Nationwide Monday

Next up for me is a Nationwide Monday qualifier in Cincinnati on July 12th. Good news is that it's at the Oasis Golf Club, where I played college tournaments all 4 years and set a school record of -17 (199) my senior year. I'm excited to return there, play some good golf, and get myself into my first Nationwide event of the year. I still have not heard one way or another on the Mylan Classic here in Pittsburgh. I'm hoping they may grant me one of their sponsor exemption spots, since I'm a local player. I've talked with the tournament director, who is an extremely nice individual, and now I'll just have to wait and see. If the Nationwide Monday doesn't work out, I'm then scheduled to play in back to back eGolf Tour events down in the Charlotte area. My July then concludes with a trip to New England for Rhode Island's State Open.

John Deere Qualifying

I'm in Moline, IL right now gearing up for John Deere qualifying. The pre-qualifier is tomorrow and they take the top 50 plus ties, and we will go to the Monday qualifier where 4 spots are usually available. Playing about as good as I've played all year. It's time to get this year turned around right now. Deer Run CC is a course I got to experience last year and I know that I can play well there. The key will be qualifying for the event, which I am confident will occur if I play my game. Time to rest up and make some birdies tomorrow. I tee it up at 820 am.

Decent Start at Fuhrer

Got off to a decent start today at the Fuhrer with rounds of 69 and 72 for a 1 over par total. I'm in 6th, and 6 shots back of John Aber who is leading, but we still have 36 to play. I like where I'm at and started rolling the putter nicely towards the end of my second round today and am looking forward to taking another crack at the Field Club tomorrow. I tee off at 10 am with Rob McClellan off the first tee.

Headed home again

After a month of fantastic putting and poor ball striking, this week wound up being a total reversal. I shot 69 the first round of this week's eGolf event and didn't make anything over 6 feet. In today's round I was 2 under thru 16 and basically right on the number to make the cut. Again I hadn't made a putt all day, and had just missed a 3 footer for birdie a couple holes prior. Two bad tee balls with irons on the last two holes put me in jail and led to back to back bogies to finish my round, an even par 71. What a poor taste to have in my mouth after a good ball striking week. I'm now going to miss the cut by 1 or 2, which is a shame since I really felt like I played a lot better this week. It was just very strange as I never felt comfortable on the greens. Anyhow, there were definitely many positives from this week from a ball striking standpoint and I'm now focused on the Frank Fuhrer Invitational. It's a really special event and I'm so excited to be playing in it. I've got Doug Stadler on the bag, who carried for me during my 2 State Opens and state Amateur victories. He was also on the bag last year at Q-School. I'm paired with John Aber from Allegheny CC, and I'm looking forward to playing with him. We tee off at 9:03 off of the first tee on Monday. So Pittsburgh Field Club look out!

Upcoming Schedule

I've had some very productive time at home these past 10 days now. 2 sessions with Joe B have me hitting the ball fantastically again. I played pretty well last time out but had a couple hiccups. The bad shots just weren't playable. But now I've regrouped and am driving to North Carolina tomorrow for another eGolf Tour event in Salisbury. I'm ready to go make some birdies. My putting has been solid for some time now, and if the ball striking is as good as I anticipate it will be, this could really be a special week. One thing that I am looking forward to, is the following week, when I will be playing in the Frank Fuhrer Invitational at the Pittsburgh Field Club. Mr. Fuhrer has graciously given me a spot in his tournament, which has been a truly special event in the Pittsburgh area for years now. Joe Boros and I played a practice round out there yesterday, and my length gives me a distinct advantage out there. I switched back to my r7 driver this week. I've been hitting my R9 SuperTri well and really far, but the misses with my r7 are much less errant, and I can afford to sacrifice 20 yds to hit some extra fairways.

Any song suggestions for the upcoming car rides? I've been through my iPod a few times now. I'll listen to just about anything short of country and heavy metal. Hope everyone is having a great summer and excited for some World Cup. Hup, Holland Hup!

Missed by one

Pretty disappointing day yesterday, because I wound up missing the cut by one. Still, there was a lot of positives that came out of the last two days. The putt on the last hole of the day was a big one. I knew it was a must make, or at least thought it was, and I came through and holed the 20-footer. Any time you can hit good shots or make important putts under pressure that is a good sign. Again, I feel I just keep getting better and know I'm close to breaking through sometime soon. I've got another eGolf next week, starting Wednesday, so I'm looking forward to another opportunity to test the game out.

2 under thru 36

I didn't get off to the best start in this eGolf event. I made 3 straight bogies to go 3 over thru my first 7 holes, but as always I fought back in the opening round and even had it under par briefly until a bogey at the last dropped me back to even for the first round. Which wasn't horrible, the greens however kind of were. They were recently punched and crusty due to my afternoon tee time. Today was looking better and more promising though. I eagled my 8th to go 2 under and had it to 3 under when a bogey-double bogey stretch dropped me back to Even for the tournament. I had 4 holes to play and finished with a birdie on 15 and then rolled in a must-have 20-footer at 18 for a 2 under total at 141. The cut looks like it will be either 2 or 3 under, and now it's a waiting game as the afternoon groups start to finish. I definitely played better than I have been and if it wasn't for a 3-putt from 4 feet on the 13th to a tricky pin location, I'd be in a much more comfortable position right now. The swing is really starting to feel good again and if I make the cut I might just put up a couple mid-60's rounds to get myself back in this tourny.

Down in South Carolina

Milwaukee got off to a great start. I had an awesome chip in on my second hole at Ozaukee for eagle. Unfortunately my driver really let me down and making pars from that rough was pretty tough. I guess my US Open Championship will have to wait until next year. I was able to catch up with some friends and former teammates which was nice. I also stopped in and had my back re-aligned by Dr. Karl Licktieg. You can have whatever view you want on chiropractics, but I've never walked out of his office not feeling 20 times better. I even ran into Coach Buzz Williams on my way out the second time I was there. It was great to finally meet him, he's done an amazing job since getting to Marquette a couple years ago.

I then drove back to Pittsburgh for two days and checked out some swings with my pro at Treesdale, Joe Boros. The concensus, and Coach Grogan hinted at this when I saw him in Milwaukee, was that my lower body was extremely active. I'm trying to keep my right foot down longer now. It keeps my lower body more quiet, while keeping my hips from opening up too soon. I'm really hitting it well again and looking forward to this week's eGolf Tour event. Another 10-hour drive was had today from Pittsburgh to South Carolina. Weather was good and the drive was uneventful, which is always a good thing. I'll be playing a couple practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday, followed by the tournament's 1st round on Wednesday.

Hitting the Yellow-Brick road

After a week of solid practice, some good lessons with my pro Joe Boros, and a startling revelation that my irons were 3.5 degrees too flat, I feel great about the game. I'm now sporting the new TaylorMade R9 C irons, which are unreal by the way. We've got my SuperTri fixed up with a good shaft and I'm packing right now in anticipation of my upcoming drive from Pittsburgh to Milwaukee. The Yellow-Brick road as I'm calling it on this trip, since my destination is the wonderful course of OZ... Ozaukee CC that is, where my team at Marquette was privileged to play on numerous occasions. In fact, my freshman year at MU, I fired a new course record 61 after starting out 7 under thru 5. I've definitely got some good vibes going there and I'm looking forward to a glorious return for US Open Local qualifying. I'm 2 for 3 in the last three years, and excited about this upcoming trip. I'll also be playing in a small one-day event at the Bog the day after... another MU stomping ground.

Special Thanks

I would like to send a special thank you to two different courses. First is my home course at Treesdale, where I have grown up playing and practicing for the last 10+ years. They have graciously given me an honorary membership, and are allowing me to continue to play there. The membership at Treesdale has been very supportive and I want to thank you.

It's not just at Treesdale that you'll find amazing and generous people though. I've found a second home this year at Sewickley Heights GC. They too have given me a place to play this year and I'm extremely excited to have the opportunity to play and practice at such a first class facility. Speaking of first class, the members at Sewickley have been extremely supportive of me and have helped me out tremendously.

Thank you to both clubs, having somewhere to play when you just turn pro is important and often difficult. I am certainly blessed to have such great people looking out for me.