Pepsi tour @ Wood Ranch CC

In the meantime, while the Hooters Tour is not in season, I have been playing in some smaller tour events around southern California. Just this last Monday Feb. 12th, I played in a Pepsi tour event at Wood Ranch in Simi Valley. This was a last minute decision to where I just showed up that morning hoping they had room for me to play, which they did. I wasn't expecting much because I haven't been hitting my driver or irons to well, but I have been spending a lot of time working on my putting and wedges. Well all I can say is that the putting practice I have been doing has paid off. I had the best putting round of my life only putting the ball 22 times, this is amazing never before have I done this. So now your asking well how did you play? Well even though i didn't hit the ball great my putting made up for it. I shot 69 (-3) on a very difficult golf course only hitting half of the fairways and only 8 greens. I shot even par 36 on the front nine and then make the turn and shoot (-3) 33 on the back nine. My group was the last group of Professionals so when we came in I didn't have to wait for anyone more scores to come in. I come to find out that I tied for first place and I am going to be in a play off. The last time I was in a playoff was when i played on this summer tour during college and I lost after the second hole, this time it was different. We skipped over the first hole because there were people playing on it and we went to the second hole, a short par 5 that requires you to lay up off the tee. I hit three wood into the left rough and my opponent hit driver in the left rough as well. I am a little behind him and further to the left, I am first to go with 235 yards to the hole. I hit a three iron just short of the green side bunkers leaving me about 40 yards to the pin. My opponent has to hit a cut shot around a tree, which he did not execute the way he wanted to and the ball hooked on him and went into a hazard up by the green. He had to take a drop from the hazard then chipped it onto the green having a 15 footer for par. Now it is my turn to go and I hit a great pitch shot out of the rough that ended up just behind his ball, leaving me to putt first for birdie. I stepped up thinking that I am just going to make this putt and not even give him a chance to tie me. A little more than 15 feet with about 3 inches of break moving from the right to the left, I had a good read on this putt and I trusted it. Boom!! I nailed it right in the center of the hole, one hole and the playoff was over, I was victorious for the first time in a playoff and for the first time as a professional.

Thanks for all your prayer and support, I will be playing another Pepsi tour event this weekend on Sunday and Monday down in Temecula. The results are on the Pepsi tour website and www.pepsitour.com then click on the results hyperlink and you can find it there.

Joe