Syysmyrsky AM 2017 tournament

On the last day of September the Syysmyrsky AM tournament was played and luckily the name - autumn storm - did not correlate with the weather. How cool was it to get to play in one of the most beautiful fields in Finland, Kaatis in Vihti, to compete in FA1 with nine women!

I got a nice starting hole #18 and did some approach shots only for warming up. In my group everyone was new to me and I consider that as good thing too. Especially when the atmosphere was instantly relaxed and comfortable. My game started with few pars which was pretty much ok. I also got par on hole #1 which is a par2 and I consider that as a birdie. My first bogey was obvious on hole #2 but it escalated as a double bogey as my bogey putt hit the basket pan.

My game was all in all quite ok. Of course I made some mistakes and got some unsuccessful throws that did not go by the playbook. When I was training holes and creating my playbook in Kaatis the other day, I started dreaming about birdieing hole #7 as it was so close then. I had now a solid plan and a new disc: Westside Discs Tuonelan Lautturi (Boatman) in Vip Air plastic. Perfect choice! The absolute highlight of the morning round was to play this perfectly by the book with two drives along the fairway and sink the five meter putt in the basket. Birdied!

The worst hole today was #9. The very same hole that I have bogied last three times beautifully as bogey really is a par for me in that hole. But it did not go as planned. My drive hit a tree on the right side of the fairway and got kicked to the left. I got my second shot on the fairway, but to be able to reach the basket from there I should have had a perfectly excecuted sweeping hyzer shot that really is not something I can manage to do. Not yet. So my hyzer was way too wide and the disc went OB and sunk in a slough. Annoying triple bogey.

The last holes #15, #16 and #17 I played highly concentrated and determined to par, because I wanted to keep my new score record +13 and I did it! Only then did I look at the results of other women, and what a surprise it was to see myself in the lead! Awesome! I had already told Holle the previous evening that the best thing for me would be leading after the first round. I wondered how great it would be to start the second round in the lead card leading the whole tournament and play my own game while watching other players' game counting the scores. Now it was a dream come true! Yes! I had a really, really happy smile on my face :)

Tiina waited for me for lunch and we went to Vihti, enjoying kebab & chips with refreshing cola. It was also nice to have dry clothes on and warm up indoors. After-gaming is a nice thing to do especially when Tiina had played a good round too. I loved to see that I got a rating as high as 810 for my first round! Everything was just awesome! Soon it was time to go back to Kaatis, eager to get to play the second round.

It was lovely to play again in women's card! We had a total of five players in the pursuit of a win, all within three throws. On the start hole #8, there was immediate movement, because I did not succeed as well as in the first round and had to settle for the bogey. Hole #9 I played almost identically with the first one which was a huge disappointment. Another triple bogey for today! However, I did not let it bother me but decided to forget it the next moment.

My game was a row of bogeys and I had a feeling that it was much worse than my morning round. However, the hole #11 surprised me again, as my Opto River landed five meters from the basket on the fourth throw and gave me an opportunity to par it. How great would it be to take my first par-result ever on that hole! However, my putt was too weak to properly clang the chains but fell down as the putter got stuck in the lower part of the basket. Bogey again. Our most breathtaking moment in the round was Annemari's hole-in-one on hole #13 and CTP victory at the same! I love the spirit of this game as we all were so happy for her!

On hole #17 I got back on the par-gear and got the honors. Now the game went quite another way, I got energized, and I kept my honors until hole #4, where Hellevi picked up the only birdie. I still did not follow the game results and I was quite sure I was fighting for the third place. I decided to keep it and birdie hole #7 again to assure my position. But it does not always go as planned as my hyzer line was way too wide and came close to the edge of the parking lot. I knew that I would not be able to get to the basket from there, but I still tried it, because it was in my playbook. How stupid of me! I ended up behind a big tree and I had to have a little lay-up on the fairway. Then easy approach under the basket and bogey putt inside.

It really was an exciting moment to count our results. I immediately noticed that I had even score with Annemari and we were about to have a sudden death. Only then I calculated the results of other girls and when we talked to each other about the results of our first round, it turned out that Mila would also share our score result and even bigger surprise was that we would be competing for the win! Three women in the same result - can this be true! There was absolutely no room for fatigue, the game had just started from the beginning. Play for the win - no less.

I have to say that somehow I love the atmosphere of the sudden death! I liked it already in Skogby in the spring, when I was not mentally prepared to fight for the victory and now I liked it even more. Now I wanted to win. We played holes #1, #2 and #6 without getting the difference between me and Mila. Annemari fell third. On hole #7 I had a birdie putt approx 10m from the basket. My attempt was like other longer putts today: clanging chains from the left and passing by. Even situation still. The tournament director then suggested that we could also choose to play a CTP hole. We could not make any decisions at that moment so we ended up playing #1 again and thinking about the situation after that.

We both had solid drives towards the basket. My disc was on the edge of the green and Mila's a bit more near the basket. I weighed the alternatives. I decided to play all or nothing. I was ready for the final to end. I focused on chains. Now there was no need to think about anything else but the chains and how to get my putter there. My megasoft Pure got out of my hand in a slight anhyzer, flew to the right side of the basket and faded in the correct position ending in the middle if the chains and into the basket. I was so relieved and happy. The pressure was enough and the winning trophy came to me! What a great tournament and a wonderful day!

This victory was, in my opinion, due to the mental strength. This time I forced myself to play all the time calmly without focusing on my weaknesses, my fatigue or any of the things that destroy the game. Instead, I focused on my strengths and I was really ready to win. And this victory was something I wanted! The best and the most amazing victory in my disc golf career! You don't have to succeed all the time, everything does not have to go solid but the head needs to stay up. Thanks to NFS and thanks to my co-players! What an awesome day :)

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