(Photo courtesy of Luke Swilor)
Canadian Tour player Luke Swilor has begun his second PGA Tour Q School run with Stage 1 at Dayton Valley Country Club in Dayton, Nevada. Follow along as Luke provides his diary entries.
Stage 1, Day 1
It was a tough night before the first round. I felt fine until about 2 am. I woke up, and all the sudden I felt the weight of this tournament. Everything is scarier at night, so it is a bad time to start thinking about the biggest tournament of the year. I managed to get back to sleep, but the morning was more of the same. I left to go to the course 30 minutes early just to be safe. What a kook.
Once I got to the course, I started to feel comfortable again. The golf course has always been the place where I’ve been most at ease. The pressure on the first tee was there, but it helped get me focused more than anything.
I got off to a solid start, but I never gave myself any chances at birdie. I didn’t hit it good enough, so I had way too many 25-foot birdie putts. When I missed a green, my short game was solid. That is a very good sign. I had a lot of putts melt across the edge, too. A couple of those go in, and I shoot a good score. I was able to avoid big mistakes, but I never put myself in a position to get any shots back. So, it was a 73 today. 70 was the “qualifying number” today, but there’s a lot of golf left.
My ball striking has not been very good lately. I’m getting closer to fixing that, though, so I think my scores will come down as the week progresses. Every session on the range gets me closer to the groove I’m looking to get in. I’m not worried right now; I just need to make some birdies.
Based on today, the qualifying number would be 280, -8. It’s way to early to tell, but I see the number falling anywhere from -5 to -9. The weather is supposed to stay pretty good, but if that changes scores will go up. As long as I start to play the golf I’m supposed to be playing, I’ll be just fine.
Ready to fight it out.
−Luke Swilor
More Luke Swilor:
Q School Preview
My May interview with Luke
Luke on the Canadian Tour
His blog, Luke Swilor’s Road to the Tour