VGT Golden Ears Open – July 25th, 26th ($10 000 purse)

Canadian Tour Jane Rogers Championship – August 12th – 15th ($125 000 purse)

Canadian Tour Seaforth Country Classic – August 19th – 22nd ($125 000 purse)

Canadian Tour Championship – August 26th – 29th ($335 000 purse)

Vancouver Open – September 9th – 11th ($40 000 purse)

The first stop on this trip was the ATB Financial Classic in Edmonton, Alberta.  This is a great event, well run, well supported and usually on very good golf courses.  In 2010 the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary, joined with the Telus Edmonton Open to form the ATB Financial Classic presented by Telus.  Big name but all it really meant for us players was a larger purse ($250 000) and thus a stronger field.  Feeling optimistic about the upcoming events I was excited to be in Edmonton and very much liked the host golf course.  Edmonton Country Club is an old parkland style layout in the heart of the city.  Not a very demanding layout of the tee it did feature small and contoured greens which when firm and fast gave the players fits.  I opened with a round of three over par 74.  Not ideal, I putted very poorly and gave away too many bogeys but the afternoon was windy and scores where high.  I wasn’t out of it by any stretch.  Day 2 was better, although two early three putts put me firmly behind the 8 ball.  I was five over par with 14 holes to play and knew the cut would be even or one over par.  I keeping plugging away and started to make a few birdies to get back in it.  I was one over par for the tournament playing the touch ninth hole and figuring I might need a birdie I blasted my drive down the left side.  Although I was in the first cut of rough, my lie was perfect and I was only 154yrds from the green on a 450 yrd hole.  Hitting a solid nine iron in to the wind I caught it perfectly and watched it sail towards the centre of the green.  Expecting a good birdie chance I watched my ball land pin high and rocket over the green into some heavy rough.  Although I executed the shot almost to perfection, I misjudged the firmness of the green and should have played for front yardage.  With a tricky lie and awkward stance I chipped it to six feet below the hole.  Knowing I needed to make the putt, I agonizingly watched the ball slide by the left edge and scored bogey to finished the day at one under, good enough to miss the cut by one.  For two days in Edmonton I played very solid golf tee to green (averaging 15 / 18 GIR and 12 / 14 fairways) but failed to get the ball in hole.  The slower poa greens seemed to confuse me and a number of other players and I found myself with a weekend off.  Ouch.  Practicing hard I ventured to be better for the next event in Saskatoon.

The next event on my trip was the Dakota Dunes Casino Open in Saskatoon.  This would be my third time to Saskatoon and my third time on the Dakota Dunes course.  Playing well last year I was again optimistic for the week.  Knowing my putting let me down the week before I spent extra time working on green speeds and my stroke prior to Thursday’s round and once again felt good.  Thursday I woke up to a calm warm and sunny day.  My tee time was at 1.30pm.  The Dakota Dunes course is very generous tee to green and with perfect putting surfaces, the only defenses is the wind.  Thursday morning was so calm you couldn’t even fly a kite.  The guys went very low.  Those of us in the afternoon felt the winds pick up and the course began to show some teeth.  I played well enough to shoot one under par 71.  An unfortunate lost ball on the windy thirteenth hole cost me a round in the 60’s.  One under par left me in 101st position, the lead was at eight under, I had work to do.  Friday morning we woke up to clear blue skies and warm temperatures but as my tee time approached the famous prairie winds began to roll in.  Knowing I had to go low, we went to work.  Hitting all but two greens and playing very well I approached my 18th hole at two under par (three for the tournament).  Knowing I’d likely need a birdie to have a chance of playing the weekend, I hit a great wedge from 125yrds into a stiff breeze to 8 feet above the hole.  Gently rolling the ball towards the cup it’d looked to be dead centre before diving left at the very last second to rest on the edge of the cup.  My par 4, and total of three under par would not be good enough.  As it turned out the wind lay down for the afternoon and the guys once again went low.  The cut finished at five under par and my almost birdie on the last wouldn’t have matter.  Having played much better for two days, I was frustrated to miss my second weekend in a row.  Unlike Edmonton my putting had been great, my ball striking was good two, with three exceptions.  I lost a ball right in some long grass on day one, another one left on day two plus a three wood approach into a par five.  Those three lost balls represented five dropped shots and was more than the difference in my score.  I really felt I was playing well but once again had nothing to show for it and for the second week in a row I was paired on the windy side of the draw, the side you can’t afford to make mistakes on.

The beauty of golf is no matter how frustrating missing a cut might be, there is always another week.  Catching an evening flight on friday, I arrived in Winnipeg in time to meet up with my girlfriend at one of her good friends weddings.  We had a great time and spent all day saturday together, golf was the furthest thing from my mind.   Steph Flew home to Vancouver on Sunday, and I had the day free to see the course in Winnipeg.  Our event in Winnipeg is one of the bigger ones of our year. It is the Canadian Tours version of the Players Championship, the course is great, volunteers and organizers amazing and the fan support one of the best in the country.  Also my third trip to Pine Ridge I was excited for the week.  Continuing to work on my swing, putting and short game I had lots of time to prepare.  Able to play two full practice rounds I was very much ready for thursday.  Once again I drew a the Thursday afternoon tee time and once again it was windy.  Playing solid but with a few unforced errors and missed birdie opportunities, I posted a three over par 74.  The lead from the morning wave was 6 under par, I was well back but scores where high and I was only two shots of the cut line.  Waking up early Friday we went to work at getting into red numbers.  Playing my first nine holes well but without much excitement I made the turn at even par, three over for the tournament.  I knew the cut would likely be two or three over and I watched the leader board show a ten under par leader, it was time to go to work.  Birdieing the par 5 fourth hole, I began a string of five birdies in a row, my longest to date on the Canadian Tour.  Narrowly missing a sixth on my final hole I posted a round of 66, tied best of the day and I jumped from well down the list into a tie for 12th place.  Finally my good play was starting to be rewarded.  I was pumped to be playing a weekend given the magnitude of the event it was time to make some things happen.  Alas golf is a game where you can neither get too high nor too low.

Emotionally and mentally you must take each shot, each hole and each day as they come.  I was paired at 11.50 with a great young player from Chile and the wily veteran Mike Grob from the USA.  Mike is a multiple winner on tour and happens to be the Canadian Tour’s all time leading money winner plus a great guy.  I was stoked.  We tee’d off at 11.50am and walking down the fairway we heard loud rumbles from the ski, just before hitting our approach shots to the first green the horns went and pay was suspended for lightening.  Expecting a short delay as the storm was moving quick we settled in to watch the British Open on tv.  The first storm was followed by a second and then a third.  The firm and fast golf course soon became drenched, the greens softened and for a while we weren’t sure if we would even play.  At five thirty we finally resumed play.  By this time I had warmed up three times for my round, has spent 5 hours waiting around the club house and all of my mental prep for the morning round was lost to an afternoon of killing time.   Mike and Ben both got off to quick starts and were under par early, was scrambling well but couldn’t seem to get under par.  The player who went out early before the storm had taking advantage of calm conditions and had gone low.  The leader board was filled with 67’s and 68’s.  I began to press.   Forcing things in golf simply doesn’t work.  By the back nine the daylight was starting to fade, it was becoming harder and harder to read the greens, my already tired body and mind was struggling to hang in there.  Play finally ended around 9.30pm on the 15th hole, I was two over par on the day, even par for the tournament.  I was being lapped, yet the leaders remained in touch at ten under par.  Schedule to resume play at 7am, I wolfed down some food, made the 45 min drive home, packed all my suitcases for a Sunday evening flight to Toronto and crawled into bed by midnight.

The alarm went off at five, I crawled out of bed and was at the course by 6.15.  Warmed up and ready to for 7.00am we were told once again there would be a delay due to morning fog rolling in.  Finally round three resumed at 8.30 am and I played well for my final four holes making one birdie and three pars.  I was one under for the tournament and 8 shots back.  After an hours break, we started round four.  I was paired in the first group off ten and we went to work.  Playing well I was one under through 7 holes, my playing partners were playing well and a few better than that.  Often in golf, it is not so much about how many good shots you make, it is about the poor decisions and bad shots and how those affect you mentally.  Feeling like I needed birdies to move up the board, I went aggressively at a very marginal pin on 17.  It didn’t work, I short sided myself in the worst way possible and made a bogey.  Not the end of the world but silly.  Parring the next three and narrowly missing birdies we came to the shorter par 4 3rd hole.  Again , I feel the need to make a birdie.  Hitting  a hybrid off the tee (an aggressive play when I four iron would do) I pulled it left into some trees and was forced to chip out.  I made bogey.  Moving on the the par five 4th hole, I was determined to get a dropped shot back. Two good shots and I was green side but faced with a tricky chip shot.  Catching it a hair thin, my ball released 8 feet passed the hole on a very slippery green.  Not only did I miss the birdie putt, I missed the short come back par put, for another bogey.  I had run out of gas, mentally from the rain delay and physically from the lack of sleep and length of delay’s.  My mind kept wandering to what each shot would mean for my final placing and now I was going through the motions.  I bogied the next, unluckily and then parred in to shot three over par 74.  The week that had looked so promising on Friday afternoon had ended on a sour not.  I fell from a tie for 12th on sunday to a tie for 46th.   What you need you don’t get.  Mentally I was useless on Sunday, my mind was wandering to results, pay cheques, what my playing partners were doing and to the two cuts I had missed and was trying to make amends for in Winnipeg.

Golf is a game played one shot at a time and while I must try my hardest on every shot, those played on Sunday mean no more or no less than those played on thursday.  I am still learning how to control my mind and how to keep it focussed on the task at hand and not the reuslts, pay cheques or what my fellow competitors are doing.  Sunday in Winnipeg was an example of how too many external thoughts impacted my game and thus I just fell away.  I have things to work on and think about going into the next three events.  My game is there and I’m still very optimistic but I am going to work very hard on the mental aspects of golf over the next two weeks.  Results and finances will look after them selves, the only thing a I can do or should be thinking about is playing the best golf that I can play and to not worry about the rest.

Having spent most of the winter in Vancouver enjoying some time off and working in the gym, it was definitely time to head south for a few weeks.  Normally I would have ventured south sooner but due to the Olympics and the incredible experience everyone in Vancouver had for those two weeks, I delayed until the second half of March.  This meant the layer of rust on my game would likely be a little thicker than it should but nothing a few weeks or warm weather wouldn’t solve.

I’m currently flying high above the mid west (it seems my favourite place to write blogs is on airplanes as there is really nothing else to do), we are on route to Vancouver.  I am returning from two weeks in the deep south which spanned a coaching session in Orlando, some friendly golf in Destin, FLA with fellow Can Tour player, Derek Oakey, a Nationwide Monday Q in Lafayette, Louisiana and a four days Adams Tour event in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I then caught a flight from Houston and am continuing west to Vancouver.

I have new equipment almost across the board for 2010.  Wedges, irons, putter, bag, clothing, all of which has meant a slightly different feel on the golf course.  My trip south was as much about getting used to the new clubs as it was getting a few tournament rounds in.  For those of you interested in gear.  I am playing Vokey wedges (60, 56, 52 and 48 degrees, all conforming to the new grooves), Titleist MB irons 9 – 6, Titleist CB 4 and 5 iron all with Rifle 6.0’s, Adams Hybrid 18 degree, Taylormade 3 wood and  R9 driver and a Scotty Cameron putter.  I use a Titleist Pro Vx ball and Titleist gloves.  OGIO has hooked me up with an awesome carry bag and I will again be using an OGIO staff bag for all the events in Canada.  Also, I am wearing primarily Ian Poulter Design clothing throughout my competitive events in 2010.  Without question, this is one of the classiest and coolest lines in golf and I have been getting many positive comments thus far.  Go to www.ianpoulterdesign.com for a look at the styles.

As far as the golf goes.  Whilst in Orlando, I spent three days working with Nick Starchuk at the Gary Gilchrest Golf School, we spent a lot of time working on posture, set up and impact position.  It felt good but this will be an ongoing thing throughout the year.  We’ve identified some areas where I struggled in 2009 and slowly we are going to pick away at them to improve for 2010.  It was a good few days where we covered a lot of info.  From there, I met up with a buddy, Derek Oakey and we spent a few days playing in North West Florida, mainly for dinner, of which Derek won far more than me, although it did serve as a great way to get my putting, short game and feel for new irons up to speed.  After that we drove 6 hours west to Lafayette where we both entered the Monday Qualifier for the Nationwide Tours Louisiana Open.  With 280 guys vying for 14 spots, the competition is always fierce.  I played well but made a few too many (rusty) unforced errors shooting even par to miss by a bunch.  It took 67.  None-the-less, was a good tune up.  Releasing we were both in need of competitive rounds, we drove another two hours west to enter the Adams Tour Southwest Louisiana Open.  Comparable to a smaller Canadian Tour event, it would be a further opportunity to shed the rust.  On a good golf course, that was playing firm, fast and very tricky, I opened with a 69 in windy conditions.  This matched the best round of my wave and left me in 5th place for the days.  Alas the rust slowly caught up with me and my play dipped over the weekend.  I finished in a tie for 28th spot. Given my opening round this was disappointing but also given I haven’t played a tournament since early December, I am not unhappy with the result.  Having noticed a few troubling things with the swing, putting and specs on my irons, I am going to spend the next few weeks working hard to get ready for the Mexican Swing of the Canadian Tour, beginning April 12th.  I can’t wait as with each event, I will be that much sharper and will build on the progress from 2009.

Cheers

Oliver

With the Olympic games only days away, the city is a buzz with all things Team Canada.     Steph and I are staying in Vancouver throughout the games and although we’re not planning on attending any of the actual sports events (this could change quickly with an opportunity to get last minute tickets somewhere) we will take in lots of the free shows and broadcasts, plus have tickets for a few Cultural Olympiad concerts and shows.  Its going to be a busy month, practice during the day and taking the games in at night.

With respect to golf, I returned from Las Vegas on Dec 10th after playing my season ending tournament the Nevada Open.  Since then I took almost five weeks completely off from golf, didn’t even look at the clubs.  By mid January the weather had warmed and the juices started flowing.  I’ve been splitting my practice between Point Grey and the Sunshine coast, specifically working on the transitions at the top of my back swing.

I really feel my game went to a new level last year but there were a few tendencies, my coach and I have identified and are working on in prep of this year.  Namely the sequence with which I start my down swing.  Hopefully, syncing this up a little better, will result in greater consistency and a bit more distance.

Off the golf course, some exciting developments.  I have begun working with Fitcorps Fitness to improve both my physical and mental conditioning.  Chris Baxter and Dave Longmore, the founders of Fitcorps are committed helping golfers like me reach the highest stage.  So far so good and with their help, we’ve been able to identify and focus on those thing which broke down under pressure last season.  More on this in future blogs.

Also, I am now officially a member of EARTHsport as an athlete and an ambassador.  This means for 2010 and onwards, I am committed to operate my golf career within the principles of environmental sustainability.  For whatever we cannot reduce, we will then offset to become Carbon Neutral.  EARTHsport is a Vancouver based company, committed to making sporting events and athlete’s environmental responsible.  Our mission statement is to be an organization committed to investing philosophically and materially in the future of sport through sustainability. We subscribe to the principle that sport has the power to unite people and change the world – and to engage this power to affect positive change in how sport impacts our planet.  This is something I believe in and am very excited to bring to the golf industry here in Canada and then worldwide.

More info to follow but in the meantime, please go to www.earthsport.org for more info.  If you haven’t already explored carbon offsets for travel, I encourage you to look into your own personal carbon footprint.  EARTHsport can help.

Finally, I am in the early stages of organizing a Golf – A- Thon.  It will be held in partnership with the Vancouver Golf Tour and the date is April 5th in Vancouver.  Our goal is two fold; to give Canadian Pro’s like myself a forum with which they can raise some funds for 2010 tournament expenses plus to raise much needed money for a local charity.  This year it will be KidSport BC.  Please go to www.kidsport.ca for more info.  As details become finalized, I’ll get more info posted.  We will be looking for participants and donors for this event, so if you live in the lower mainland area and like the idea of playing with some of BC’s best golfers to raise money for KidSport, then mark of April 5th on your calender.

Competitively things will likely get going for me March 1st with a series of local VGT events, namely the 2010 Van Isle Cup.  A Ryder cup style tournament between the best pro’s on the VGT and the best pro’s in the Vancouver Island PGA.  My Canadian Tour season will likely start in mid April with the Mexico swing, although I will likely head off for the second half of March to get some competitive practice in. Details will be posted on my website as I confirm schedules.

Details to follow, hope all are well and looking forward to the games.  Go Canada Go.

Finally I’m back in Vancouver for a little time.  Winter is my chance to slow down, have a break and get caught up on life off the golf course. Currently I have no plans to go anywhere in the coming months and for those of you who travel often, you will understand the relief this offers.

During the season it is often a challenge to keep on top of blogs, emails and the website.  I do my best but usually it is not until  the winter months when I find the time to truly catch up on all of this stuff. My hope for this newsletter is to summarize my golfing story of 2009; highlight the successes, expose the challenges and express my thanks to those of you who a part of this journey.

To put things simply; the past twelve months have been fantastic.  Competitively I have made many large bounding steps forward and  life really has never been better. This year has brought so many competitive firsts and looking back, my progress seems vastly accelerated than in previous years.  I have achieved far more in 2009 than I had imagined.

I hope you enjoy the summary below.  Its a little length, so I suggest a good cup of coffee and a few minutes to spare. May I also say a great big thank you to all the friends, family and sponsors who are helping in this journey.  Professional Golf is very much a team effort and without all of your help and support, I’d likely be doing something else right now.

All the best for the Holiday season and wishing everyone a safe, happy and prosperous 2010.  I look forward to seeing you all as the year progresses.

Best Regards

Oliver

2008 was an exhausting year, by October I was tired, frustrated and absolutely broke. It was about this time last year when I sat down to right my summary for 2008 season.  At that time, I felt there were more questions than I probably had answers for.  Golf and life was a little up in the air and I knew that to have any success on the course for 2009, I needed to sort a few things out off the golf course.

A huge component of playing good golf is confidence in your abilities.  The frustrations of 2008 had taught me professional golf, like any job out there, requires a lengthy learning process.  The sooner the player accepts this the quicker the learning process goes.  In no particular order I needed to solve; housing, finances, a home golf course, improved social life and to find an ability to relax and let the learning process happen.  A balance in my life was needed, golf alone couldn’t provide this.  I found an apartment, started working, hit the gym (a lot) and began doing all the things I’d been missing on the road.  Seeing friends, family, making a little money, meeting girls (more on that in a bit) and simply enjoying living in the city.  Life was instantly much happier and my stress level way reduced.

Knowing the golf season was just around the corner, I set out to find a home course and hopefully some sponsors to help with the 2009.  I was successful on finding a course to base at, the Point Grey Golf Club, one of the premier golf courses in Vancouver welcomed me as their playing professional. This was probably the biggest golf achievement I had made all year and with the knowledge I had a place to call home for 2009, my golf horizons instantly looked brighter.  Given the tight economy sponsors were a very tough sell and I had little success.  Determined to progress, I decided to play 2009 on my own dollar, once again.

That winter I met Steph, my girlfriend of almost a year now.  We met in early January and instantly connected. Since then we have been almost inseparable ever since, excluding when I’m away.  She has been truly amazing and such a wonderful influence on my life, my golf and the balance I mentioned above.  Golf really does seem less important and the highs and lows of competition less consuming, thus I feel calmer, more confident, way more relaxed and far better prepared for competition.  The process of golf can happen, no longer do I feel the need to force things.

In mid March my competitive year began with a few events on the Vancouver Golf Tour.  Having taken most of the winter off, my game was rusty to say the least.  The first few tournament rounds were not good and I had lots of practicing to do.  Finally on the third event  I played well enough to finish 5th and make a few bucks.  The Canadian Tour season kicked off mid April in Mazatlan, Mexico.  I knew the course from the previous year and was determined to play well and make my first cut on the Canadian Tour.  Unfortunately I struggled down the stretch on Friday and three putted my way to missing the cut by one.  Mentally this was going to be harder than I had expected.

We flew into San Luis Potosi expecting to play the La Loma Classic, yet at this time the world had entered into Swine Flu frenzy.  Our event and then next two were cancelled.   Having saved up enough money for the four Mexican events, I had been hoping to make a few pay cheques to off set some of the costs.  Swine flu threw this out the window, exhausting my savings and cushion going into the Canadian Swing.  I really needed to earn some money.

Back home I entered the Sunshine Coast Pro Am in Roberts Creek.  For the second year in a row, I finished 3rd with a three under par 69.  With my bolstered confidence, I headed to Victoria for the Time Colonist Open, the second Canadian Tour event of the year.  Some sloppy ball striking on a challenging course and once again, I missed the cut.  This time I wasn’t even close.  The next week we were back in Vancouver for the City of Surrey Classic.  This is a fun week for me as I get to sleep in my own bed, a rare luxury for a pro golfer.  Another week of sloppy ball striking and poor short game, resulted in missing my ninth Canadian Tour cut in a row, although this time not by much.  My frustration levels seem to crest on friday afternoon.  I was looking forward to getting on the road, away from Vancouver and to be immersed in my golf.  The only way to figure this making cuts thing out was to play consecutive weeks and work my way through the sloppy mistakes.

After a week off, I drove from Vancouver to Calgary to get ready for the ATB Financial Classic just outside of Calgary.  I was a determined player.  An opening 71 (one under) was a good start.  Most of my troubles had been related to poor opening rounds and thus having to move from outside the cut line to inside on day two.  This tough when mentally your not confident.  In Calgary, my good play continued on friday and I finished the day at two under.  Finally, I had made a cut and would make my first cheque on the Canadian Tour.   Feeling great, I started hot on Saturday and posted a five under 67.  My 7 under total moved me way up the board and I tee’d off late on Sunday.  Alas, the wheels fell off and I struggled to a 77 and a tie for 51st.  Either way, I was very much relieved with the pay cheque.

My confidence much higher, my solid play continued in both Edmonton and Saskatoon although poorer final rounds dropped me from top 25’s into T34th and T58th respectively, but the hurdle of making cuts was far behind me.  Entering my fourth event in a row in Winnipeg, mentally I was tired, physically I was drained and having not seen my girlfriend in over three weeks, I was looking ahead to being home, maybe more than I was the tournament itself.  This was too bad, as Winnipeg is annually one of our bigger events and it would have been nice to play well.  Missing the cut by a few shots I jumped in my car and drove through the night to Vancouver, excited to see Steph and with big smiles on my face at the hurdles I had overcome.

After a solid 6th place finish in the local Golden Ears Open, it was back on a plane to Toronto for the Jane Rogers Championship in Mississauga.  I had my brother on the bag this week, which was a welcomed treat.  Alas my flight was delayed and instead of two practice rounds, I was only able to sneak in one.  Greystone was a new course on the schedule and the dominant feature was the large, very undulating and extremely fast greens.  I hit the ball poorly and due to the tricky greens, it was tough to save pars.  I missed the cut badly but that was okay, it was a small purse and meant a few extra days with my parents in Ontario.

Two weeks later we were in Montreal for the Desjardin’s Montreal Open, the second of the $200 000 purse events of the year.  Montreal is a highlight every year, partly as the event is second to none in terms of spectators, media, facilities and player perks and partly because Montreal is a fantastic city to spend a week in.  For the second week in a row, I had my brother on the bag.  Also having missed the last two cuts in a row and knowing there were only five events left in the year I knew I had better get going if I was to keep a card for 2010.  An opening 73 left me in the middle of the pack with a need for a good Friday’s round.  Once again I was sitting outside of the cut line. This time I played really well and posted my lowest round of the year, a 65 and made the cut easily.  The weekends in Montreal are great as thousands of spectators come out to watch.  Saturday was a tough day for weather and I shot  a disappointing 73 to fall back a few spots.  Knowing I needed to move up on Sunday I played great to shoot 67 and move into a tie for 37th.  This was my biggest cheque thus far and moved me considerably up the money list.  I was in-sight of the magic top 80 and a fully exempt card for 2010.

The next week we headed west to Seaforth, Ontario for the Seaforth Country Classic.  Having played the course in 2008 and staying  with the same billets, things felt comfortable and easy.  Maybe this week would be mine.  An opening 67 followed by a 65 vaulted me into the top ten through two days.  Seaforth is a short easy course, filled with birdie holes and the lead was a blistering 16 under par, I was 6 shots back.  Knowing I had to play well to keep pace on Saturday, I began forcing things and struggled to a one under par 70.  A second mediocre round of 71 and I finished the tournament at 11 under par, tie for 26th.  Positives was another good week, another pay cheque and I was getting closer to the top 80 but I was disappointed in wasting a good thursday and friday.

My biggest tournament of our year was the Canadian Tour Championship.  Its our major so to speak.  This year the classic old St Catherine’s Golf Club was the host and the course did not disappoint.  Playing tough with lots of thick rough and speedy greens, par was a good score.  I continued the good play and easily made the cut, my third in a row and 6th of the year.  Once again my brother was on the bag, we were two for three and it was feeling good.  I played well on saturday shooting three under and moving into a tie for 15th heading into Sunday.  This was the toughest field of the year and I was stoked to be there.  The lead was only four ahead, so a good sunday could mean a big breakthrough.  Alas, once again, I faltered in the final round.  This time I played well but struggled with the putter down the stretch shooting a two over par 72, and falling from 15th to 37th.   Another cheque and I was no inside the line for 2010 status.  With only two events left, things were looking better.

Heading home to Vancouver, I played in two Vancouver Golf Tour events to wrap up the year.  Shooting a bogey free 66 on a cold and wet September day, I finished solo third in the RBC Pro Am to make almost as much as I had finishing 37th in St Catharine’s.  Following it up, I played well in the three day Vancouver Open Championship.  Although I was never really in a position to win, I did play in the final group and beat both my playing partners shooting a four under 68 to finish the week at 9 under par, good enough for tied third.  Cashing cheques was becoming the norm.

Steph joined me in Mexico for the replaying of the swine-flu cancelled events and a bit of a holiday.  Many of the guys who had already secured status for 2010 skipped these two weeks but for all of us bubble players we had to attend.  I figured I needed at least $1500 to secure my card for 2010.  This was either one good finish or two made cuts.  Opening with a 73 in Cancun I was in good standing on a tough course.  Struggling on friday I made things interesting coming down the stretch.  I double bogeyed the final hole to make the cut on the number.  To say the least, I was a little heated coming off the course.  Settling down I played well on saturday shooting even par 72 to move up a few spots.  Knowing my play had been way better than my scores I remained patient.  Finally catching fire on sunday, I played the back nine in five under to shoot 68 on sunday, the lowest round of the day and moved me from fifty something to a tie for 22nd.  Another cut, another cheque and things were looking good for the final event.

Our last tournament of the year was at the ultra exclusive Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita.  Steph and I had decided to save a few pennies and do our own thing, staying in the nearby surfing village of Sayulita.  Feeling relaxed about the year and thrilled to have Steph there, it promised to be a great week.  My good play continued and I easily made the cut and played well Saturday to enter the final found in 11th spot.  Once again a good Sunday would do wonderful things.  For the third time this year, I scored horribly on Sunday, my putting was awful and I crawled in with a 6 over par 78.  I knew my card was safe so I maybe let the foot of the gas a little and the wheels fell off but I was disappointed.  Anyway, the 2009 Canadian Tour season had come to a close and I finished the year with five straight pay cheques and enough earnings to be fully exempt for 2010.

Since Mexico I’ve been busy. Normally I would turn my attention to the PGA Tour and q-schools but I simply, I had no available monies to enter and thus it wasn’t in the equation.  Not really a bad decision as it opened the door for other opportunities. In mid October I played the Budwieser Pro Am in south east Washington State, finishing fifth and making a decent cheque.  I played well on the final day and move well up the board, which felt nice.  Steph and I then spent the month of November in Trinidad and Tobago.  She is an Occupational Therapist and is very well travelled with international interests related  to OT and children.  A little while back she was invited to work in Trinidad for a month, supervising three University of Toronto graduate students as they did a placement a two special needs schools in Port of Spain.  I’d promised to go and was excited to follow her instead of the other way around, so on Halloween we jumped on a plane and flew to Trinidad’s capital Port of Spain, our home for the next four weeks.   A nice mix of sightseeing, work for Steph and practice for me, meant the month flew by.  I was able to practice on the same tropical Bermuda grasses that caused me so much trouble in Mexico.

Knowing I was broke from the long season and especially due to another month away from home and not working, I was very much looking for ways to make some money prior to christmas.  Whilst in Trinidad I was made aware of the Jamaican Open in early December.  Timing worked out perfectly, the tourney looked great and I was playing well plus the following week was the annual Nevada Open in Las Vegas.  Even though we were both ready to be home in Vancouver, I somewhat reluctantly agreed to play two more events to finish the year.  It turned out to be a good decision as I played very well in Jamaica for two days and took a three shot advantage into the final round.  Alas, once again my final day struggles continued and I shot a very disappointing 78, to lose by two shots and finish second.  It was a great experience as there was a large amount of Jamaican media presence and leading wire to wire is something I haven’t done before.  It would have been nice to finish the year off with a win, but the second place cheque is the largest of my career and has certainly helped with paying the bills from Mexico and Trinidad.  The second event was the Nevada Open, I played so so, making the cut on the number and then finishing at two under for three days in a tie for forty something.  I finished 2009 with a birdie on the last hole, which seems fitting.  My best season has come to a close and I’ve cashed cheques in every event since early August.

So what next, besides wrapping up this monster email, sorry its so long, its now time for a break from golf.  My days consist lot of trips to the gym, a little work and exploration of some business opportunities here in Vancouver plus a chance to be normal for a while.  With the turning of the year, I will start to look towards the 2010 season.  This includes all new equipment (thanks to some over zealous baggage handlers in Montego Bay), some serious fundraising ideas (I won’t be able to do afford 2010 in the same way as I’ve played 2009, so if anyone has a fundraiser idea or would like to help then I’m all ears.) and then planning a schedule and working on my game for the season.

I am very excited for the opportunity and I truly expect 2010 to be my break through year on the Canadian Tour.  I will be at PGA Q-school in the fall, possibly in both Europe and the US and my goal is to have graduated from the Canadian Tour by this time next year.  Otherwise, life is good, both Steph and I are very happy, healthy and looking forward to time together over Christmas and the upcoming winter.  Thanks for following along this year and for all of your help along the way.  I hope to see everyone in 2010 and onwards.

Wishing you the best.

Oliver

As for golf, I’ve been working hard, learning how to putt, chip and play off a very coarse, springy bermuda grass, typical of the tropics.  My last two Canadian Tour events in Mexico were on this type of grass, and although I played very well down there, I did not putt well.  My feeling is this was primarily due to the grasses.  I’ve been hitting it great and I feel very much more confident reading grain and understanding how to read greens.  I’ve also helped out as a guest instructor at a few of the TTGA (Trinidad And Tobago Golf Association) and St Andrew’s Golf Club Junior clinics.  Lots of fun and nice to meet the juniors.

To put this all to a test, I’ve committed to play two more events in 2009, the Jamaica Open, hosted by the Jamaica Golf Association and then the Nevada Open at the Casablanca Resort in Mesquite Nevada.  Both occur in early December and these will wrap up my season.

www.thejga.com

www.nvopen.com

Updates to follow.

Arriving on halloween night, we got off the plane to warm, muggy conditions and drove towards Trinidad’s centre, the large bustling industrial city of Port of Spain.  Our house, a three bedroom condo, we are sharing with three U of Toronto grad students, is located in the suburb of Diego Martin, to the north of Port of Spain.  We woke up to bright sunshine, warm conditions and to a new country we new very little about.

Steph’s is working at two schools in Port of Spain helping children and young adults with special needs.  She is supervising the three grad students from the University of Toronto, who are in Trinidad on an internship as part of their Masters of Occupational Therapy degree.  I’m just along for the ride and to support Steph.  Its kind of a nice change, instead of her following me around the world, I get to return the favour and follow her.

On first impressions Port of Spain is a busy, industrial city with very very few tourists amenities and sites to see.  As Caucasians, we are very much the minority and thus are somewhat on guard when outside of the house. We’ve been told by many many people that Trinidad has a crime problem and there are definitely reports of this, yet we (touch wood) haven’t seen too much of this.  That said, we drive everywhere, don’t stay out to late at night and their are areas we very much avoid.  Steph’s work is going great, thus its been a good trip thus far.

As for me, I’m working on my tan, doing lots of swimming and modified work outs and when we can make the car situation work, heading to the golf course for some practice.  I’ve been going to St Andrews golf Club in Maraval, just north of Port of Spain.  It is a 120 year old course, with a great layout cut out of the jungle.  Its a treat to play and everyone at the course is great.   I haven’t been there too much yet but hopefully will get out numerous times over the next few weeks.  I’m also going to do a few clinics and lessons with local juniors and new golfers to help out. This is something I enjoy and its a great way to give a little back and say thanks access to the course.

Go to www.olivertubb.com for pics

This blog is a chance to share stories, experiences, frustrations, successes and the on going adventures from my life as a professional golfer on and off the golf course.  I hope you enjoy my blogs and that my words offer a glimpse of the places I visit, the people I meet and the golf tournaments I compete in.

Please visit www.olivertubb.com for more info on my golf career.