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Hello Illini Fans,
The team just got back from Augusta, Georgia, playing at Forest Hills Golf Club for our second tournament of the spring season! It was my first time, as well as Jan, Dana, Bing and Pailin's first time, playing here. Stephanie was the only player on our team who had experience playing this course. With that being said, leading up to this tournament we practiced a lot of breaking putts so that we would be fully prepared!
When we played in our practice round we took note that positioning on this course is key. We continued to practice breaking putts to prepare for the tournament. Following our practice round, the tournament hosted a cookout with grilled ribs and chicken! To cap it off, they also had the fire going to roast marshmallows and make s'mores! We all definitely enjoyed the process of making the s'mores as much as eating it!
Friday was the first day of the event. We were all very excited to play and we were feeling confident in our preparation. I knew this course required good positioning and smart play, so I made that my focus for the tournament. I made sure to fully utilized my hole location sheet so that I could place myself in the best possible position for my approach shots. Following our first round, we were in 11th of the 16 teams. We each had our own struggles of the day, however, we all took the opportunity following the round to practice those areas for Saturday's rounds.
Due to the possibility of inclement weather on Sunday, we played 36 holes on Saturday. As a team, we played a respectable round for the first round of the 36 holes. Everyone came back with scores that helped us to move up a couple spots on the leaderboard. Our final 18 holes, we all left shots out there, however we definitely learned a lot from the round. We ended in eighth place after completing play. After assessing the tournament, we all have our own areas to work on for our next tournament. Personally, I learned that changing my mindset and being more aggressive with almost all aspects of my game will help me perform with more confidence and, as a result, give myself better opportunities to go low.
On Sunday, following the tournament, we had time for a good practice session thanks to Augusta University. We were able to utilize their practice facility that morning. We took the opportunity to practice our distance control for long putts and to complete a couple drills to be more confident with making our shorter putts as well. We are looking forward to playing our next two tournaments in Hawaii and Georgia during our spring break! We are continuing to prepare ourselves to perform to our full ability.
Go Illini!
Grace Park
