Greetings from Tarragona in Spain where I’m putting the final touches to my bid to keep my DP World Tour card for the 2023 season.
I’m delighted – and relieved – to say I’m feeling much better than I did a week ago and, all being well, I’ll be able to play the six rounds required in the tour final.
I was concerned my back injury could keep me out of the final, but I got the all-clear from the tour doctor at the end of last week and I’m feeling pretty good all things considered.
My situation has really improved a lot in the last seven days and thankfully the anti-inflammatory pills have worked a treat.
I played 18 holes yesterday and the plan is to play nine of the other course today and walk the other nine holes before the event begins tomorrow.
I wouldn’t call this a fun week by any means, though – it’s a tense, demanding one and you must keep your emotions in check.
If I’ve learned anything from playing at Q School, it’s the importance of staying calm and remembering it is a marathon, not a sprint.
Focus is key in the days ahead
Unlike a normal tour event, the tee times are all between 9am and 11am, so there are no early or late starts and we’re all finished at a reasonable time.
Making sure you don’t spend that free time dwelling on things too much is crucial.
Preparing yourself for the alternating courses is also important.
There are six rounds this week and one is quite hilly, while the other has a lake.
We play one of them four times and the other one twice, so you have to be attuned to the different challenges they present.
There are no shortcuts here. You have to play well for six rounds and only the best 25-plus-ties out of the 156-man field will gain their tour card.
But you just need to have a glance through the entry list to see that will be easier said than done – there’s a mixture of new faces and some experienced campaigners in there.
My old pal David Howell is among them and we’ve been reminiscing about being back at Q School together again, 26 years after we were in the same situation after playing together in the Walker Cup.
We all share the same goal – we want to play on the tour next year – and it will take calm heads and consistent golf featuring birdies every day if we are to have any chance of winning our tour cards.
Langer is the pro’s pro
Hale Irwin’s record is wobbling as Bernhard Langer moves to within one win of equalling his 45 senior tour wins.
I’ve ran out of superlatives for Bernhard following his outstanding TimerTech Championship victory on the Champions Tour in Florida at the weekend.
At 65, he broke his own record of being the oldest winner in Champions Tour history and the great man shows no sign of letting up any time soon.
Win No. 44 at age 65 🏆
Bernhard Langer is now within one of tying Hale Irwin's all-time mark of 45. pic.twitter.com/jT2szfoGeW
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) November 6, 2022
Padraig Harrington, who also took part, said it best when he called Bernhard “the pro’s pro”.
A tremendous physical specimen who lives and breathes golf, Bernhard is truly a phenomenon and to shoot 17 under par to win a tournament at 65 is breathtaking.
It is what makes golf the greatest game in the world.
While we may not see the great Kenny Dalglish scoring a hat-trick in an FA Cup final for Liverpool again, it seems very likely we’ll see Bernhard winning more golf tournaments in the near future.
What a player and what an inspiration he is.
Here’s hoping Dryburgh’s big win is the first of many
Congratulations to Aberdeen’s Gemma Dryburgh on becoming only the fourth Scot to win an LPGA Tour title.
Her victory in the TOTO Japan Classic puts Gemma in elite company alongside Catriona Matthew, Janice Moodie and Kathryn Imrie, and she fully deserves it.
She has been knocking on the door for a while with some good results and her maiden tour victory is brilliant not just for Scottish golf but women’s golf, too.
I’ve dreamt of this moment for a long time. I’m an @LPGA tour winner! Words can’t describe how much this means to me. Thanks to my team and my parents for everything they have done for me. Thank you Japan, you’ve stolen a piece of my heart forever ❤️🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/cU6Yz1oXaC
— Gemma Dryburgh (@gemmadryburgh) November 7, 2022
She has shown all the youngsters dreaming of being a professional that one day you can compete and win on the international stage.
I’m so pleased for her and having jumped from 199th in the world rankings to 92nd, I really hope to see Gemma go from strength to strength following her landmark victory.
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