J.R. went into the third round of the Southern California Amateur Championship with the goal of striking the ball more efficiently. He achieved this goal and had the most solid ball striking round he has had since returning to competition in May. He was very pleased with the fluidity and freedom of his golf swing, executing with precision and supplying himself with great birdie opportunities throughout the round. Unfortunately, his putter stayed cool and he was only able to make three birdies against two bogeys and carded a round of 71 (-1). Fortunately, his round of one under par moved him up two spots on the leaderboard and he currently sits all alone in 17th.
With one round remaining, J.R. is four shots outside of the top ten which is a very realistic mark to try and achieve heading into the final round. A top ten in this event will give him an exemption into next years tournament along with many other events. He has placed in the top ten in the past and is anticipating that it will take a round of -6 or -7 tomorrow to get the job done. If he is able to continue to strike the ball like he did today he will be in great position to make a few putts and post a wonderful score.
This is J.R.'s fourth tournament since returning to competition and he believes that this will prove to be a pivotal week in his resurgence as a competitor. Leading up to this point he has finished in the top 2 in his three previous showings but he wasn't completely pleased with the way he has been swinging the golf club. Today that all changed...He found his swing!
Moving forward, he is very optimistic about the future and his ability to consistently implement what he has learned. As soon as his putter heats up he will be posting very good scores on a much more regular basis. Wish him luck for tomorrow's final round as he attempts to finish in the top ten in his first start in this event in a decade!
J.R. tees off at 7:50 am tomorrow and you can follow the scoring live here: scga.org/amateur
Thank you for visiting jrwarthen.com All The Best and God Bless!