Chip Shots
Hi Illini fans!
We officially finished the fall season at Kiawah Island. It was a solid finish to the season as we posted another top-five finish at Turtle Point. It was a pretty large field consisting of 20 teams, including both familiar faces and teams that we never played with. We played in the tournament two years ago as well but headed elsewhere last season.
The tournament was a quick turnaround as we just came back from Louisville and only had three days in Champaign before we departed for South Carolina. Even with less time we were well prepared. We gathered what we learned about our games from Louisville and were able to put it in play at Turtle Point. Many of us adopted a new mental approach and attitude for the tournament and it proved to be very beneficial. Personally, I was focused on having fun on the course instead of forcing things to happen. Having an aggressive mindset all the time was a key to my success at the tournament.
Most of our tournaments have been 36-18 holes but for this tournament we played 18-18-18. The first day of the tournament we put ourselves in a really good position with a score of 290 and tied for fourth. I also posted my second sub-par round of the season. It had been a few rounds since I had a bogey-free round so I was pleased with my performance. The conditions were a little tougher the second day with light rain and strong wind for the majority of the afternoon. We carded a score of 300 which wasn't our best except our freshman, Bing, who posted another round of 73. On the last day, we were drenched as the rain came down for most of the day and we had to suspend play at one point. The team fought through the conditions and finished strong with a 297 for a fifth place finish. Personally, I was happy with my performance that day despite the tough conditions. I finished the tournament with an even par round and rose to third place, my best finish for the season. There were a lot of positives from the tournament and we showed a lot of potential. Although we finished top five, many of us still felt a little frustrated that we left a lot of shots out there and will be the fuel for us to work harder in the off season.
Kiawah Island was a fun filled tournament and a great way to end the fall. We stayed together as a whole team in a condo, which is very rare for us, so we got to spend a lot more time together. Stephanie and Coach Jenny cooked for us as well and enabled us to enjoy a delicious and healthy breakfast every morning. The course itself was incredible; with three holes by the ocean it provided great scenery. In addition, we were up close to nature and wildlife as the course is well known for their local alligators living on many of the holes. Don't worry, we had alligator spotters that took care of chasing them away for us! We ended with a little excitement as we competed against time to catch our flight with a few minutes to spare because of the rain delay.
Once we returned to Champaign, we headed into our off-season practice and conditioning mode. Many of us had exams or other academic work to focus on this week too. During the off-season we are spending more time with strength and conditioning and working on our own goals. Each of us developed a plan for the off-season and winter break for what we want to work on. Personally, I will be spending a lot of time on my short game and my swing mechanics. Off-season is a great time for us to be able to reenergize and get some work done with our golf game so that we are ready for spring season!
Stay tuned for our next Chip Shots!
I-L-L!
Chayanid (Jan) Prapassarangkul
