Ford eager to bounce back after tough month

It has been an intriguing, hectic and frustrating month for Matt Ford on the course. The Southern ace had four events as he looked to build on his promising start to the season. These included the weather-blighted Madeira Open, ventures to Turkey and the Czech Republic as well as the European Tour’s flagship event – the BMW PGA Championship.

Madeira was a very strange week in so many ways because of the way it was affected by the weather and also the sad loss of caddie Iain MacGregor.

I went out there early and the weather on the Monday and Tuesday was lovely, if a little breezy.The course is high up on the mountain and come Thursday, the course was covered ‘in fog’ but in reality we were in the clouds. There was a feeling straight away that this could be a long week. There was no play at all on Thursday and I played five holes Friday night at 7pm in the last group. Saturday I spent just hanging around having been there from 6am. Eventually I played six more holes until that was the end of play again for the day. Given the delays, it was decided the tournament would be reduced to 36 holes with a cut after 18.

It was quite a controversial decision as half the players had already finished their first round under the belief that they had 36 holes to play before the cut. But I still had a chance and had to finish off my first round on Sunday morning. However, it was still cold, windy and foggy! I needed to be one-under for my last six and unfortunately ended plus, not giving myself enough birdie opportunities and missed the cut.

It was then that the week took a tragic turn of events. I was about leave when an ambulance arrived in the car park and news spread of a caddie having a heart attack on the 9th fairway, and as we all know sadly Iain MacGregor died. At that point it was a question whether the tournament would be cancelled or continue. I admit it was a very tough decision to make and I can see the debate from both sides.

I didn’t really know ‘Mac’ but I do know he was popular and well liked amongst players and caddies. There was tribute paid to him at Wentworth and I feel proud that I was able to be a part of that.

The next week I was at The National Club in Antalya, Turkey – just across from PGA Sultan which I’d competed on at the PGA Play-Offs. This is a fantastic tight tree-lined course, which I thought would suit me. After a good opening round with some really good iron play, I struggled with my long game. I made the cut and worked hard on the practice ground to get it in shape for the next week, but it was proving difficult!

Arriving back home late Sunday night from Turkey and only getting a few hours sleep and few hours with the family I was still excited and keen to get to Wentworth on Monday lunchtime to feel the buzz of such a big event.

The new West Course at Wentworth is one of those courses where it is important you drive well, so I more time was spent practising. 

I didn’t tee off my first round on Thursday until 6pm because of thunderstorm delays. Some errant tee shots cost me shots early on and we ran out of daylight after 11 holes. It was an early start to get my first round finished. It started better and was nearly great when I lipped out for the car on 14th! But a few more poor shots meant it wasn't a good round and my second round was similar.

Even so it was great to be part of the Tour’s flagship event and to be involved in a tournament featuring the best players in the world – which is where I want to be. I think the stand out thing for me is I have never had so many people watch me and cheer every shot for an 80! It was great to have my family there to experience it all too.

Despite my scores, it’s imperative to enjoy a tournament like this even when you’re not playing your best golf.

Obviously it was a good week for Mark Hooper (above with PGA captain Neil Selwyn-Smith), one of the other PGA pros in the field.  It was great to see a fellow PGA pro do well. I spoke to him earlier in the week and it was very clear that he intended to enjoy the week whatever happened, and that was evident from the tweets and Facebook posts. It also acts as inspiration for the guys competing in the Regional Order of Merits to know that they could be in that very same position in 12 months time.

After four weeks on the road and six weeks of back to back tournaments, it meant a much needed week off was needed. This time is so important in a long hectic season. With a young family, it's tough being away so much for all the family, especially my fantastically supportive wife!

A week also gives me the chance to get some coaching and given the issues I have had with my long game, it was important to see my coach, Stuart Dowsett, who’s based at Sundridge Park. He’s not able to travel with me or come to tournaments as he’s a full time PGA club pro and I can't afford to bring him! I try and see him when I can on my weeks off and naturally when things are going well I rarely see him but, to be honest, I’ve seen him a bit too much recently!

I use a system called V1, which lets me video my swing on my phone and then send it to Stuart to look at straight away, hopefully! It’s a great system and I do love to see the improvements and keep an eye on my swing, but I can get too technical and over do the analysis.

From the video and sessions we’ve had, we picked up I was opening the club face and my arms were going to high in the swing, which was resulting in a weak slice. I’m not a long hitter but this making me hit the ball even shorter! I have had a good few days working at it and now it’s a case of keep working and the results will come!

It’s another busy month ahead. France is my next port of call this week with St Omer. Immediately after that there’s qualifying for the French Open at Apremont on the Monday. I went there last year and have good memories of qualifying. Then it’s Belgium and Scotland on the Challenge Tour. Here’s looking for an improvement in my results and some positive news next time.

Follow Matt on twitter @mattfordpga and see his website for more career details.