End of Nationwide into Q School

Hey everyone!! It has been a while now since my last post so I need to do a little update. There is good news and bad news since the last post. I have been playing golf these last few weeks but unfortunately not all that well. Game has been close but just far enough off to miss all of my last cuts on the Nationwide Tour in 2011. The good news out of that is that the year on the Tour is over, bad news is that I didn't retain any status for 2012 off of my few good finishes which were a 4th and a 11th this year.
So with all that said I will be again going to all three stages of the PGA Tour Q School. I finished first stage of Q School in St. Augustine, FL. I made it a little more interesting than I wanted to by making it through by only 1 shot, but Q School is a pass/fail test and I passed the test! I shot rounds or 68 66 74 69 (-11). I was doing great until the third round where I played poorly and made some pretty bad mistakes. I was pleased with my final round as I knew what I had to get done and was able to do so. My game wasn't all that good but managed 3 birdies and no bogeys in the final round.
Up next for me is the second stage of Q School in Panama City Beach the 16-19th. It is at the course I played last year so at least I have seen the course before and played several rounds on the course. Until then just going to be practicing and working on the game. Everything is coming together for a late year run! Keep following, I will keep this more up to date than I have recently!

Nationwide Tour Boise Open

Last week the Nationwide tour was in Boise, ID for the Albertson's Boise Open. The Boise Open is one of the longest running events on the tour as it been played every year since the beginning of the Tour's history.
So the event for me started in the afternoon on Thursday. I was only able to complete 11 holes as there was some inclement weather that passed through so we had to come off the course for a few hours. I heard that this was the first delay in the tournaments history... says a lot about the weather in Boise this time of year! It was awesome! I then finished my remaining holes on Friday morning before starting round 2. I ended up -4 for the first two rounds and made the cut by a shot. It had been a while since my last made cut so it was a good feeling but I knew there were 2 rounds to go to better my finish. I played well on the weekend and finished the event at -13 and t11. It was a good finish and allowed me to move a little more up the money list to 88th. Out here it is all about the money list as at the end of the year that will decide what you are doing the following year for the most part! This week I am down in southern CA playing in the Soboba Classic. The course is awesome and looking forward to a great week! I will keep you all up to date on how things are going!! All the best and thanks for following!

Week off / Boise, ID

This past week I was had the week off from any tournament golf! To say the least it was very nice to take some time away and I think I needed some time off as well. I spent most of the week just relaxing and getting my batteries charged for the next 6 or 7 weeks ahead. I did have a good friend of mine who got married this weekend so was able to make it to that! And in the sports world the Iowa State Cyclones beat on the Iowa Hawkeyes!! Big win for the Cyclones, I'm always proud to be a Cyclone but it doesn't get any better than when we beat the Hawkeyes!
This week I am out in Boise, ID for the Albertsons Boise Open on the Nationwide tour. This is one of the biggest weeks out here for us as it is a big purse and there is a lot of tradition behind the event. I think it has been around since the start of the tour back when it was the Nike Tour.
I tee off tomorrow just before 3 local time so will get plenty of sleep before I go! I am really looking forward to this week and the coming events. My goal for the next series of events is to enjoy myself out there and let good things happen! Thanks for following and I will have an update as the week finishes up! You can also follow online at pgatour.com under the nationwide tab.

Nationwide

Well I am several weeks behind on the blog... sorry for the delay. So the last three weeks I have been playing out on the Nationwide Tour. I have been in Springfield, MO / Overland Park, KS / and finally this week in Knoxville, TN. To make a very long story short I missed the cuts in Springfield and Knoxville each by a couple shots. I played one day in each tournament just played myself so far out the first round. I think I have just been putting too much pressure on myself in these events for some reason. This week in Knoxville I played myself out of the event in the first round shooting +3. The second round I shot -6, 66. It was a good round of golf and a fun one at that. I was much more decisive in the round and confident in what I was doing. It was a good round even though it really didn't matter a whole lot for this weeks event as I had already put myself way behind the eight ball. I am going to try and take some of the rounds momentum into next week in PA!

In KS I did end up making the cut and finished the week shooting 4 rounds in the 60 and finished at -10 for the tournament. I think I finished t51 but a check cashed none the less...

So to sum up the last few weeks of my life... it hasn't been the most successful weeks on the golf course but I think I am moving in a good direction with the game. I will be driving tomorrow to head up to Pittsburgh for the event there. Looking forward to it and hoping good results will come!! Thanks for following me and I will have something on the blog again next week.

Also a huge thanks to my host families the last three weeks!! You all have been great and made my trips that much better!!

Nationwide Childrens Hospital Columbus, OH

This past week I was in Columbus, OH playing in the Nationwide's Children's Hospital Invitational. I got into this tournament as it was an invitational and the entries were ordered by the money list. The tournament was held at Ohio State's Scarlet Course. I had played the course my senior year of college for NCAA Regionals. It is a very demanding golf course but was really looking forward to playing it again!
I arrived Monday morning as usual and got in some practice and played 9 holes. Then Tuesday I went out early and played 18. Wednesday is a practice day as I am not in the Pro-Ams right now based on the money list.
The tournament started for me Thursday afternoon at 1:30. It was going to be a hot day!! The weather wasn't giving us any breaks... Thursday I played some decent golf just didn't have a low score in me as I wasn't hitting it all that well but definitely not that bad. I was even going into the 14th hole where the week took a turn for the worst. I tried hitting a cut off the tee and the cut ended up more like a slice... the ball ended on the right side of a tree so I had no swing other than a left handed one, I tried that. Needless to say bad things happened and made a triple bogey on the hole. Ended the rest of the round even so shot +3 on the day. Friday was much of the same unfortunately. I didn't have much game and shot +3 again... I missed the cut pretty easily. It hasn't been much fun missing the last two cuts but I have this week off and am going to put in some good work on the game and try and get everything together and make a run at the end of the yr!! Trying to stay positive! Thanks for following!! Next week heading to Omaha, NE for the Nationwide event there. Hoping to get a sponsors invite but at worse case I'm going to Monday Qualify in!

Nationwide Chiquita Classic Cincinnati

This past week I played in the Chiquita Classic in Cincinnati. The week didn't quite turn out as well as I had hope as I missed the cut shooting -3 and the cut was -4! Only missed by one shot so didn't play all that poorly just made too many mistakes... It is crazy looking back every week and noticing how important ONE shot is. This week it was the difference in me making the cut and missing it and the prior week it was the difference in finishing t4 vs t3! The difference there seems small but was worth quite a bit of money as I tied with 3 or 4 other guys for fourth. While it would have been nice to make a little more change the money would really had been helpful on the money list at the end of the yr! As many of you know the top 25 guys on the money list get their PGA Tour card for the following year and then after that number there are several guys that retain full Nationwide status for the following yr. The summary of my ramble is that one shot is very important! In the end everything will work itself out and I am looking forward to good weeks ahead!! One of the better lines I have heard about golf is that when you are struggling with the game don't worry too much it will be over soon, and when you are playing well enjoy it because it will be over soon as well!
On to next week now in Columbus, OH. I have played the course several times in college so I know the course well... it is a great course and very challenging. I will keep you updated as things finish up or maybe throughout the week. Thanks for following my progress!!

Nationwide Mexico Open

Last week I played in the Mexico Open on the Nationwide Tour. It was an exciting week for me as it was my first start of the year on the Nationwide Tour. I got ion the event on Monday afternoon around 1:30 while I was up in Charlotte getting ready to play in an eGolf event. I booked a ticket to get down to Leon, Mexico. I arrived into Leon around 10pm Tuesday night. Wednesday morning I went out to the course to walk the course as there were two Pro Ams so I was unable to get on the course for a practice round. I ended up just walking the front nine and getting some notes on the course from a friend of mine who had played it a couple days.
Thursday morning I woke up to a rainy Mexico, it hadn't rained since October! I teed off a couple hours later than expected but finished the round shooting a -3 69 on the day. I was very pleased with how I played considering I hadn't played the course before. The second round for me began on Friday night at 7:45pm! We had several storm delays and was only able to play one hole on Friday . I made a par and then went to bed for an early long day tomorrow where I would be playing up to 36 holes. We started Saturday morning at 7:45, I resumed my second round where I shot 72. I was still pleases with how I played, I made a few dumb mistakes some course management and a few three putts. I then stated the third round 30 min after finishing the second. I started on the 10th hole and got off to a good start. I was -3 thru 4 and was feeling good. I ended up the day when it got dark on the 17th hole where I hit a shot to an inch on a par 5 for a nice tap in eagle! We would have to wake up again to play the last. Now Sunday morning, I finished the 9th hole. Made a bogey unfortunately. Ended the day shooting -6, 66. It was a good moving day as I moved up the leaderboard nicely. I was sitting in the top 10 going into the final day. My final round tee time was 12:18. It was an exciting final round as I did play with the eventual winner of the event, but I also had my chances to make a good move to the top. It was a fun day for me in that I had some pretty good nerves throughout the round! I ended up shooting a 68 and finishing t4 in the event! Good first start and most importantly the finish will get me into next weeks event in Cincinnati, OH and into the Columbus, OH events! I will also get reshuffled by the money list a couple weeks later and will again get more starts on the tour! Overall the week helped me to get basically no starts on the Nationwide Tour this year to getting at least 10 this year! Looking forward to what is ahead!! Thanks for following and supporting me!

Mexico Open

This week I am in Leon, Mexico playing in the Mexico Open on the Nationwide Tour. It has been an exciting week so far as I got in the event on Monday around 1PM. I was in Charlotte, NC getting ready to play in the eGolf event that week but obviously plans changed when I got in this event. I bought a ticket to fly down to Mexico the next day and arrived in Leon late Tuesday night. Unfortunately there was a morning and afternoon pro-am so I was unable to get out and play a practice round. I was able to walk the front nine to get a little feel for the course. I was looking forward to getting the week started.
Yesterday was the first round. I shot an opening round 69, -3. It was a good start to the week and hoping to continue to play well the rest of the week. We have had some weather issues so far but maybe the weather will cooperate and we can get some more golf in. I am scheduled to start round 2 at 4:10 this afternoon. Thanks for following my progress and check back for updates.

British Open Qualifier, Hooters Tour Georgetown KY, DC Monday Q, and eGolf River Hills Classic

Way behind on the blog but there is a reason for that... poor golf. The last couple weeks for me haven't gone all that well. Lets start at the British Open Qualifier in Plano, TX. The highlight of the round was playing with Stuart Appleby. As you all know he is a pretty good player. It was a good experience to watch him play. I say "watch" because I struggled on the course this day. We had some poor weather come through the area and the event was shortened to 18 holes. 66 would have got you into the British Open but my chances were well gone early in the day as I posted 76. Chalk up a cool experience and a learning experience getting to play with a player in the top 50 in the world.
Next event was the Hooters Tour event in Georgetown, KY. Another disappointing week. I missed the cut shooting -2 and the cut was -3. Really didn't play all that poorly, but didn't make any putts. Not fun to miss cuts all I can say here.
Then off to MD for the Nationwide Monday Q in the DC area. My qualifier was at Northwest GC, ironically just north west of DC. I played quite well on the day shooting 68. The course was playing tough due to bad greens so it was hard to make putts. I hit the ball great just again didn't feel like I made the putts that I needed to to really put a good score up. 68 ended up being in a 8 for 2 spot playoff. I made par on the first playoff hole and that was the end of that. No Nationwide event in MD.
Finally, I was in Lake Wylie, SC last week. Unfortunately another MC. Looking back on the event I probably should not have played as I left MD on Tues at 8pm and had to tee it at 8am the following morning. I had a 7.5 hour drive and only 12 hours to drive / sleep and be on the first tee. I burnt the candle at both ends and it got me! I won't be doing that again that is for sure!

This week I am in the Raleigh area doing the Monday qualifier for another Nationwide event. I tee it tomorrow at 11am and as always will need a low one to get into the event. Game feels good so ready to go out and make it happen. Thanks for following and I will have updates!

Egolf Tour River Hills / Hooter Tour Georgetown, KY

Finished up the River Hills Classic in High Point, NC a couple weeks ago. Sorry like usual I am a little behind on the blog! The event went well for the most part. I started the week off a little slower than I would have liked. I ended up making the cut on the number and to be honest I thought I had missed the cut. I was -2 after the first two rounds. I hit the ball pretty well just wasn't able to score all that well. The third round was much the same as I played some ok golf just didn't score all that well. The final round was the shiny moment of the week for me! I shot a 66 and moved way up the leaderboard to t12. It was the second week on the eGolf Tour that I made such a late run. Not sure why I felt the need to barely make the cuts and play well on the weekends but that was how it went the last couple weeks. So overall a fairly decent week, made a little money and as always had a good time on the course.
My last event was the Hooters Tour in Georgetown, KY. It was a fun week for me as it was fairly close to home and my dad was able to come down and caddy for me. However, the golf wasn't all that good. I ended up shooting 73 69 and missed the cut by a shot. I again played some very average golf... hit it just ok and didn't make many putts at all. It was my first missed cut of the year. I guess it had to happen sometime. Better to be in a Hooters Tour event than lets say a Nationwide Tour event!
I am currently down in Plano, TX getting ready for the British Open Qualifying event at Gleneagles Country Club. Played a practice round today and it is a great course. I am really looking forward to the event as it is a good field and it is also a chance to play in the British Open! The top 8 from the qualifier move on to the UK! We are having some bad weather down here right now so hoping tomorrow will be better. They are calling for high winds, the weather knows that we are playing for a trip to the British Open!
I will have a update hopefully sooner than later for you all! Thanks for following!!

eGolf Tour Columbia Open

Last week I was playing in the eGolf event in Columbia, SC. The tournament was held at Cobblestone Park and Columbia CC. My first round was at Cobblestone CC. I was really looking forward to the event as I felt as the game was really coming around and some swing changes were starting to feel good. On the first day I played some solid golf, made some good birdies and overall a good day. Had it t0 -4 standing in the middle of the 18th fairway which is a par 5. I ended up making an 8 on the hole to finish the day at -1. Very frustrated to say the least. I felt like I was finally back into some good form and just tripped all over myself on the final hole. The second round I was at Columbia CC. I knew going into the day I needed a pretty good round as the scores were very low so far and the cut was going to be around -4. I ended the day shooting -3 and made the cut on the number. Another good day on the course. Missed out on a couple opportunities but overall was pleased with the day.
The third round began for me late as I was in one of the final groups on the back nine. Not the best place to be starting because it meant I was on the cut line. Fortunately I was paired with two good friends of mine. It was a great day, not only did I shoot 66 I had a good time with a couple good friends. I shared the low third round of the day with the eventual leader after round 3. Then onto the final round. I managed to get to -10 after the 3rd round. I was 7 back starting the day. I was needing a low round to give myself any sort of chance to give the leaders a run. I shot 64 in the final round and had the lowest round of the day. It was a lot of fun and great for my confidence as I had been struggling coming into the week a little with my mental game. Ended the week finished 4th and made a nice check!
Overall the week was a pretty good one. I started off well just had one unfortunate break that tested my patience to the max and was able to get it going as the week went on!
This week I am in Athens, GA for the Nationwide Monday Q. Hopefully I can get it going and play well, the trend lately is for Monday Qs to play well in the actual tournament so might as well try and keep that going!
Thanks for following and I will keep updates as the happen!

eGolf Tour St. James Plantation

So last week I was in Southport, NC playing in an eGolf event. I came into the week looking forward to the courses as they are both very nice and fun to play. On the way up to the course I went and saw my coach and got some things figured out and some new things to work on.
The event started on Wed where I shot an opening round of even par 72. I felt as if it was an ok start as I had a couple rough holes to start and was able to battle it back to even on the day. The second day wasn't as good as I shot 75 to make the cut on the number at +3. It was a pretty high cut as the courses were both playing pretty tough and the wind was up both days.
So good news was that I did make the cut which meant I made a check. Bad news was that was the only good news. The weekend was really bad! Ooops, but that happens every now and again just not going to let it happen any more. I finished the week t65 or so and lets just say I am looking forward to this week (the next week when I finished). Swing was feeling pretty good I just think i was guiding the ball a little bit too much and possibly thinking too much about my swing...
This week I am in Columbia, SC playing in another eGolf event. Have some good memories from this place so hoping I will be able to get some good juices going and have a little fun this week! Ill keep you all posted on the results at the end of the week. Thanks for following me and check back soon.

European Tour - Hassan Trophy Morocco

A little late on the post but better late than never... So this was my first ever European Tour event and in one of my favorite countries, Morocco!! As I said in the previous post we were in Agadir. Agadir is located a couple hours south of Casablanca on the coastline.
Started the week off on a serious high note when I was the first group out on the Palace course, which was actually inside the palace walls! The course was immaculate! No one had played the course in at least 5 years so needless to say it was perfect! The second day we went and played the secondary course. The course was good but definitely couldn't compare to the Palace course.
It was a good couple days of practice and was ready to get underway in the actual tournament!
The tournament started on Thursday. When I woke up I quickly realized it was going to be an interesting day! The wind was blowing pretty good and it was the hottest wind I had ever experienced. I forget what they called the wind but it came straight from the Sahara. We dealt with these winds the first two days.
The first day I really had it going. Was 3 under with 5 to play but finished poorly ended with 73 on the day (+1) . It was an interesting day, I felt as if I played quite well. I was still feeling good, onto the next round. Second round was at the secondary course. Needless to say it wasn't quite as nice but still ok. Shot 72(E) to make the cut. I was happy that I made the cut but also knew that I was hitting it quite well and had two more days to improve my position. The next two days were a little bit of a let down for me. I played quite well from tee to green but the short game wasn't there and I wasn't able to post any great scores. Finished the third and fourth days with 73 72 and ended up t60 on the week. Made a decent check for the week I think it was about $4000 euros so covered the travel costs and other expenses. It was a fun week and something I will never forget!

Hassan II European Tour

This week I am in Agadir, Morocco playing in the Hassan Trophy! I arrived in Morocco on Sunday. So far this week I have seen and done a lot of cool things. One of the golf courses is inside the Palace walls and until Monday no one had played the course in 10yrs!! I was in the first group out on Monday so there were absolutely no divots anywhere! It was unbelievable! Definitely one of the most amazing courses I have ever played. On Tuesday we went over to the secondary course to play a practice round. The course was ok, but couldn't compete with what we played the day before. Other than golf we have been going out to eat at the marina here in town every night and even went to the local "suk" market. It has been a cool start to the week. Tomorrow is round one and looking forward to the week. The tournament is a pro am format so I will be playing with a amateur tomorrow and Friday. It is going to be a lot of fun and hopefully a great week. I will post something when the week ends. If you want to follow scores they will be on the European Tour website.

eGolf Morocco Swing

I am a little late on the blog but have had an interesting couple weeks so I will do my best to share what had been going on. I traveled to Morocco with the eGolf Tour to play in two events that were held by the eGolf tour but also sanctioned with the Moroccan Tour which is the Alps tour. The first week we played in Marrakech, Morocco. Marrakech is located inland in Morocco about 2 or 3 hours east of Casablanca at the base of the Atlas Mountains. The city was very nice and very different from anything I had seen previously my first couple times here in El Jadida. As for the golf, we played at Samana Golf Course. The course was a desert style course. It was a fun course to play as we were getting a lot of roll off the tee and the course played pretty firm. I played well the first two days shooting 68 68 and was sitting t4 going into the weekend. Was very happy with the start and felt like I was in good position to make a run for a win or a good finish. The weekend went ok for me just wasn't able to make any putts, shot rounds of 72-70 to end t11 on the week. That was good enough for $4,300.
After the conclusion of the tournament we got on a bus to make the 3hr trip to El Jadida! It was an interesting trip. We got lost once which didn't surprise me much and the bus we were in was way to big for the roads we were driving on. We made it safely late that night and I found out that I was staying in one of the hotel suites with another friend. We had met the manager of the hotel in a previous trip and he hooked us up with on of the nicest rooms in the place!!
The tournaments started much the same was as the first tournament did for me. I shot an opening round 66. After that things went downhill unfortunately. The weather made a turn for the worst and so did my game. The second round I shot a 73. Played ok for the most part just had some tough holes and didn't home many putts. The final two rounds were not very good either. The third round we had some brutal weather! Very windy and rainy. I shot 78 and made a quick move to the back of the field. The final round shot 74, just one of those weeks. I was ready to move on to the next week.
Overall the trip to Morocco was good fun! There were about 100 players from the eGolf tour and for most was their first trip to Africa. I think most everyone had a good time, I know I always enjoy seeing new places so it was a good time for me. Up next I will be playing back in Morocco in the Hassan Trophy European Tour event in Agadir. Looking forward to it as it will be my first European Tour event! I got in the event from my win on the Challenge Tour last year in Morocco. Sorry for the late update and thanks so much for following!!

Swiftwick Shootout at Palmetto Hall (Hilton Head Island, SC

Well the season is officially going for me. This past week was my first event of the year and first competitive rounds of the year. Needless to say I was really looking forward to the week as I have been working hard on my game in the off season and was ready to put up some scores!
I arrived in Hilton Head Island a few days before the event to see my coach and just to get some more practice in the area. The golf courses this year were in amazing condition and it was looking like we were going to have unseasonably warm weather!
The first round I stared off on the Arthur Hills course where I was able to put together a round of 69 (-3). Overall I felt as if I played some solid golf, only made 2 bad swings which led to bogeys but made several birdies so overall I was pleased with how the day went. Anytime you haven't played in a tournament there are some unanswered questions on how you are going to react or perform since it is almost like a new experience I guess? The second round I played the host course for the week, the Cupp course. The scores were a little higher on the course overall, the course had some pretty difficult holes on it which led to some higher scores. I played very well the second round shooting 66 (-6). I made 8 birdies and 2 bogey. I couldn't have felt any better about the day to be honest! After two rounds I was sitting on top of the leaderboard with Matt Davidson. Fun to be up there this early in the year!
Overnight things changed for me somehow! I came out in round three and didn't play all that well... I shot 74 making way too many bogeys. I kept it together pretty good for the most part as I did hit it poorly and had a couple very bad breaks. Just wasn't my day. Round 4, the final round I found myself 4 back of the leader and still had a shot to catch him I thought. Again, however I had a rough ball striking round... ended up shooting 72 on the day. Overall for how I was hitting it I was pretty pleased with the result.
So on the week I finished t5 and made a nice little check around $8,000. A much better start to the year than last year but I really felt like it was a good week to get a W but have to save that for another week!
Up next for me I will be playing in Morocco for 2 eGolf events followed by at least on European tour event and maybe one more!! Looking forward to getting back on the course. Check back for more updates and thanks for following me!

Off season - Getting ready for 2011!

Been a while since my last blog... It has been a good off season for me for the most part! Last years season finished up at Final Stage of PGA Q School in early December for me. I took a good couple weeks off from the game and actually didn't even touch a club! By the first of the year I was starting to itch and ready to start playing and practicing to get ready for the coming seasons events.
I started the year heading to Hilton Head Island, SC to work with my coach on my game, just wanted to get started on the right foot and get some good things to work on while I had plenty of time. I have been working hard on the game since and it is really starting to come around.
As I am writing this I am sitting in the San Diego Airport. I just finished up out in Carlsbad at the Titleist Fitting Center and the Scotty Cameron putter studio! What an experience!! All the guys out here were amazing and really helped my game. I know I haven't had much time to work with any of the clubs but am really looking forward to how my new putter performs this year. We worked on some stroke fundamentals and found a putter that allowed me to make my best stroke!
Up next for me will be my first tournament of the year in Hilton Head, SC. It will be an eGolf event, looking forward to getting started! As the year gets going I will be updating the blog more often so check back to see what is happening on the road!