Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger, Mon-Wed

Man. What an incredible week I have had...
It started on Monday, where, after having gotten a two-hour massage at a spa that ended up being 5 miles and 45 minutes away from my hotel (yes, I got lost. With my GPS. Thanks a lot, Garmin!) I met up with Ron Stockton on the putting green of Highland Meadows Country Club, the site of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. He and his father, Dave, have worked with some of the world's best players, including Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie (briefly), and currently works with Morgan Pressel, Yani Tseng, Amy Hung, Julieta Granada, to name a few. He was available for an hour in the late afternoon, and we had spoken at the State Farm Classic about maybe him giving me an idea as to what I was doing on the putting greens I played in, and so when I got the text from him, I leaped at the chance to work with him.

Though we only worked together for an hour, and much of it was spent laughing and joking around, Ron helped me to see just how jumbled and garbled my mind used to be on the putting green. I truly pride myself in my distance control with my long game, and I had no idea why I could not have the same mentality with my short game. When I went through my routine with Ron, he seemed to be astounded that I managed to make contact at all. I couldn't blame him. When he introduced me to what his methods and beliefs were, I was amazed by the simplicity of it all. My body was standing above the ball, but my mind was already on the hole, on whether I made the putt or not. He helped me to focus on staying within the present, and on making a good stroke, making an adjustment to my spot putting, and before I knew it, I was loving what I was doing on the putting green again! It was as if the light bulb was turned on, and all the voices in my head finally shut up! Poor Ron, however... I joked with him that, while I putted in my flip flops and asked the most asinine, simple, childish questions, he hadn't done a junior clinic in years. I was an absolute sponge, and lapped up every word he said. I was rolling it like a champ, and as strange and simple as it felt, I was sure that my putting mentality was going in the right direction.
Tuesday, I had a quick nine hole practice round with Dorothy Delasin, who was my bunky for the week. We played quickly, had about nine holes of laughter, and I took my new putting method to the course with me.

My caddy, Brian Funk (his nickname on tour is BFunk, and I often shorten it to just B), whom I had been working with since the Shop Rite LPGA in Atlantic City, noticed a new resolve in my eye once we approached the greens. I told him about my lesson with Ron, and he immediately fell in love with the new confidence I had on the greens. After our nine holer, I played in the Image Group Celebrity/Pro Challenge. My group consisted of Stacy Lewis, who partnered with Christine Brennen (sp?), Nancy Lopez with Jamie Farr (talk about an amazing duo. They were hilarious beyond belief), and I was paired up with Henry Cho, comedian and actor. There were six teams, and four of us tied, meaning we were all winners!
Tuesday evening was followed by my book signing in Toledo, which was awesome, and filled with many great questions. I sold a few books, and met some incredible people.

 Following the book signing, I met up with some folks for the Annual Player & Caddy Pool Tournament, and though I came to the tournament late, I took part in the raffle prize giveaway, where like four or five of my six tickets won, and I thus went on to wear all of my winnings. I didn't get home until 11:30, which wasn't too late... Until one considers the fact that I had a 7:20am teetime for my proam the next morning...
5:45 am Wednesday morning came far too early for me, but I managed to make it back to the golf course with plenty of time to tie my shoes and waltz to the putting green. My proam partners were with Penn National Gaming, INC. They are in the top three gaming companies, and are working on opening a Hollywood Casino in the greater Toledo area. When we come back in 2012, I am hoping to stay in said casino! Will be fun! The guys were hilarious, and I really had such a remarkable time with them! Its amazing how much fun one can have on the golf course at such an ungodly hour when you have people around you that love life and know how to try and explain craps to you!!!!
After finishing my proam, I briefly hit the range with B, and as I was going through my shots, I grabbed my 5-iron, and hit a really wonky shot. It went straight as an arrow, but I hit it at a weird angle. I felt a sharp pain on the inside of my right elbow, as if I had hyper-extended my elbow, hit three more shots, and then had to scramble to the LPGA Fitness Trailer. Our physios have great skills, and they were able to help prevent too much swelling in my arm. I never play in pain, but the last two weeks have been pretty much riddled in aches. I had no time to mess around with pain, though. I had a tournament to go after!!!