Palm Beach Jr Open-Final Round

The fever broke in the night. He woke up with his t-shirt completely drenched in sweat. The poor guy has been suffering and not sleeping well. I’m just doing my best to keep him comfortable and try to get him to eat a little bit.

We don’t have time for breakfast so we hit the McDonald’s drive-thru. Thankfully we didn’t spend a bunch of money because he ate about 2 bites max. In the meantime, I’ve reached out to Brian to see if we can get home to sleep in our own beds tonight. Thankfully I did call him because he reminded us that we were booked in a different hotel near the airport. We would’ve left all of our stuff in our current hotel room and wondered why we were kicked out when we returned! We managed to get are cars packed up and to the course right on time for warm up. I skipped the golf shop and went right to my cart guy for a scorecard. Im not up for any weirdness today and I didn’t want to encounter that crabby golf shop gal!

We had an earlier tee time today which was puzzling since he was high up on the leaderboard.

Jake has played with Alex before at home and he’s a nice guy as is his dad who was riding along to watch him.

Jake’s stomach feels queasy but we’re going to power through. It’s a gorgeous sunny day but a bit windy. on the first hole which seems to be his nemesis, his tee ball goes in the water by an inch. Matthew went deep in the water and Alex is in the fairway.

He proceeds to try to hit it out and it goes 5 ft and he’s soaked and splattered a bit with mud but we’re on dry land at least. He comes out of it with a bogey so I’m feeling pretty good about that. My mom brain wonders if he will be ok to make it through this round. It’s much warmer and he hasn’t eaten much or slept well for days but again, he really is good about rallying on a golf course.

The scores are kept electronically on a device provided by the tournament and already on the 3rd tee box the golfer from FL is asking Jake to lie about his score and give him pars. What!? We are in a competitive tournament here. This proceeds to go on all day long and Jake is not going to put in inaccurate scores for him. This is not a fun friendly round out on a Sunday with your buds, this matters to most of these players out here. Plus, how about just the lack of integrity?

Matthew, Jake, Alex

At the turn, Jake is +2 just as he was in round one but he’s had some birdie opportunities that have not panned out. Those are always frustrating!

By now we have figured out this golfer from Florida does not seem to know the rules or etiquette of golf. He asks Jake a lot of questions, some are just friendly conversation, and others are more puzzling. He has made a few questionable drops and definitely not making them correctly. I am certainly no expert in this sport, actually not even remotely close, but I have learned a few things being out here at these tournaments and I knew something was off.

However, we keep going along and I know Jake and Alex will handle it the best they can. It’s just hard to focus when you’re playing with someone that is asking you to cheat and also having a hard day so you are trying to keep track of his strokes and keep your head in your own game. Morgan had that struggle many times in her high school seasons. I would say it’s been rare for Jake to be in this situation. A friendly, nice guy nonetheless. He’s even told me how much he admires Jake’s swing and consistency. He declared Jake would go D1 for sure☺️

Jake is now sitting at +1 going into the last few holes after making a great birdie after his tee shot landed in the marsh. He made a beautiful shot out of it

Birdie!

He’s sitting in a great spot for a top 5 finish but the last few holes are this course are really hard. The par 3 #17 is over water and a tough green. His tee shot is on the green but a long way from the hole but anywhere on the green on this one, you’re feeling good about it. I’m thinking we’re home free here and one track for a top round. He proceeds to 4-putt and I’m just just bewildered. In my head I’ve decided that at the very most it will be a bogey. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him 4-putt! He bounced back and pars the last hole and of course has realized at this point that double 17 has cost him dramatically.

I was so proud of him regardless because it’s hard to function when you don’t feel well and he handled everything so well. He made some amazing golf shots this weekend and he still made a top 10 finish in a large field of good players.

By the way, he and Alex both told the tournament staff about the issues with Matthew. I don’t know if that does anything or not, but golf is a game of integrity and skill. There’s no room for cheating.

After a phone call to Brian and lots of rehashing of the round and relaxing in the car for bit, we head to our actual ‘scheduled’ hotel near the airport. We are wanting Mexican food but had a few changes in that plan and ended up in the downtown area of West Palm Beach-so cute and fun and just bustling with people! We weren’t sure why it was this crazy and fun on a Sunday night, and here we are in our golf attire not fitting in at all!

Batch – West Palm Beach

Jake declared these were the best waffles he’s ever had (the chicken was bland). His appetite still not great so he ate the remaining waffles back the hotel later in the night while cheering in the Chiefs!

Oh my gosh the Chiefs have done it again! The AFC champs! My kids have been so darn lucky to experience all of this KC success in their lifetimes.

A 23 to 20 win over the Bengals!

We did feel a little bad for Bengals 58 because they kept showing him weeping in his hands. Jake and I prefer to see the happy celebrating and less of the sad parts! Travis Kelce crashing into Mahimes interview was hilarious “Woo! ‘Burrowhead’ my a–, It’s Mahomes’ house” and then calling out the Cinci mayor – “know your role and shut your mouth you jabroni”😂 You just never know what might come out of his mouth! Since he’s a stud tight end, I suppose he can get away with saying a lot! And more wise words from Travis, “you gotta fight for your right to paaarty!” Let’s go win the Super Bowl, Chiefs!

LaGuardia airport NY

We were up at 4:40am and had a long travel day home on Monday from West Palm to NYC to KC and yet another missed day of school. Ugh! On the positive side, Jake can now say he’s had his first bagel in NYC! I think it counts even if you’re in LaGuardia airport.

Love you Jakers beyond words and I will ride this golf train with you as long as you’ll have me—

Love, mom❤️

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