February 1, 2023 - Day 2 at the US Open was a completely different game plan than day 1. On the 43 ft "top hat-like" pattern, it created an opportunity for good scores. Even though they were much more playable than day one, I had to keep in mind that it’s still the US open and patience is everything.
Game one. I decided to go with my trusty Track Paradox (again) to allow me to control the pocket and hopefully stay out of trouble as the lane transitions. I think my game plan was solid, but my execution was very subpar. Excitement and anxiety to start the day crept in and after about 9 frames I had only made one premium shot, which was not a good feeling. I escaped game one with 187 clean. I decided I needed to see a different ball to change things up and maybe help me settle down and maybe, just maybe, I can start to feel like myself. I went to the Black Widow Ghost and started game 2 with a double (thank goodness!). After a couple frames I started to feel so much more comfortable, which is key.
The next couple games I was cruising along, pretty stress-free by US Open standards, I must say. I was able to put some decent games together until game 5 when my Ghost started to get to forward down the lane. Dino Castillo, our Brunswick tour rep, walked by and set my GB4 Pearl in the chair and said give it a try. I mean... why not? It either works or it doesn't and onto the next ball, right? I had to open my angles more but I tried it and immediately had a much better shape. I was able to use it for the next 3 games and had my best look of the day. It really loosened my swing up seeing the ball recover from an area I wasn’t able to get it back from earlier in the day.
All-in-all, I ended up +157 for the day and +169 overall, sitting in 12th overall. I am really satisfied with where I am in the overall standings, but I have so much to clean up and just one more day to get in the top 24. I am going to take what I learned the first couple days and try to get comfortable faster tomorrow.
Remember, you are your toughest critic. As I grade myself day-to-day, I have to remain real and honest with myself. High scores are great but how did I really feel about my shot repetition, spare shooting, transition and most of all, my attitude towards myself. Overall, I would give today a B+ as the scores were good, I loved the ball choices, and I was 100% on my makable spares.
Onto the monster pattern tomorrow... 39ft flat.