PGA Tour Americas Q-School: Steps to success.

Figure 1: Tahir in Victoriaville, QC on the final hole of the ECPT Quebec Series #2, wearing Under Regulation and making a par to shoot a -2, 70 and finish 4th.

It was a wild week. Going into Q-School, I knew I had the game, I knew I had the systems to succeed. I knew I could do it. Building on a year (I played in Q-School last year), ball striking was my focus and I delivered. I had one of the best ball-striking weeks of my life and I am proud of that for sure (75% Greens in Regulation for the week). I opened with a poor round and really just had to sit down and take a second. There was so much build-up and I was so disappointed. Once I just let go and said “screw it, I’m better than this” I went out and shot 74-71. Getting a round under par, shows me that I’m at least moving in the right direction and doing the right things. Now, it’s a matter of doing the right things more often.

I learned a lot from that week. I wanted to win so badly, and I tried so hard to be perfect in every aspect. But what happens when “sh** hits the fan?”. Literally, there was stuff flying at me over putts because the fan (wind) was gusting at 45kmph. In the wind, your shots, good or bad, just get exaggerated. A few shots that I thought I hit good may have plugged in the bunker and my “plan for perfect golf” was ruined pretty fast. I didn’t adapt quick enough.

I really cemented in my mind, as much as I want to try and control variables, I can’t. I just have to surrender to the moment, accept it, and do the best I can with this next shot. I went out and did that the next few days and was rewarded.

I have to thank my sponsors who helped me get to this position:

Just For Him Menswear

The Bunker

Russ Ferrier

LRO Staffing

Under Regulation Golf

CAMO Golf Systems

And to the rest of the team:

My Parents

Physio’s, Rolfer’s, trainers, and friends.

Coaches: Corey and Matt.

Kostka

It was a team effort and it will continue to be a team effort. Without them, I would not have been able to play in this event and it has helped springboard me in the right direction.

Here is some good news to cap of the recap:

I know I have the capability to compete at the highest level. Once I got back to Ottawa I got myself a runner-up finish in my next East Coast Pro Tour event and then a 4th place finish in the following ECPT event (yesterday).

The game is there. The systems are there. How quickly can I get to where I want to be? I have to continue to challenge myself, get better technically and physically. The systems are in place, it’s about letting those gears turning and start to progress week by week.

Figure 2: Tahir at an East Coast Pro Tour event in Montreal teeing off on the first hole where he posted a -3, 69 and finished in 2nd.

Next Steps:

1. Focus on getting all areas of my game into a “stokes gained” statistical category. This means that my putting, for example, compared to the PGA Tour average, will be statistically better over a round (or rounds) of golf. In the long run, I aim to “gain” 1-2 shots per round against tour players which means putting alone helps me shoot 1-2 shots less than them.

2. Focus on strength and conditioning:

3. This was an asset for me over the summer. Being able to play a lot of golf and maintain 175kmph ball speed within 5km/h of my average is fantastic. Playing 10-15 days in a row with travel is a huge momentum keeper for me.

4. Monday qualifiers and East Coast Pro Tour:

5. More opportunities for success coming up. I will post scores/tournament schedules on my instagram as things come up: @the_1tgolf on instagram.