The tournament was shortened to two rounds after cancelling Round 1 due to extreme weather conditions (strong winds) and the organization decided that there would be no official cut.

Playing a links course was an outstanding experience: Having to deal with the wind and the cold, the tightness of the lies, really quick greens, “pitch and run shots” – all of this was absolutely great and definitely was worth the trip!

I finished T27 and made a good come back by shooting two over jumping from 43rd on the final day. I was on target for a top 10 position coming into hole 17, having just missed three outstanding opportunities for birdies. But then the 100 yards short par three got me really bad ! The pin was short left with two bunkers on the left and since I was hitting it close to the pins basically all day, I went for it and played it straight towards the flag. The ball pitched about one yard left of the pin but then I had to watch my ball rolling slowly but surely left into the bunker!
The shot felt good – it was simply a poor decision. As the wind was also from right to left, there was too little space to work with between the pin and the bunker. The bunker shot was difficult with a very small area for the ball to land. I miss the landing zone by a couple of inches and the ball rolled back into the bunker to my feet…I made a double to finish the day with 2 over.

I am very happy especially with my final round. I had three birdies and another four good opportunities for birdie that I missed. With a total of having missed 4 ‘short putts’, I got a much better feeling with my putter towards the end! This gives me the confidence I need for my next event.

I am now heading to the South of France to play a tournament close to Bordeaux. In this event, men and women will play against each other in one event. I will keep you posted!

Fiona

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I am teeing up this week in Dinard, France on an amazing links course ! I do not have much experience on links course and that is one of the reason that I wanted to play this event so I can get ready for my future British Open.

Most of the holes are along the coast and offers stunning views. It should definitely be on your golfing list. Greens are really really fast. When I drop the balls on the putting green, I thought I drop them on the car path…It should be a really fun experience this week with lots of creative shots.

I played the pro-am on Thursday and we had a lot of fun to play in unusual conditions. When the putt break would be from right to left but the wind from the left to right we would take the wind break !!! I had never seen that. It was a great learning experience and showed me the joys of golf.

The event starts today, however, due to strong winds and light snow there are some delays in the tee time. So I am not sure if we will get to play today. I will keep you post it on my result !

Tee times and Leaderboard to be found here

A toute à l’heure !

Fiona

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What a great experience: I got to play my first LET event last week.

I had a little bad luck with the strong wind gusts on day 1 which – combined with my overall nervousness – was just a killer. Hole number 1 was representative to my entire day. Great drive, good approach and then 3 putts. But the worst thing about it: I left the first two short. With this start already in the bag, things developed to a used day and ended up shooting a 77. This was including another couple of 3 putts – so what else do I have to say…

The second day, I knew I had to go low. I needed 75 strokes and missed the cut: What a big disappointment! But as I was not able to make any birdies at all (despite various good opportunities) at that day, I never really put myself in the position of believing in my chance. On top, I was not able to safe any pars when I missed the green.

Let me sum up: Lots of tension in the beginning, no saves for par, no birdies. Tough to bring home a solid score then…

But it certainly was not all bad. For example, my driving was outstanding. My longest drive was 290-300 yards. That is even for me as a long hitter really long and let me gain about 50 yards to the other two girls. Yes – the wind was helping a bit, but who wants to look at a detail like that.

For the statistic fans among you: My rounds in a nut shell:
Day 1: Fairways: 10/14; Greens: 11/18; Putts:  38; Sand saves: 1/2; Up&downs: 1/7
Day 2: Fairways:  8/14; Greens: 11/18; Putts: 34 ; Sand saves: 0/2; Up&downs: 1/7

Next event: Dinard Open, France

I believe each time I missed a birdie chance last week I increased my chances of getting them right this week. My next event will be already this weekend in Dinard, France. I have been using the two “free” days in Agadir to drill on my chipping and focus on putting with great success. By now, I feel changed – committed and confident. I am looking forward to a true migration of birdies heading down the holes this week: all together and many of them !!!! If you want, follow the event at: http://www.access.letscoring.com/entries/242

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It was my second event on the Symetra Tour this year and after a good first day of even par, I had a really tough second day of 5 over par to missed the cut by a stroke. I had three birdies on the front nine on day 1 with only one bogey which put me in a comfortable position for the start. I finished the round with two late bogeys to settle for par and T30 for the day.

But day 2 proved to be not so easy going. With missing various huge opportunities for birdie and making too many mistakes especially on the back nine, I saved the worst for last. Usually one of my strengths, hole 18 and less than 100 yards to go: I missed not only the green but hit the ball straight in the water! I finish with an absolutely unnecessary double to end up one stroke out of the number.

I had so many opportunities for birdies on the second day but just could not read the lines of the putts. It was very disappointing to finish the round (and tournament) like that. But I don’t want to blame it only on that last hole because I had the opportunities before which I simply didn’t make on that very day.

I am off for my next event in Agadir, Morocco.

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This is my first event of the season !!

As you can see in from my previous posts, I have been busy in my off season and I am thrilled to start my second season as a professional and not being a “rookie” anymore ! The season already started with a tournament in Mesa, Arizona. Since I am still in an early stage of my preparation, I decided to play it spontaneously – kind of like as an appetizer: Good was that I made my first cut and I even played one of the three rounds under par to finish T62. I played without looking at the score and simply focused on me and my strategy. There were really good things out there such as the amount of birdies and driving accuracy. Despite the other two challenging rounds, I believe I am on the right track and that it definitely was worth the trip !

You can check out the final results of the tournament at:

http://symetrascoring.com/2013/MesaRealTime.asp

The next tournament will already start by this upcoming Firday (March 21) in Orlando, Florida.

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I decided towards the end of the season to initiate a work with a Mental Coach. Mark Anderson and I have been working for the past months and he surely “shook my world.”  We have been working on my past experiences by discussing and “reliving” particular situations in order to improve and cope with challenges.  Mark helped me develop an unbelievable understanding and awareness of special situations and delivered explanations of my reactions.  I am sure that I will be able to benefit from our work significantly and improve on various levels.

We spent the last week of January with Dominique Fournet in Marrakesh, Morrocco to prepare for the season.  We decided on the directions we want to take for this year, what we focus on and where I want to improve the most.  We worked on the fundamentals:  grip and posture.  We had a great week of hard work together and got a lot of different things straightened out.

My physical preparation in the off season has been mainly with Reaktiv in Kronberg, Germany.  I was injured towards the end of the season with a shin split on both legs, after treating the inflammation, I continued with my regular work out and with a focus on strenghtening my shins and foot work.

It sounds like I only worked during my break. But, no, I am human !  I took a nice break to spend a wonderful time with my family and friends in Germany and Argentina. It is always so special to be all together.

Season 2 started ! Check out the following post regarding my first event.

Best,

Fiona

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I received the award Best French Rookie of the Year 2012 earlier this year from the French Golf Federation.  I am extremely honored about this award.  It gives me positive feedback on the work we have been doing so far.  Additionally, it fits perfectly with my recent successes:  French Amateur Champion 2011, French Rookie of the Year 2012 and 2013 TBD!  I was also able to maintain status on the Symetra Tour by finishing 83rd.  That allows me to play all the events.  I also became a Member of the Ladies European Tour with a status that allows me to play 3-4 events so far.  I am moving up step by step.

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It’s time for an update regarding my schedule for the upcoming months:

I qualified in October for the Final Stage of LPGA Qualifying School in Daytona Beach starting November 27. This tournament is called “Qualifying School” because you tee up to qualify for a spot on the tour.

The modus is straight forward: It’s a five rounds tournament with a cut made to 70 and ties after 4 rounds. After five days only the Top 20 players receive full status on the LPGA with partial status being rewarded to players finishing 21^st till 40^th (i.e. one will only be accepted in some tournaments).

Right after LPGA Finals, Q School for the Ladies European Tour starts. This two stage tournament series will take place for the first time in Marrakech, Morocco. The first stage (December 6 till 9) is a pre qualifying for LET Final Stage the week after (December 13 till 17). Only the Top 30 will gain full access on LET.

Q schools in general are very much different than regular tournaments. We tee up with an opportunity to improve our status and to obtain access to some of the best tournaments and tours in the world. There is generally no money involve. So we play for a spot on the tour!!

Unfortunately there is no live scoring, but be sure that I will keep you updated with my results.

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My first season on the Symetra Tour has come to an end at the Daytona Beach Invitational where I finished T11 with a total score of -6. It has been my best scoring result throughout the season. For those who were able to follow, you probably noticed that I was tied for the 1st place on the last day until hole #14 with -9. It was my first time in that position, and to put myself in that position was very exiting. So exiting that it took me out of my concentration and the next holes brought me back to “present”. What a learning experience it has been !I am looking forward to be in that position again.The day started pretty good despite a double on my second hole. I followed with 4 birdies and an eagle on the next hole. The putter was HOT !! My finishing score of one under was a bit disappointing but not borring at all !

With the strong finish on the last event, I was able to move up the money list and jumped from 105th to 83rd. This move secured my  full rights to play on the Symetra Tour next year.

Thank you again for following and your support throughout the season.

Fiona

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Hello everyone,
After taking a 4 week tournament break in Germany, I am back on the road for the last 3 events of the Symetra. Afterwards, I’ll be playing the 2nd stage of Q-School for the LPGA. During the break, I was able to work on my game, on the body and the mind. I feel replenished with energy and am so looking forward to play the next events. I feel good – really good!
My next event is the Symetra Classic in Charlotte North Carolina and it starts tomorrow. Thanks for all your support.
Fiona

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