The WGC Accenture Match Play is always a bit of a funny week especially on the course at Dove Mountain where the greens are hard, fast and very undulating and I found it hard to get the ball close – I felt I was hitting good shots and they were going to 25 and 30 feet every time and it’s very hard to make birdies from that distance. I really felt that my good shots weren’t getting rewarded. I played ok and was pleased to come back from four down in my match against Kevin Na and I had my chances against Olly Wilson but didn’t really take them. Match play can be very fickle, especially over eighteen holes and I think that over thirty six holes I felt I would have won both those matches fairly easily.

The one good thing that did come out of my early departure from Arizona was that I managed to get home to watch Ulster playing the Newport Gwent Dragons on the Friday night! Ulster were 17 – 6 ahead at one stage but they threw it away a bit and it ended in a 22 – 22 draw.

I haven’t done much this week at home really as I’m trying to get as much rest in as possible to get my back in perfect order, but I did play at Royal County Down today which was very pleasant, even though it was a bit cold. I’m going to go down to Dublin tomorrow to practice with Michael, as the weather there is better than it is in Belfast right now.

On Tuesday this week I went on a visit to Audemars Piguet at Le Brassus in Switzerland which is about an hour outside Geneva. It is an amazing little town and all the top watch makers ply their trade in other villages close by.  It was really cool to see where the ideas come from and where the watches are actually made and speak to the designers who explained to me how the movements work and the like. It’s incredible what they can do – some of the watches even can tell the sunrise and sunset of wherever you are in the world – very clever!  I’m already the very proud owner of  the black and yellow carbon watch and they gave me a pair of matching cufflinks which are awesome.  I have ordered the new Limited Edition Grand Prix watch which is seriously cool and is in 18 carat rose gold so I can’t wait for that to arrive – it’s in big demand at the moment so I hope I can get one!

I’m going to play nine holes on the Monday of the Honda Classic and Bob Rotella is going to be walking round with me, have a bit of a chat and see how things go from there. It’s not that I think anything is wrong with me or my game – I just think that he can help me in some way and it’s definitely not going to hurt in any way. I feel as if my putting can get better and I think he can point me in the right direction with pre-shot routine and how to think leading up to hitting the putt and stuff like that. I’ve read all of his books over the years and find what he says really interesting and appealing.  I think this could make a couple of shots difference in tournaments and hopefully turn my top threes and top fives into wins then it will be a very worthwhile exercise.  This is about getting experience and thinking about things at the right time – not hitting it longer or anything like that.

I’m really looking forward to the Honda Classic – I played well there last year when I finished 13th. I love the area of West Palm Beach and the golf course – so two weeks in Florida will be lovely.

If you get the chance to see the film Invictus watch it! I saw it last night and it was just fantastic!

Finally, I’d just like to wish my mum, Rose, a very Happy 50th Birthday, and hope she has a really special day.

I'll be reporting in again soon. Cheers, Rory.