Rookie on Tour: Home, sweet home
Missing cut wasn't going to ruin return to Scottsdale
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Rob Rashell is playing his first season on the PGA Tour. Throughout his rookie year, Rashell will provide a frequent glimpse of what it's like to break into the Tour.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Each year, as the FBR open draws near, I have a group of friends who religiously make their way to the TPC of Scottsdale for the tournament. The fun would usually start on Wednesday night and continue to an exhausting finish on Sunday with the final round followed by a Super Bowl party. I had a great time with all of my friends, and knew that some day I would get the chance to compete.
I always liked being able to go out and watch the tournament for one simple reason: they were playing and I wasn’t. I’m not saying that I liked to be on the outside looking in, I’m saying that this group of players earned the right to play on the PGA Tour and I can learn something by watching them play. Each day I thought if I could pick up one or two things from watching guys play then I was one step closer to playing myself.
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The FBR Open is run by a local group in Phoenix called The Thunderbirds, and man do they do a nice job. Each tournament has a designated area for player dining. PGA Tour players and their immediate families are the only people who have access in addition to a limited amount of staff from the PGA Tour. Normally, we have a nice buffet breakfast in the morning followed by a similar buffet lunch with various dishes. This week, The Thunderbirds went above and beyond the call of duty. On Friday I went in for lunch and was met by a pile of Double Double Cheeseburgers from In & Out. For desert they had a full cart from Cold Stone Ice Cream. In addition to the non-diet food, they also had the standard selection of salads and sandwiches.
I know a lot of you may wonder about my mind set after missing the last three cuts. I have always been a positive person and have learned that a large part of my improvement as a player has come from difficult times. Through difficult times I’ve learned some great lessons about managing my emotions, having a great plan for each golf course, and working hard on both my physical and mental fundamentals. I know that if I go out each day and work hard to get better and grow as a person and a player the year will be a success no matter what. I look forward to the challenge of competing against the best players in the world and know that I need to be at my best if I want to compete and win at this level. Most importantly, I know that when I’m having fun, I play my best golf. So, I’m off to play at Pebble Beach, and if I can’t have fun doing that, then I’m in the wrong business.
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