Year to Date

Here is a list of my results from this year…

April 7-12, Canadian Tour Q-School-             74-74-71-74, DNQ
April 22, Valdosta Web.com Mon Qualifier - 70, DNQ
April 29, Athens Web.com Mon Qualifier-     70, DNQ
April 30-May2, Peach State Tour event-         70-68-70, 4th place finish
May 9, US Open Local Qualifier, Westmoreland- 70, DNQ
May 27, Avenel Web.com Mon Qualifier-      71, DNQ
June 17-18, West Penn Open -                        69-67-68, 1st place
June 24-26, Frank Fuhrer Invtl -                      68-69-71-71, 1st place
June 27, Greenbrier Pre-Qualifier -                  74, Qualified for Monday
July 1, Greenbrier Monday Qualifer -              69, DNQ
July 5, John Deere Pre-Qualifier-                     68 - 2nd place and Qualified for Monday
July 8, John Deere Monday Qualifier-             68, DNQ
July 21-23, Peach State Tour event-                 72-75, CUT
Aug 5, Missouri Web.com Monday Qualifer - 66, Lost in 14 for 3 playoff, DNQ
Aug 12-14, PA Open,                                      71-78-80, 37th place finish
Sept 9-11, New England Open                        74-72-66, 7th place finish
Sept 25-27 - NGA Tour Panther Lake             71-69-69, 6th place finish
Sept 30-Oct 2 - NGA Tour Crooked Cat         68-71-69, 10th place finish
Oct 7-9 - The Chicago Open                            77-72-71, 19th place finish
Oct 22-25 1st Stage of Q-School                      67-75-78-71, 23rd place finish - ADVANCED!

Upcoming Tournaments
November 19-22, 2nd Stage Q-School at Southern Hills Plantation in Florida

Here is a link to an interview after my tournament low 66 at the New England Open...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORbqRhfZSHg&feature=youtu.be

Gearing Up!

I know over the last two and a half years I have, for the most part, stayed really positive on this blog.  And during some of my struggles, especially in 2010, I think I was more trying to convince myself that things were improving.  But I can say, without a doubt, that I am the most excited about my game going into this year than I have been at any point in the last three years.  I am already hitting it great and that is only in hitting inside a dome.  I'm keeping it simple with my swing thoughts and working on things that I was doing well when I was playing my best.  I'm as strong as I've ever been, and as mentally prepared as I've ever been.  With my 2 months off due to surgery, I am now as eager to get playing as I've ever been.  And working off my success at the end of the year with a couple of Web.Com appearances, I am truly confident that I will be able to qualify for a few events right off the bat in places like Louisiana, the two in Georgia, and the PGA events in Puerto Rico and Tampa.  So for now, here is my tentative schedule for the next 3 months…

February 16-- I leave Pittsburgh and drive to Atlanta
February 17-19-- I play and practice at some really good Club Corp courses in Atl. area
February 20-- Get to Tampa, where I will be located through March
February 22-24-- Marquette Alumni match, where I will be playing 36 holes each day with other     Marquette alums against the current Marquette team.
February 28-March 5-- I'm hoping to go to Puerto Rico for their Friday Qualifier for 2 spots in the PGA event there and the Monday qualifier for 4 spots.
March 7-10-- Puerto Rico Open (PGA)
March 7-- Pre-Qualifier for Transitions Championship in Tampa
March 11-- Monday Qualifier for Transitions Championship
March 13-14-- Tampa Bay Open, $30,000 purse, alternative if I fail to qualify for Transitions
March 14-17-- Transitions Championship (PGA)
March 18-- Monday Qualifier for Louisiana Open (Web.com)
March 21-24-- Louisiana Open (Web.com)
April 7-12-- Canadian Tour Q-School
April 22-- Monday qualifier for Kinderlou Forest (Web.com)
April 25-28-- Kinderlou Forest (Web.com)
April 29-- Monday Qualifier at Stadion Classic at UGA (Web.com)
May 2-5-- Stadion Classic (Web.com)
May 9-- US Open Local Qualifying at Westmoreland CC
May 14-- US Open Local Qualifying at Grove City CC (one of these two…)

Guess Who's Back!

I know it's been a long time since my last post and I apologize.  Once again, I couldn't find the heart to post anything after coming so close but just short at Q-School last fall.  I was really playing well in that last half of the year too.  I qualified for 2 Web.Com Tour Events and shot 71-66-70 to start at Q-school before a final round 74 cost me to miss by two.
My offseason started by getting back in to workout at Evolution Sports Institute (ESI) in Bridgeville, Pa.  I was there starting November 1st and was really making good progress.  I was able to workout with Neil Walker a few times as well which was pretty cool.  But we had a lot of Professional athletes in there, Steelers like Willie Colon and Ryan Clark, a boxer, Jason Bergman, and a QB from Dartmouth.  I think one of the most beneficial things is the infectious mindset and attitude gained from working with guys that are at the highest level of their sports.  The confidence in the room is astounding and like i said, helps you gain your own confidence.
Unfortunately, starting on December 12th, my workouts at ESI stopped because I needed and had surgery to remove two pilonidal cysts located just below my tailbone.  Pilonidal cysts are pesky because they tunnel to get to the skin surface, thus the encompass a much larger area and take much longer to heal.   I've had an open wound in that area ever since and still to this day have nurses come to my house daily to change the wound dressing.  The wound was originally 9cm long, 4 cm deep, and 3.5 cm wide.  After 4 weeks now I'm down to about half of that and tried to hit balls for the first time yesterday, but it was a little too painful, and the last thing you want to ever do is come back too soon and form bad habits due to injuries.  So I putted for a while down at the Dome during while my dad was hitting balls.  I did workout last night at Oxford for the first time since my surgery.  My dad and I walked a 1.5 miles on the treadmill and I was even able to get to a very light jog.  I did some light lifting and pushups as well.
So what have I done with all my free time lying on the floor with bum in the air?  Well, I remade a 1950's boardgame called Careers.  I also updated another boardgame from the 1960's called Mr. President which meant updating the Electoral Count and candidates.  We used fictional presidents from movies like James Marshall (Harrison Ford in Air Force One), Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas in the American President), Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock in Head of State) Henry Hayes and Robert Kinsey (President and Senator from Stargate SG-1) and so on… Yeah, I've had a lot of free time, haha.  But my dad has been nice enough to humor me and play alot of Mr. President games with me since I've been down for the count.
My first event this year, hopefully, will be down in Puerto Rico at the start of March.  I'm going to go down there and do the two qualifiers for the PGA Tour event like I did last March.  And I'll be going down to Tampa starting in Early to Mid February.  I'm planning on playing in the Marquette Alumni Match on February 21-24 as well, which should be in the Tampa area.  I'm hoping to do better at keeping this blog up to date, that's my new year's resolution.

Congrats to good friend Peter Malnati on his engagement!

Back to Back

After qualifying for my first Web.Com event since the 2009 Children's Hospital Classic at Ohio State's course, I found myself on a stage I hadn't been on in a while at the Chiquita Classic.  Unfortunately, I was unable to play my best golf last week, leading to a 72-74 and a missed cut.  Good news though, as I'm back out here on the Web.Com Tour after another successful Monday qualifier.  I'm playing at the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms.  And not just qualify this week, but I'm already off to a solid start with a 1-under par 69.  It's a very difficult course, and I'm currently sitting T-30 right now.  I have a 1:55 tee time today, Friday, and I'm looking to improve on my current position and get into contention.  The cut is to the top 60 and ties, but I'm looking to get near the top of the leaderboard, not just make cuts.  I'm playing great and just need a few more putts to drop today, stay tuned!

Finally made one!

Yesterday was the Monday qualifier for the Chiquita Classic in Charlotte, a Web.com event, formerly the Nationwide tour.  It was a cool and blustery morning with swirling winds, which made it difficult to figure out where the wind was coming from.  But I was hitting it well and had some nice up and downs.  I birdied 3 & 7 on my front, but bogied the par 3 8th and turned at 1-under par.  That's when I really started to play solid golf. I birdied 10 & 13 to get to 3-under and then hit one bad drive on 14.  I found it but had to pitch it out to 155 yards.  Knowing par would really keep me in it, I took dead aim with a 9-iron and hit it 8-feet below the hole…pouring it in for par!  That was really the hole of the day right there.  I birdied 16 & 17 to close to get to 5-under, and since I was in the morning wave, spent the next 4 hours waiting to see if my 67 would hold up.  Not only did it hold up, but I finished T-2, one shot clear of a 6 for 3 playoff.

I'm really excited for this week, as I've been playing some good solid golf over the past month, even shooting a few course records.  I'm peaking at the right time of the year for sure.  I'm going to go get some breakfast now and then head over for a practice round at Longview CC where the tournament is being held.  More to come!

New Course Record

I've been having a really good week on the course.  Unfortunately it's not in competition, but my game continues to peak at the right time this year, with Q-School only a month away.  On Wednesday, my dad and I played at Treesdale and played our usual two balls around the course.  I shot 62 & 66 on Lakes-Orchard from the tips.  I bogied 9 Orchard to finish on the ball that shot 62, a new course record by two shots, eclipsing my previous record of 64.  Had I parred the last, I would've shot 30 on both balls on Orchard, alas, I settled for a 31.  One of the highlights was pouring in back to back 25 foot eagle putts on 5 Orchard.  Always nice to play a hole in 4-under!  Again we played two balls on Thursday out at Treesdale, and I put up 65 & 67 on Orchard-Grove.  Disappointingly one shot shy of my course record on that alignment of courses.  But still, it's nice to finally be scoring as I've been hitting some really nice short game shots and stroking the ball beautifully.  I've spent some extra time practicing my alignment and stroke path at home and it seems to really be paying off.

My next tournament will either start on September 19 or September 26, both are eGolf events.

Short by 1 for Mylan…again

For the second straight year I missed playing in the Mylan classic by a single shot.  I fired a 68 at Green Oaks and finished T-8th of 156 players.  I'm hitting it great and just needed to score better on my final 6 holes.  A few better pitch shots coming down the stretch could have done the trick, or even a couple made putts.  I lipped out a 3-foot par putt on my 13th hole, had 30 yard pitches on my 14th and 15th holes, but made pars both times.  I had a 12 foot eagle putt spin out of the hole on my 16th and then drove it just over the back of the green on the 17th, but left my chip short and settled for par.  On 18, I had a 12 foot birdie putt, but put a crummy stroke on it and missed it left.  It's frustrating to be playing such good golf, and not get the opportunity to play in my hometown Web.com event, but I could have scored better.  The short game will continue to be the focus of the next month as I prepare for Q-school and a couple more Web.com qualifiers.

Great few Weeks...

Anyone who saw me play this week out at Nemacolin Woodlands in the PA Open will notice one thing… he's back.  The ball-striking, the driving especially, was second to none out there this week.  Ripping driver 300+ yards while hitting fairway after fairway.  The only thing to hold me back this week was a lack of made putts outside 10 feet and a few poorly played short game shots.  The end of the week saw me shoot 71-67-70 (8-under par) to come in 2nd, three shots behind this year's winner, Clayton Rotz, who really had a tremendous start, shooting 66 in the first two rounds.  Still, it was an extremely positive week at Nemacolin after a number of good weeks in a row, going back to my last few eGolf tour starts.

I had a great trip to the Rhode Island Open, the week prior to the PA Open, and the goal was to get practice playing in contention and use it as preparation for the PA Open.  Unfortunately I didn't find my way into contention as -15 would win the 3 round event and I would meander my way to a +1 finish, but I came in 22nd and got most of my entry back.  However, it was clear that there were good things on the horizon.  My first round saw a 63 turn into a 72 when 9 putts hit the hole and did not go in (all from outside 8 feet) which was reminiscent of my 3rd round of Q-school last year.  Just one of those weeks where I couldn't get it going.

My 2nd eGolf tour start in a row was at River Landing in Wallace, NC.  A tough start got me in trouble and I needed a special round to make the cut… I headed to the final hole 4-under on the day and needing a birdie to make the cut.  A couple good shots had me at 10-feet for birdie with a swinging right to left putt.  I drained it, which was huge and got me into the weekend.  But the key is finding yourself in a stressful situation and succeeding.  I shot 1-under the rest of the way after that 2nd round 67, but it was a great positive nonetheless.

Next up on my schedule is the Mylan Classic Monday qualifier on August 27th at Green Oaks.

My apologies for the lack of posts, as I had no internet in Wallace or Rhode Island…that happens with host housing sometimes though.

Solid finish

The third round was awfully frustrating.  I just didn't hit it great and I couldn't buy a putt to fall.  I wound up with 15 pars, 2 bogies, and a birdie to shoot a third round 72.  And it was much of the same to start the opening 9 holes in the final round.  I made 2 bogies and 1 birdie, and again, couldn't get anything to fall.  But finally, with 9 holes left, things started to even out.  I continued to give myself chances and stroke it well like I had all week, and low and behold, it paid off.  I hit a good shot on 1 about 18 feet behind the hole, put a really good stroke and watched it break right into the center, finally!  Then I hit a great 8-iron on the par-3 3rd hole to 6 feet and poured one in.  3 holes later I would make a 10 foot birdie try on the par-5 6th.  And two holes later I hit a spectacular iron shot to 7 feet on the dangerous 8th hole, par-3 and poured that one in as well.  I would finish with 4 birdies on that closing nine for a 31, which included a pair of lip-out birdie putts on 7 & 9.  Great momentum builder going into this week.  I finished with a final round 68 to climb into 43rd, but had one of the lower rounds on a difficult day.

I'm excited about my play and am gearing up for this week's eGolf event in Wallace, NC at River Landing.  I'll try to keep up with my results on here!

Made Cut

My first made cut in my third eGolf event of the year.  After getting off to a nice start, cruising to -2 thru 6, I bogied my 7th and 8th holes to drop back to 3-under for the tournament.  The problem with this was that I was en route to shooting a low score, and at -5, well clear of the cutline.  But when I fell back to the cutline number, I wasn't as free to take chances and get aggressive.  However, I played mistake free golf on my inward nine, which was highlighted with a 320 yard 3-wood that reached the green surface, followed by a 100 foot eagle putt that just burned the edge and stopped 6 inches away, leading to a tap in birdie and a 34 on my inward nine.  I finished with a 1-under par 70, 4-under for the tournament and made the cut right on the number.  No holds barred now, it's time to get aggressive, take it deep, and make a check.

I'm continuing to play well.  Really hitting it solidly, minus one drive and one second shot today.  Hit some really good putts that just wouldn't drop.  Had one of those days where the good shots just weren't quite the right distance and the good putts weren't quite the right line.  So close to a great round, feel one coming!  Tee it at 9:40 tomorrow