2017...a recap by month in my world

We closing the curtain on 2017 and I'm thinking back into my golf world for the year...and while I don't normally swing a golf club for half of the year, I do think about golf, a lot.  Where's what I was thinking about and experiencing in golf in 2017.

January - Justin Thomas!!  If you were a fan of Jordan Spieth, you couldn't help but hear about Justin Thomas...the friend/buddy of Jordan.  But Thomas set his own stage in January by winning the Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open!  This was also my month of recharging on Fantasy Golf!  If only I had know about Justin Thomas!!  I'm a fan of Buzz Fantasy Leagues and especially the Make the Cut Challenge...made it through January!

February - Jordan Spieth gets a win at the AT&T and I remember loving the blue pullover he wore...then saw it live and in person at a PGA Super Store!  February was also a visit to the Minnesota Golf Show!  An entire convention center full of golf stuff?  Um, yes please!!  I did purchase some golf items, including more Ryder Cup things...I was still in Ryder Cup euphoria from the fall.  Rickie Fowler also gets a win in February!  And this was the first week I missed a Yahoo Team entry.  But still alive in the Make the Cut Challenge!

March - Dustin Johnson had a 2 win month and I was also introduced to Adam Hadwin (I want to say Had-a-win!) Had pretty much given up on Yahoo Fantasy Golf but was still alive in the Make the Cut Challenge - we're down to 5...but then, on March 31, Patrick Reed misses the cut and I'm out...DANG IT!  Proud of the top 5 finish.  This was also the month Steve Stricker realized he had to qualify to get into the US Open - and he signs up!
 
April - Oh, Masters...how I love you!!  But first, it was the Lexi Thompson penalty calamity at the ANA Inspiration - a 4-stroke penalty assessed during the final round for a ball that was not replaced in the same spot the day before and spotted by a TV viewer!!  She was notified on the 12th hole of the final round and I was glued to the finish!  And while she didn't win, she gave it her all and found herself a whole bunch of new fans.  And it started quite the dialogue on how rules should be interpreted!

But now, back to the best week of the year...The Masters!!  Thank you Sergio and Justin Rose for an amazing final round!!  It was so fun to watch as always - AND because Steve Stricker was in the top 4 in the '16 US Open he was in the field and finished T16!! (SO hoping for a T12 which would have given him an automatic invite in 2018.  He was in the featured group on Sunday on Masters.com so I was in heaven!  AND I won an awesome Birdie Ball Putting Green - it was super awesome!!  And it was thanks to Justin Rose because no one had picked Sergio.  We're less than 100 days until this year's best week of the year!!

Oh I can't forget to mention the moving opening ceremonies...the first one without Arnold Palmer.  I cried.

May - without Q-school, the US Open Qualifiers are where you can find golf dreamers, and they started in early May.  I love to follow all the Minnesota players looking to find their way - and with the US Open in Wisconsin, it would be awesome for some MN players to get there!  May was also the first time I played golf...yes!!  We had a slow start to the golf season due to weather (again), but it's always heaven for me to put on golf shoes, have tees in my pocket and make that first putt.  Yes!!

June - Weather was a big factor in being able to play golf - rain showed up on days I could play and then work was busy so I missed out on several days of joy...but we had a few days out on the course with great friends in June and it was time to ramp up for some fun summer golf scrambles!  

The US Open brought some good stories - Phil not playing due to his daughter's graduation and long-baller Brooks Koepka winning his first Major at Erin Hills by 4 shots.  I was rooting for the Amateurs as well as Steve Stricker, who finished a respectable T16 along with Matt Kuchar.

Speaking of Phil - there was the Phil/Bones split...oh say it isn't so!!  Boy, did that light up the Twitter world!  I have to say, I'm loving Bones as a commentator!  In other PGA thoughts, Speith looked to be struggling a little in May with 2 missed cuts, but then came out and won the Traveler's in June to put the doubters back in their places.

July - July was a fun month of golf for me even though I didn't get to play as much as I had hoped to - a rainy day on July 12 at the Mesaba Country Club was a roller coaster that ended with my teammate making an AWESOME putt to tie - one of my favorite shots of the year!  And I also ran into Kevin McHale...if only I had my phone!!  One of my other favorite days is the Hot Ball - one of my favorite formats!

Jordan Spieth won the British Open in July, crushing my dream of Matt Kuchar getting his first Major...the shot from the practice area - just wow!  It was fun to watch!

August - August is usually a blur for me - work is busy and also trying to get in some fun golf scrambles!  There was definitely some fun, and the Cloquet 2-person scramble may have been my best golf of the year...I had to blog about that day!  We had more rain filled golf days, but still managed to have fun!

Justin Thomas came through again in August and claimed the PGA Championship - it was an impressive week and fun to see him win again.  But he wasn't done!!  He also took home the Dell Technologies event at the TPC in Boston at the end of the month - what a stellar season!!

September - an impromptu text got 6 of us together for the Steve Anderson memorial golf scramble - it was such a treat to play with a great crew of golfers - we had a blast all day and then found out we tied for first place!  Which meant a playoff on the Par-3 - we ended up 2nd, but it was a great day with great guys.  I hope we do it again!

The following weekend we headed for Cannon Falls for another great weekend of golf - while I didn't play awesome, I had a blast and the course was beautiful!!  On day 2 we played the six-dollar game and that may have been even more fun!!  This weekend totally reminded me that golf friends are the best friends, even if you only see them a few days a year!

Another impromptu text had me golfing in a scramble in Silver Bay - you can't say no to Wade!  It may have been the longest round of my life, but it was a super fun day!!  So many laughs, some really great shots, and excellent strategery by Wade.  And I won a new FitBit there!  YES!

The Wilderness Fall Ladies day is also a fun one!!   It was freezing that day, we played pretty horrible, but it's something I look forward to every year.  

The PGA Tour goes into Play off Season in September, and while I was busy and not watching a whole bunch of golf,  we learned again about Xander Schauffele, who had already won earlier in the year and then came home with the Tour Championship, beating Justin Thomas by 1 shot.  I need to read up on him!

October - this time last year I was in Ryder Cup heaven, but I was still pumped up about this year's President's Cup - with Captain Steve Stricker, how could I not be?  It was fun to watch and awesome to see team USA take home the win - I know there was some second guessing of making Phil a captain's pick, but I couldn't have been happier!!  GO USA!!

I was able to get a fun round in at Enger Park with some favorite golf friends and it, too, reminded me, we do not spend enough time together!  My game had been slipped since July, but I could really feel it towards the end of the season - I was feeling 1-2 clubs shorter and my driver was only, OK.  I think it was the effects of just not playing or getting out int he evenings and practicing - a goal for 2018!  

November & December - while golf free for me, there was the little news of Tiger coming back.  And while it was just one event, we'll see what 2018 has in store for us.  For me, I've got to get my predictions together this weekend start ramping up for another year of Fantasy Golf.

Here's hoping for more sunshine and more golf in 2018 - Happy New Year!!