El Paso "Exfoliation" Especial...

With wind gusting up to 50 mph this afternoon... there were several occasions when the dust picked up and we were sand blasted on the golf course! And it sure hurts! All you can do is turn your back towards that dust storm, attempt to stand still, and hang on to your cap! Despite keeping your mouth shut tight, you can still get that gritty feeling in your teeth once the storm blows through. Yuck! The strong wind reminded me of the tournament conditions from last year when the Tour decided to suspend play for the afternoon tee-times for Day 2. Apparently the golf balls would not stay put on the greens when placed and the flag sticks were flying out of their cups! I was rather upset with that decision since I had already finished my round that morning in that crazy wind! But I'm much more prepared this year... so BRING IT ON!!!! :-)

Top-10 Finish!

What a week..! Day 1 of the tournament in McAllen, I shot a score of 2-under par 70! I was so proud of myself to finally shoot a round under par this year. And then, day 2... another 70! So perhaps it wasn't a fluke :-) There was a rain delay on day 2 so actually the second round scores were not posted until sunday morning where I had to play the last 2 holes. And finally on day 3, I shot 1-under 71 to finish the tournament tied for 8th position. It's been a really good week. I stayed with Terry & Judie "mom" - my sister's in-laws. They have a winter home here. Judie made yummy meals for me every day and every night. Terry, a master in psychology, talked about the "six pack" - 2 rescues and 4 dunks - which basically translates to shooting 68 in every tournament. I was close! So I guess I was listening :-)

And can't forget Sam the dog. He was there to greet me every morning when I woke up and every time I got home. Hmm... maybe I need a dog instead of a h..u..s..b..a..n..d... HAHA! I'm kidding. I actually got some pointers from Bob last week when he caddied for me. Next week's tournament is in El Paso. Hopefuly everything will hold up against that Texas wind! I sure hope I don't get sand-blasted again out there like last year!

Nuevo Progresso, Mexico!

I decided to cross the border into Mexico this morning from McAllen, TX. My housing host, Judie and I had to constantly remind ourselves to bring our passports along. We paid $2 and parked the car on the US side. We then dropped in 0.25 cents into a turnstile and off we went across the Progresso International Bridge. It's about the distance of a short par-4, with the Rio Grande river in between. It was sad to see a woman and a young boy by the river, stretching their arms through the bridge, begging for money.
As we approach the bridge, I noticed the border patrol stations and some agents standing in position with their machine guns. Beyond that... rows and rows of retail stores! The locals were constantly trying to sell you something... dental work, bargain medication, manicures, pedicures, botox..! There were also street vendors selling jewelry, pirated DVDs, hammocks, little superhero costumes for kids, spices,... you name it!
We spent about 3 hours in Progresso... bringing home a baby guitar, a couple of mexican plates, a blanket, and a lot of dust!
On the way home, we had to show our passport at the border patrol station. Thankfully there was no glitch there. Judie paid the tax of $3.50 for the bottle of kahlua and tequila and 0.30 cents into the turnstile later - we were back on the US side. It was quite a day!

Avery Island

I finally made a birdie on my 51st hole of tournament play. Phew! Hopefully we won't have to wait that long for the next one! Bob came out and caddied me this week in Lafayette but we missed the cut... and lost a putter cover along the way too!

Anyhow, we decided to head out to Avery Island for a quick tour on Sunday. Unfortunately, it was not a working day, so the tour of the factory was rather underwhelming.

We then proceeded to drive around the Jungle Gardens and spotted a baby gator along the trail... took a quick peek at the 800-year old Buddha statue... drove by the oldest tree on the property (I'm not exactly sure how old it is though)... and then tried to climb a few trees. Not very graceful as you can see! And I'm barely even off the ground!! :-)

Are you a U.S. Citizen?

Once again... I was stopped at the Immigration Inspection station during our drive home from McAllen, TX. Bob and I were there for the weekend to practice and also to visit my sister's in-laws. Anyhow, this time I actually had to get out of my car and enter the office. Once going through the metal detector, I just had to sit and wait until the officer found my record in the system. While I'm looking at the handcuffs lined up and bolted along the long desk, he eventually found my record. With a smirk on his face, he then asked the other officers behind the desk if the photo in the system was actually me. I was going to ask if I looked prettier now but figured I better not :-) And then he proceeded to turn his computer monitor around and asked ME if the person in the photo was me! They were being so silly. Well, I left the office and was reminded AGAIN to always travel with my passport.
Once we hit the road again, it was Bob's turn to drive soon after that. We were driving along a railroad track to the right of us. When Bob saw a train coming towards us, he leaned towards the windshield and pumped his arm to signal the train operator to toot his horn... and sure enough, he did!!! Needless to say, that made Bob's day.

Is there light at the end of this tunnel?

Well... another missed cut. It was a rough week. My shortgame has failed me again (although my bunker shots have improved :-). Guess the 16 hours on the road these next 2 days will be good for me to think... and rethink about my game. In any case, I will have a week to recuperate before my next event. It sure seems like it's one step forward and two steps back! I suppose it wasn't such a great idea either to switch putters in between rounds. I figured perhaps maybe I could pull a Mark Calcavecchia... NOT!
By the way, I did end up using my old driver this week. The new (or old) conventional grip is staying despite the shaky start. I believe we'll do better with it in the long run. Perseverance shall pay off some day!!!!!!!!