Final Nationals update:

OK, so we’re back at Mac after a very successful last day at Nationals! If you’ve been following you already know of Jordan’s final round 79 which allowed her to finish in 4^th place! The last day was not an easy day for Jordan as her hot putter from the 3^rd day went cold again. She hit the ball pretty well most of the day, but when the putts don’t drop, the scores just aren’t as good and things just don’t feel as relaxed and easy. Looking at the stats from the day, she really was hitting the ball fairly well, hitting lots of greens in regulation but with that also comes longer putts, thus fewer putts made. Considering the very gusty winds and the almost unfair hole locations, she was doing well. Late in the round it appeared to me that there was a little fatigue setting in from the very long week of competition, so with bogies starting to accumulate on the final holes, I was trying all I could to keep her in the game, even so much as a little Canadian national anthem (Jordan loves Canada!). OK, my singing wasn’t the best but it at least brought a smile to her face and broke whatever tension may have been building. A final birdie on the 18^th hole was a very welcome thing as we rushed to the scoreboard to see how it all ended up. As you can see from these pictures, it ended very well indeed!

Jordan’s 4^th place finish places her as the top Macalester golfer in the history of Mac women’s golf. Mac golf will miss her competitiveness, her leadership and her booming drives so we’re already in the process of finding more players for Nationals for the upcoming years! As a coach, it is a blast to coach at that level and very satisfying to be a part of the success that Jordan’s had in her Mac career! Karla- let’s do it again next year!!!

Patience rewarded!

For 4 years I've been waiting to see a round of golf played like this from Jordan! If you've been following the blog the last few days, I mentioned that maybe karma would play out for the patience Jordan has demonstrated through a couple frustrating rounds and low and behold, it did yesterday! As a coach, it is so rewarding to see everything come together for a player...Jordan was in the zone yesterday with a confident demeanor supported by her productive practice the day before.

Tee shots well placed, course strategy and shot selection well though out, and wind shots well executed followed by fine-tuned chip shots and putts that dropped...it doesn't get much better than that.

As rounds of golf go, there are inevitable slight glitches usually in the middle of the round which happened yesterday but Jordan was able to hang in there, regroup, and finish strong, posting birdies on 2 of the last 5 holes for the best round of her life, moving her up into 7th place.


So today we do it again for the last time. As usual there is no predicting what will happen, but if Jordan keeps her mind in it like yesterday and has the focus she is capable of, tomorrow's posting should be a happy one...

Day 2 tee shot

Birdie putts Day 1

Let the party begin

Days 1and 2 in the books~

Sorry to not post an update yesterday…it was a long and late day at the course for me followed by an early morning…and no internet at my lodgings! So, I now have a little time while Jordan practices her putting after today’s round to update her first 2 days.

Yesterday Jordan started her round a little shaky; not sure if it was because of nerves or just “that’s golf” but between some errant shots, a few missed putts and some chunky approaches, the first nine wasn’t the start we were looking for. Fortunately the second nine, Jordan settled down and made some birdies so the final score of 79 was OK. A highlight of the round was a chip-in birdie from a very tough downhill slope over a green, down slope to the hole and thankfully, the pin was in the way- kerplunk, in the hole! In general there were some good things about the round, but too many “loose” swings caused too many difficult situations to overcome with a balky putter.

Looking to improve on day 1 and with a calm morning awaiting her, Jordan bombed a drive down the fairway and away we went. Off the tees the round went exactly the way we strategized, however getting to the greens was a different matter and getting the ball into the hole was challenging as well. As a golfer it’s debatable if it’s more tiring to hit the ball well off the tee and struggle from there or scramble off the tee and make up for it around the greens. All I know is when Jordan puts it all together, it’s going to be fantastic! A score of 82 today was certainly a disappointment for Jordan and her fans so a good practice session which ended the day will hopefully help her put all the pieces together for the final 2 rounds.

One thing I will say for Jordan…we can be proud of how she is representing Macalester. Though frustrated at times, she has maintained her composure and has been the consummate competitor. Maybe karma will kick in at some point and reward her for this control and never give up attitude…

Until tomorrow~

More Day 2 practice stuff

Not too much to report from Day 2 that the images don't indicate...we spent another day at the course, though in an effort to conserve energy and be ready for the next 4 days Jordan only played 10 holes today. The weather was still blistering hot so only being out there for 3 hours was better for maintaining focus! One of the highlights of the day was our first gator sighting. Considering it was only a little one so compared to "Junior", the 12 footer we befriended at Jekyll Island earlier this spring, we were pretty blase' about it except to point it out to the other players and coaches from the cornfields of Iowa with whom we played who snapped pictures galore!

As you can see from the photos, Jordan did spend some time practicing putting with the impending storm bearing down on her. When she asked me why I was taking pictures of her practicing putting, my reply was I was actually taking pictures of the possible tornado developing out of the clouds behind her, telling her it made a very dramatic image and showed how intensely focused she is...this resulted in image # 2 shown here...

practice was done for the day!

Images from Day 2-practice