Bangor native Jesse Speirs’ Web.com Tour career didn’t get off to the start he wanted.
But even though he missed the cut in his first two tournaments, which were held in Panama and Colombia, Speirs was upbeat Tuesday as he drove from his home in Memphis to Valdosta, Georgia, to play in a Swing Thought Tour (formerly Hooters Tour) event at the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.
He also will play in a one-day qualifier next Monday for the upcoming PGA Tour event, the Valspar Championship at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. The tournament will be held March 10-13.
There is a six-week break on the Web.com Tour between the Colombia tournament and the next event, the Chitimacha Louisiana Open March 17-20 in Broussard, Louisiana.
“It’s no fun to miss the cut. But it’s part of the game,” said the 29-year-old Speirs. “It’s a long season. You can’t get too down about it.
“It’s a process. You have to learn from it,” he added. “You’ve just got to keep improving every week. I’ve been doing a lot of things well, but sometimes you don’t get as much out of it as you deserve. You’ve just got to figure it out.”
Speirs shot five-over-par scores at each of the tournaments. He shot 73-72 for a 145 in Panama and 69-78 for a 147 in Colombia.
He explained that his short game deserted him.
“I hit the ball well off the tee, but I struggled on my approach shots,” he said. “I hit the ball into too many bad spots. I didn’t give myself the best opportunity to save par. And bogeys were easy to come by on that course.”
Long-time friend Casey Civiello from Bangor came down and caddied for him in Panama, which helped make it an enjoyable experience.
In Colombia, he had four birdies and two bogeys for his two-under par 69 the first day but ballooned to 78 on day two with five bogeys and a double bogey.
A weather delay occurred on the first day and play was suspended by darkness, so he didn’t tee off for his second round until 5:30 p.m. Play was again suspended by darkness, so he had to tee off at 7 a.m. Saturday. He also was playing 9,000-feet above sea level “so the ball would fly extremely far.”
“I was playing OK on the second day, but I wasn’t making any birdies, and I had a couple of bogeys on the front nine. So I pressed on the back nine to try to make up for it, and I kept making bogeys,” said Speirs. “I was trying too hard. I learned a lesson.”
In both tournaments, he discovered the importance of “cleaning up rounds” and not letting them get away.
During the break, Speirs has worked with his swing coach, John Tattershall, and played in one Monday PGA qualifier but failed to earn a spot in last weekend’s Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
He said his goal for the upcoming tournaments is to be “as consistent as I can be” and is confident that better days are ahead.