Motor City

We played this weeks event at Warwick Hills G & CC in Grand Blanc about an hour from Detroit in Michigan. It was the 50th Buick Open and to commemorate it they had vintage cars around the course. There were masses of volunteers this week and they were all really friendly, they had their hands full as the holes are so close together keeping the crowds quiet and still as well as watching balls come from the wrong fairways isn't easy. The crowds were big again this week, even without Tiger the course was busy everyday and it was nice to hear cheers around the course. The 17th hole was particularly noisey, there were hospitality units and stands and the crowd sat all the way down one side of the hole. At some places they had chairs eight deep. It is great for the fans but sometimes it gets a bit rowdy for the players when you are trying to hit shots and concentrate. For spectators I'm sure the Mexican waves and chants are great fun, it certainly makes for some atmosphere regardless of how you are playing.

I played in a Pro-Am on Monday at Warwick Hills with a great group of guys from Cleveland, Ohio who work for GMC car dealerships. We had a good laugh all day and played pretty well as a team, the ice was broken on the first green as one of my team hit a shot that landed on Brutus my 3 wood cover just missing me and my caddy Kev, fortunately it was only Brutus who was left with a headache! The day was made more enjoyable for the amateurs as they each had a local caddie.

Tuesday I went to TPC Michigan with Kev for a practice round for Monday's Open qualifier. Kev always travels with his clubs so he played and made notes as we were in carts. We bumped into my team from the previous day as they had been playing in another Pro-Am. I liked the course, it was tricky but fun to play, I'm not looking forward to 36 holes walking though as every tee is a 100 yard walk back and if its hot and humid like it has been this week it will be a tough day. The people at the course could not have done more for us or made us feel more welcome. We drove past the famous "8 Mile Road" on the way home but there was no sign of rapper Eminem!

I was pleased to get to play with Brett Rumford this week, both of us are "rookies" on the PGA Tour and both still have exemptions in Europe so its nice to catch up and chat about familiar things and our experiences in America. I got off to a great start and as I had hoped my putting was still as good as it had been last week, a good days work was a six under par 66. The course at Warwick Hills is quite old fashioned, fairly short and very narrow, every hole is tree lined. It was a good course to play as there were lots of birdie opportunities but you could also make a bogey as the rough was quite thick and the trees were well positioned.

Friday I played very similarly to Thursday but didn't hole anything, I shot one over par and was left ruing a number of missed opportunities. I made the cut and looked forward to a good weekend. Saturday was a frustrating day, I seemed to miss my chances and then if there was a chance of making a bogey I did, I finished the day at two over par, which meant I had an early start on Sunday.

The weather had been hot and humid all week with the forecasters threatening rain and thunderstorms, the thunder didn't arrive but it was wet for my first seven holes. I played nicely and again didn't convert all my opportunities but shot two under par and finished the tournament at five under par. It wasn't the finish to the week I had hoped for, but I am still pleased that my game is again showing it is close to a good week; all I have to do is be patient as everyone keeps telling me!

I finished my round today and drove an hour to Dearborn, where I am staying for Open qualifying tomorrow. There are two courses each with sixty players playing for six places at each site for a place in The Open at Royal Birkdale in a couple of weeks, hopefully I will qualify and get the chance to come home and play.