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Thank you so much for the support last week! It was a blast getting to play in my first PGA Tour event. However, it was very draining and it has taken me a few days to get some rest and decompress.
Overall I executed extremely well for 71 of 72 holes. Throughout the week, I struck the ball great. Maybe the best my iron play has ever been. Unfortunately I didn’t hole as many of the mid-range putts for birdie as I hoped. However, I did manage to make a tough uphill, left-to-right breaking 8-foot par putt on my 36th hole to make the cut on the number! I played great again on Saturday. I shot -4, but it could’ve been -8 or so if a few putts fell. I went into Sunday excited to keep playing well and move up the leaderboard. However, Sunday morning the weather changed completely. It was cool, damp and the wind had shifted 180 degrees. When I got to the 2nd hole they had moved the tee box up. I had been hitting driver all week, but I switched to 3-wood. The wind was hard off the left. I tried to hit a small fade with the wind, but I left the face open. The wind caught it and it hit the cart path and went OB by 1 foot. I hit a provisional trying to hit a draw against the wind this time, but I did the same thing and the ball hit the cart path again and just went out OB. Fortunately I made par with my 3rd ball. I hadn’t hit a ball OB in years, so it felt like I got punched in the gut. I recovered though and was able to post a decent score. It was cool to see my game translate to the biggest stage. I’ve worked hard on all aspects of my game and this shows I’ve been doing the right things. I am still working on my schedule going forward. However, since I made the cut in a PGA Tour event, I don’t have to pre-qualify for the PGA Tour events remaining in 2020. After the playoffs ends in a few weeks, there are five tournaments left. I hope to try and qualify for as many of them as I can get to. Thank you for all the love and support! I am so grateful to have you on my team and last week wouldn’t have been possible without you. I will keep you updated as things progress! All the best, Brinson
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I finished up the event in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic where I shot rounds of 69, 71, 75, 68 to finish tied 46th in the 144-player field. The golf course this week couldn’t have been more different than the one we played in Cordoba. Last week, we faced a narrow one with extremely soft greens while this week’s track was resort style with wide fairways and very firm but inconsistent greens. They had four different types of grass and the ball traveled at varying speeds over each of them. It was difficult judging pace and, consequently, mid-range putts were challenging. The wind blew about 20 mph each day. I played well all week except for the first nine of the third round where I shot 39. I had a couple of bad breaks, but I also had 2 three-putts which hurt. I fought back, though, and I had a strong final round of three under. lick here to edit. On April 28th I finished up an event in Cordoba, Argentina. I had a solid week shooting rounds of 75, 70, 71, 69 to finish in a tie for 34th place in the 144-player field. We played an old-school track this week that was a little shorter than normal and very narrow with lots of tall trees lining each fairway. It’s actually the course Angel Cabrera (2-time major winner) grew up playing. Unfortunately, we got a lot of rain at the start of the week and the greens became extremely wet. It was difficult getting the ball close to the hole because it’d spin back a lot (sometimes 20 feet or more) when it landed.
By way of update, I was in Lethbridge, Alberta this week for the fourth event of PGA Tour Canada. I played some good golf for three days and I was 12 under (66, 66, 69) going into the final round today. I was five behind second place this morning thinking a low round and a little help from the leader might get me to the top of the leaderboard and, in any event, a solid one would generate a nice finish. I had a bad day at the office, though. Nothing felt good, and my two-over 72 pushed me in the wrong direction – down the list. Golf has ups and downs and days like today are the reason us professionals need a short memory. And after my normal post-round analysis to identify areas where my game needs adjustment, I intend to forget it quickly. I’ve played and competed well over the past few weeks but for some reason today’s round didn’t develop. I had a great caddy this week from Vancouver. This is the third time he’s been with me. He was on my bag when I played well at Q School and during the second event. He’s a wonderful, young kid who’ll head to college in the States next month to play golf. Hopefully, he’s learned some good things from this experience. I’ve been on the road for four weeks, which is kind of my maximum, and fortunately this week the Tour is off with no tournament. So, tomorrow I’ll head to Bluffton, SC to rest a little and midweek I’ll get in touch with my coach and start working on my game. Next Sunday I’ll fly to Detroit for the upcoming event, which is in Windsor, Ontario just across the lake from the Airport. Enjoy the week and all the best, Brinson
This week I competed in Kelowna, BC (a four-hour drive east of Vancouver). I played well shooting 13 under par and finishing tied 11th with rounds of 65, 68, 70, 66. My execution on Thursday and Friday was very good, but I had an unexpected rough start on Saturday going three over thru eight. That stretch probably prevented me from winning, but I felt good about my recovery on Saturday as I had three birdies on the final ten holes. Overall, this week I made 20 birdies and an eagle. My game feels good and I’m continuing to gain confidence. I had a chance to win at the beginning of today’s round as I was only three shots behind second place in 12th position. I played the front nine in four under and I felt good going into the back side but a couple of birdies were offset by a couple of bogeys. From my standpoint, the field played good golf today. I was tied 12th going into the round and I shot a very good four under par score on a tough course but I moved up only one place (to 11th). I guess some days the field just plays better than others, and apparently my competitors were up to the task today. There are good players out here. The next (fourth) event is in Lethbridge, Alberta. I have a reservation tomorrow morning to fly over to Calgary (Lethbridge is then a two-hour drive). The Tour takes off the following week so I’m thinking I should compete this week although I am getting tired. I’m enjoying Canada and I feel like my game is in good shape. Thanks for keeping up with me! All the best, Brinson  I didn’t have my best stuff last week in Vancouver and I missed the cut by two shots. Afterward, my coach and I made some good adjustments and yesterday I finished the second event in Victoria tied 9th with a ten under 68, 69, 65, 68. I played well all week and I was in contention near the end but too many putts rolled over edges of holes without going in. It felt great being in the mix. I was one under yesterday at the nine-hole turn and I picked up a bogey on 12 but I chipped in for par on the next hole and got my adrenaline going. I birdied three of the final five holes but a bogey prevented me from finishing in the top five. My technique has improved a lot and it held up well this week, and I feel like I can keep getting better. I’m looking forward to the coming events. Later today I’m off to Kelowna, BC for the third tournament (a seven-hour ferry/drive from Victoria). It was unseasonable cool this week with temperatures in the high 40s and low 50s and lots of cold rain on Friday. I’m thrilled, though, being in Canada. It’s an incredibly beautiful country with convenient amenities (restaurants, hotels and transportation) and people are very nice. I played the pro-am this week and it was enjoyable connecting with amateurs again and getting back in that routine. I had lots of support in the gallery this week from Bob and Pam Burke who live in Virginia Beach, Jeff and Bonnie Clark from Seattle, Hank Telfian from Berkeley, California and my Pops flew up for a couple of days after a business trip in California. Last week, Ray Hamilton (from Monterrey, California) was with me over in Vancouver. It was great having all of them! Yesterday I advanced through Qualifying School for PGA Tour Canada. I played well this week with rounds of 70, 64, 69, 68 for a 17-under total and a second-place finish in a field of 132. First place gained full status on this summertime (13-event Tour) but the top five (which includes me) is guaranteed entry into the first eight tournaments and, consequently, likely I’ll get in the other five as well. Those who finished sixth through sixteenth gained entry into the first four events and conditional status went to ten or so other players. My technique held up all week, and I executed and thought well. The first day actually may have been my best, but I couldn’t get putts to drop. Six of them lipped out. And I continued executing well the second day, with the only difference being that just about every putt I looked at went in the hole. Really, there’s no way to finish eight under in one round unless you’re executing well and catching some breaks and I was doing both. I followed up two good ball-striking rounds with a third round where I missed some greens and had to scramble quite a bit, but I did so effectively. I thought my three under score was getting a lot out of what I did. The first nine of the final round was like the third round with some missed approach shots where I was able to scramble for par, but I got myself going again on the back nine. I made birdie on 10 and I dropped a couple of tough putts for birdies on 15 and 16 and then I knocked my approach next to the hole for birdie on 17. I had a 20-footer for birdie on 18 to tie for the lead but it rolled over the edge of the hole. Overall, though, it was a very good week with only two bogeys and lots of consistent play. It was great seeing the ball go where I wanted and being in contention. I’ll play the Challenge Tour event this week in Portugal and, hopefully, Spain next week. I was back in the states for only a couple of days and unexpectedly I got in another Challenge Tour event here in Uturi, Spain in the Basque Country. I found a flight quickly and started the day and one-half journey, arriving late on Wednesday and missing a practice round. While I played the course cold on Thursday morning, my execution overcame inexperience with it. I played well the first two rounds (eight under 70, 66), but I couldn’t get my putts to drop over the weekend, and I finished with a one under 72, 71 for a nine under total tied for 42nd. I struck my approach shots well throughout the week but my green reading and putting didn’t adapt to the rain and wet conditions over the weekend. I learned some things this week, though, and I feel my game is in good shape. I finished a Challenge Tour event in Tullow, Ireland (just outside Dublin) at Mount Woseley GC on Sunday, September 17 with rounds of 77, 69. 68, 74 and I ended up tied 33rd.
Scores in the afternoon wave the first day (when I competed) were high due to wind and several storms. As you know, this time of the year rain comes through randomly in 30-minute to one-hour intervals in Ireland and when it does it’s amazing how quickly things change. Anyway, we hit a particularly difficult storm around 7:00pm the first day as I had four holes left and I made bogey on three of them. I came back, though, during the second round and I went into the last hole (actually the 9th since I started on #10) at two under with a two-day total right on the cut line. I needed a par on the finishing hole, and fortunately I knocked in a 40-footer for birdie to finish up with a three-under total for round two and to make it to the weekend. My shot-making during the third round was very sharp, and really I could’ve had a special score but a few short putts didn’t go in and a ten-foot birdie putt on 17 did a 360-degree trip around the hole but stayed out. In any event, I shot four under for the third round and on the final day I had it three under thru eight but I didn’t finish off the way I wanted. All the best, Brinson lick here to edit.  I had a good week here in Lumbres, France shooting 72, 72 on a tough but quirky course to make the cut. I worked my way up the leaderboard on Saturday with a one under 70 and I had a good round going today thru 16 holes but then I made a couple of bad swings and I missed a putt. I finished tied 38th. The course this week was hilly and a few of the fairways had so much pitch that no matter where the ball landed it’d roll downward into the rough. On Saturday I was able to keep a drive on the top of a large slope but while I was taking my stance the ball moved and after it got going it actually rolled forty yards into the rough! Unfortunately, I had to take a one-shot penalty. My game continues to feel good. I had a few moments this week where things didn't go my way, but otherwise I executed well. Right now I plan to spend tomorrow getting some rest and then I’ll head to Denmark for the next event. I’ve been in Europe for five weeks competing in four tournaments and I want to stay fresh. I decided to forgo the 36-hole qualifier for the British Open on July 4th. I hope to compete on Challenge Tour in Prague that week and a side trip to England for the qualifier is too much motion. And even if I could get through it, the British Open conflicts with another Challenge Tour event in France. For now, I believe I should focus on Challenge Tour. I am excited about the upcoming tournaments! |
Brinson PaoliniProfessional Golfer Archives
September 2020
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