewater, in my opinion, the hardest and definitely most visually intimidating golf course of the four this week. Battling a persistent 20 mph wind all day, patience was key. Again, I made the turn at 3-over par after making my first 3-putt of the week as well as two bogies with a 9-iron in my hand, a bit frustrating to say the least.
A birdie at the par five 10th calmed me down a bit and then it was just a matter of getting in and dealing with the wind. Unfortunately it wasn’t just the elements that were trying, but also my stomach. The final 5 holes I dealt with one of the worst stomach aches I’ve ever had while playing. Bad enough that I had 2 officials following me, continually asking if I was going to be okay as I was doubled over in pain anytime I wasn’t hitting a shot. Needless to say, I somehow found myself with 4 birdie opportunities within 10 feet in the final 6 holes, and only managed to capitalize on one, leading to my 2-under, 34 on the back nine. It sure would have been fun to make a few more coming in! I’ll take 74 on that course any day!
Today, was a brutal battle with the wind as well at Huntington Hills. The front nine we fought a steady 25mph wind with gusts up to 30mph that wreaked havoc on the entire field. I hit a lot of solid shots and put a lot of good strokes on the ball, but for some reason I just never scored. With only two birdies on the scorecard, I posted a 6-over par 78, not exactly wonderful and definitely not good enough to feel confident that I had made the cut.
For the next hour, we played the scoreboard watching game, NOT FUN.
By 4pm, it was time to celebrate! I made the cut (top 90 and ties out of a 275-person field) and will be playing the final round tomorrow! I tell ya, it feels so good to be back competing and even better that I was able to stay patient and hang in to get to this point. My work isn’t over, but tomorrow promises to be a fun day at Lake Region. After two years off of competitive golf, I can now proudly say that it’s all worth it in the end, funny, it’s only the beginning!
Birdies Forever, Julie
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