Junior diary: Recovering from a busy summer

Hi everyone.

Last month was the most tiring month ever! At the beginning of each school year, I often take a couple days to adjust to my daily routine, settle my mind, and then commit to school. However, the start of this year was different, as I felt extremely tired and it took more time than usual to settle my mind. I think the reason behind this was my busy tournament schedule this summer. I played nine tournaments, and they were some of the toughest events in amateur golf, including the U.S Amateur. It was my first time having such a busy and challenging schedule.

Junior diary

Cheng-Tsung Pan, 18, will file a diary every other week this fall as he finishes his senior year of high school at IMG Academies.

Pan, bound for Washington next fall, earned top-3 finishes this year at the Scratch Players Championship and Azalea Invitational, and was medalist at the Western Amateur. He made it to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur in 2007.

I remember being at the sweet sixteen dinner during the Western Amateur in the beginning of August when my mind suddenly turned blank after the emcee asked me a question. I told my sister what happened, and she told me that I had probably just run out of energy!

This past January, she and I had argued about how many tournaments I should play this summer. Originally, I insisted I would play as many tournaments as I could because I used to do that back in Taiwan. I planned eleven events from June to August, which meant I had only one or two weeks off. My sister and coach worried about my arrangement and they reminded me that not even a professional player could handle that. They suggested I play two or three events and then take one week off to recharge. It was a great idea, and I finally realized how the right tournament arrangement and attention to my energy could decide the results of my performance.

Looking back at the summer, I would say my most significant achievement was that I reached every single goal that I had set for myself in early June. My goals included five top-10 finishes, qualifying for the U.S. Amateur and winning one tournament. Surprisingly, I reached all of them by the beginning of August. After the Western Amateur, I analyzed all of my playing stats, and I was so happy to see that I was on track to reach all of my goals. After that, I felt very confident about myself and my golf game. I told myself I did a really good job, and I also asked myself to keep playing my best during the last two tournaments. Being a golfer, I always hope I can make every day better than every yesterday!