Beaufort native Mark Anderson grew up dreaming of playing in the Verizon Heritage. By winning the Players Amateur at Belfair last summer, he earned that chance. He is sharing his experience with The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette with a daily Heritage diary.
I hit it in the water on No. 10, but I figured there's some birdies out there on the back nine. But then I bogeyed No. 11 and that set me back even further. After that, I was just firing at everything. I knew that I needed to make birdies because pars weren't going to do me any good, so I thought I might as well try and go for every pin. Otherwise, I would never go for the pin like I did on No. 17.
I just wanted to see if I could make a birdie and ended up in a spot where it's just impossible to put it up and down from. I also couldn't make a putt. I couldn't hit it very close to the hole, and when I did, I couldn't take advantage.
I learned a lot these last two days from the standpoint that I'm good enough to compete. It's just a matter of putting it all together. I need to improve my putting and then I can go from there.
It's really not that different out here than at some of the top-level amateur events that I've played -- and actually, some amateur events play tougher than out here. These guys are good, but I hit it just as well. The greens and course are in such great shape that the ball rolls so well. So that's probably the biggest difference I noticed -- just the maintenance of the golf course.
I'd love to come out here and see a great finish over the next day or two. I'm not sure what I have planned, but there's a good possibility that you might see me out here again this weekend.
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