19.05.21:
Just like that, the first LET event of the 2021 season is completed! Knud and I really enjoyed being back on the Ladies European Tour. We made the cut, which is always good, with the scores 76 and 78 on Thursday and Friday, and 79 and 74 on Saturday and Sunday resulting in a total of 307 shots (+19). You might ask: Why are the scores so very high? The simple answer is, because the weather gods decided to make us work for it.
An outdoor sport
The day I found most enjoyable, believe it or not, was the day we were fighting to walk straight as the wind and rain were trying to knock us down from all sides! I was looking at it as the optimal chance to learn, and to chase the top. It might sound corny, but I was 10 over par when I teed it up for my third round, and I saw it as an opportunity that most of the field also had to play in the extreme conditions giving me a chance to climb on the leaderboard. Unfortunately the wind and I did not become friends, but with my high ball flight, and previous struggles in strong winds, I was pretty happy about my 79.
Much credit to the girls that managed to play well in spite of the weather, because it was a strain both physically and mentally. There was a slight downside to teeing off early that third round, because with the rain splashing down on and off the whole day, the greens eventually became un playable. And after two different suspensions of play the tournament director decided to postpone the rest of what was left of the third round to the next morning. Half the field were lucky and got to finish the next day with next to perfect conditions. That happens sometimes, with golf being an outdoor sport and the competitive fields being as large as it is, everyone cannot always play simultaneously. That is how it is, and it is really just the luck of the draw 🙂
Always something to improve
Looking at the tournament as a whole I am happy about how I am hitting my driver from the tee. I learned a lot about my irons and how we perform into the strong winds as well as when the wind is coming from the sides. I struggled quite a bit around the greens, which is not normal for my game, as the greens were very reseptive and the ball checked instantly with slight to no role-out when playing into the grain. This was a somewhat new experience for me, but I will remember it for the next time I play in similar greens and I will do better.
You may find your golf ball in a million different positions on the golf course. So it is not always about hitting the perfect stock shot you know so well from the range under perfect conditions. There are different types of shots for different specific situations. I do not know them all, but I find it interesting trying to learn as many as possible to give myself a better opportunity to score low. During this tournament I found myself under, besides, behind, and next to quite a few trees not being able to hit my «normal» full swing shot.
Perform, learn and remember
For every difficult or strange position you find yourself, both on and off the course, you will have to use your skills, and imagination to find a solution. The solution you find might not be the perfect one or even a good one, but by making a decision you have overcome an obstacle. From each experience you have the chance to learn. You are a bit wiser after having been in the situation either way. I belive this to be an important key to golf that is easy to overlook…
«Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn», is a classic saying which is very true, but for you to learn from it you have to recognize a weakness or an opportunity to improve. You then secondly have to understand it, then choose to learn from it and lastly remember it for later.
12.05.21:
The 2021 Investec South African Women’s Open is held at Westlake Golf Club less than half an hour outside the center of Cape Town. This will be the first LET event of the 2021 season. The tournament is also a qualifier for four spots at the US Women’s Open.
I played the same event on the same course last year and really enjoyed it! Knud and I are looking forward to get going Thursday at 13:10, with our second round tee time at 8:50 on Friday.
With Antigen tests taken we are allowed inside the «inner bubble», which means the course or our official accommodation. This means no restaurants, no store visits, nor any running or working-out outside the accommodation.
There will be no spectators on the course, only the camera crew and the volunteers are allowed, and they are all screened every day for Covid symptoms. The restrictions are of course in place for our safety, and the LET is really doing their outmost to protect everybody involved in this event.
You can follow the leaderboard here:
https://ladieseuropeantour.com/reports-page/?tourn=2005&report=tmscores~season=2021~params=P*1SRC01~
