DP World Tour Q School Stage 1 - Huddersfield GC

Sunday 1st September - Practice Day 1

It's worth noting that this week's venue at Huddersfield was not my original choice for Q school. I was supposed to be at The Players club near Bristol last week but after catching a stomach virus the day before round 1, I was not anywhere near able to play. Fortunately the tour allowed me to withdraw and change venue to Huddersfield this week.

After a 4 and a half hour drive I arrived at Huddersfield where it was quite windy and overcast. My plan was to play the front 9 today and then the back 9 tomorrow morning to help preserve energy.

The course is set on the hills which drains well and makes it play almost like a inland links which I feel like suits my game. The greens are not overly quick but they couldn't get them that fast because of the undulations on them but the key to this course is being in position off the tee to then set up good opportunities. I felt comfortable with my game plan on the front 9 and executed a lot shots. Feeling good after a productive practice day.

Monday 2nd September - Practice Day 2

It was thick fog this morning and my practice round to play the back 9 was at 9am as I knew there was rain forecast at lunchtime. However due to the thick fog, the course was closed so no one could do anything apart from some practice. I spent nearly 3 hours doing some practice across my whole game which was feeling really nice but the fog was not lifting enough for us to get on the course. I decided to walk the back 9 and do some short game and putting on those holes. After walking these holes, I did a little more practice before a chilled afternoon ahead of round 1.

Tuesday 3rd September - Round 1

My tee time was 9:17am and it was a chilly and breezy morning in Huddersfield. I felt calm and focused with what I needed to do today. I started on hole 10, 320 yard par 4 up the hill with out of bounds right. Tensions were everywhere, especially when one player in my group hit a pure shank, only to be saved by a tree from going out of bounds. I decided to hit driver and I hit an ok drive in the right semi rough. I made a solid par to get things going. Unfortunately I three putted the next par 3 11th and then bogeyed the tricky 210 par 3 13th. On the par 5 14th, I pulled my 3 wood into the long rough. It was thick but I felt like I could still wedge it out back into the fairway. I only had to hit it 50 yards and the slope would take it down towards the green. I barely moved this ball 20 yards, it was much thicker than I thought and now I was in trouble in deeper rough. It took me another 3 shots to get the ball out and I walked off with an 8. Not exactly ideal on the 5th hole of Q school but I stayed calm and tried to hit the next shot. I made 2 decent pars on 15 and 16 but after my worst swing of the day on the 200 yard par 3 17th, I walked off with a double bogey to put me +7 after 8 holes. Now it was a question of digging deep and fighting back.

I did exactly that. I hit a great wedge to 2ft on the par 4 2nd, followed by a brilliant 6 iron from 187yards, under overhanging trees to 3ft on the par 5 3rd, to make an eagle. I finished the round strong and was unlucky not to pick up 1 or 2 more but I finished with +4. Considering where I was after 8 holes, I will take it. I just had to build on this back 9 for round 2.

Wednesday 4th September - Round 2

8:10am was my tee time to start round 2 and it was about as calm as it could get this morning, with a bit of sun. I started the round well, making birdie on the par 5 3rd and then two more on the 6th and 7th. A couple of silly bogeys meant that I was -1 after 9. However I would drop 3 more shots in 4 holes to start the back 9, just where I was slightly off with my approach shots which made it difficult to save pars.

I was getting frustrated as the round was slipping away from me but I reset myself on the 14th tee. I decided I would hit driver as I've been hitting that really well and a good drive would be a great opportunity on the par 5. I hit a perfect drive, followed by a 9iron from 180 yards out the rough to 12ft and I made it for an eagle! A great feeling after dropping 3 shots earlier. I finished the round strong and holed a nice 7ft birdie putt on the last to finish -1. Currently 6 shots off the qualifying spots so it's far from over and I've still got the opportunity.

Thursday 5th of September - Round 3

Another early start with an 8:08am tee time and today the North showed it's true elements. We had drizzly rain with a lot more wind so it was going to be a big test out there today. Once again I started on the 10th and immediately got quite unlucky after what I thought was a decent tee shot. It found a super thick patch of rough, only 40 yards from the green to which I made bogey from. I made a crucial sand save on the next par 3 11th then I holed a 40ft birdie on 12. Followed by another drop shot on the tough par 3 13th but I stayed patient. The wind was tricky with big gusts at times and I kept making really solid pars. I got to the par 5 5th hole and hit a pure 3 wood from 260yards uphill to the front of the green to make my birdie and get back to level par. On the par 4 7th, I hit a great wedge shot from 121 yards to 3ft to get under par. However I made a bogey on the next and finished my round level par. Overall I was really happy with how I played and I am 4 shots off the final qualifying spots going into the final day. Time to make one last push!

Friday 6th of September - Round 4

It was a dark with low cloud and a breezy start to the final day and you could feel the tension amongst the players, knowing what's at stake. I felt really good in my warm up and I was starting on hole 10 again. I knew I needed at least -4 to have a chance to qualify but I felt focused and determined to execute this. I made two solid pars to start, including a 2 putt from 60ft on the par 3 11th, which was playing tough. I hit a great shot into the 12th to 7ft from 147 yards but I could not convert. The par 3 13th has been my killer this week, I've bogeyed it every day and today I unfortunately did the same. But I responded well on the 14th par 5, I hit a 7 iron from 206 yards out the rough to 16ft for Eagle, narrowly missed the putt but I got my first birdie of the day. My approach play was sharp today and I hit a great 7 iron on the 15th from 164 yards uphill to 4ft, to have my putt lip out. I missed two great chances but I didn't stress, I said to myself 'keep setting up the chances'. The wind was picking up so you had to have great control of the ball. I made the turn at level par, so I knew I had to make something happen on my back 9 (actual front 9) to have a chance.

My only poor drive of the day came at the 1st, where I cut it too much on the wind and it found the trees. I managed to chip out and nearly saved my par. At this point, I wasn't going to fall backwards and I responded by making birdie on the par 4 2nd and par 5 3rd, I was feeling it. My birdie putt on the par 5, 5th hole lipped again but I made a good birdie on the next, par 4 6th after hitting my wedge shot to 10ft. On the 7th, I possibly hit my best approach of the week, from 148 yards, downhill with a crosswind to a pin on a small top shelf. I had to keep aggressive and I hit an amazing 9 iron to 8ft. This was my moment to get to -3, and I hit the best putt under the circumstances that somehow did not go in, almost like a slow motion lipout. I finished strong with a final birdie on the 9th, after holing a 12ft putt down the hill to finish -3 for the day and level par for the week.

I would end up missing out on qualifying by 2 shots which really sucks but after my poor start being +7 for my first 8 holes, I responded well to be -7 for my last 64 holes. Regardless of the outcome, I feel like I've made huge progress this week, knowing that I can execute high quality golf shots under the most pressure.

I now want to finish the season strong on Clutch where I'm at Harleyford next.

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Many thanks for your support.

Ryan