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

Short on Monday, but great Wednesday

I just couldn't get it going in the Monday Qualifier.  I bogied my first hole and bogied my 12th hole to fall to +1.  I finished strong however, still managing to post a 69, but the real momentum swing/lost opportunities came at the turn, I missed an 8 footer for par on 8, after being -1 thru 7 and a 5-foot birdie chance on 9, and 6-foot birdie chance on 10, and another 5 foot effort for birdie on 11.  If I make those four putts, all inside 8 feet, I'm 4-under thru 11 and my 3 late birdies would have gotten me to -7 and into the John Deere.  From that perspective, I'm really close, just a few putts away from being in the mix.  I'm playing really well and am truly excited for the rest of this season.

So after coming up short Monday, I hopped in my car and drove 9 hours, to Lexington, KY where I spent the night.  I then got back in my car and drove another 7 hours and got to Kannapolis around 4 o'clock.  I played two balls around the Club at Irish Creek to get as much golf in as I could.  Really hit it great.  But my first round was at the Country Club of Salisbury, and I didn't get a practice round in there…

Hitting some putts to the pin locations could have been helpful today, but I got off to a solid start with a 3-under par, bogey-free, 68 to start the tournament.  Not bad after 16 hours in a car!  I made 16 pars, 1 birdie, and 1 eagle.  If that sounds familiar, it's because I made 16 pars and 2 birdies in the Thursday pre-qualifier a week ago.  I'm in 28th place of 161 guys after Round 1, with a cut to low 53 & ties tomorrow.

We had a 1-hour rain delay today and the greens were really soft and were bumpy and chewed up, so it was kind of difficult to make any putts of length, but I kept giving myself chances and finally poured in a birdie on 12 after 11 pars to open the day.  Then I stuffed a 6-iron on the par 5 15th to 5 feet and drained that to get to 3-under.  I play at Irish Creek tomorrow 9:54AM.  A course I know very well and have a good game plan for.  Gonna take it deep!

Bogey free, the way to be!

Shot a bogey-free 69 in John Deere Pre-Qualifying yesterday.  Had a good game plan going into the day, as I started on the par 4 10th.  I knew a couple good drives on 10 & 11 could net me some early birdies, so I tried to be aggressive.  It paid off on 10 as I hit a good pitch to six feet and poured in the birdie.  Didn't hit a good enough drive on 11 to go for the par 5 green in two with water in front.  So I layed it up to 90 yards and hit a good wedge shot that spun a little bit too much.  Good thing I started the day straight ROLLING my Bettinardi putter.  Poured it in from 15 feet, then made a 5 footer and 8 footer for pars on the next two holes.  I knew 2-under would be more than enough on a day when the top 50 of 140 players make it into the Monday qualifier.  So I tossed it in cruise control, which was the plan if I could get those birdies early on.  I did have a couple disappointing pars on a few holes on the front nine.  Could have played those a little better.  But I made it easy on myself all day long.  Never in trouble of making any big numbers, or even bogies for that matter.  Really playing good solid golf.  Excited for the chance to get back into my favorite tour event, The John Deere Classic!

I'm headed to Chicago for the next two days to practice and play some golf with former MU teammate Sam Bettinardi, who recently shot a 67 in the Illinois State Match Play qualifying rounds.  Going to be a fun couple days of practice and then back for another practice round Sunday afternoon before the qualifier on Monday.  I'm also signed up for an eGolf event this next week at The Club at Irish Creek in Charlotte, but hopefully I won't be headed there.

Stay Cool this week!

2nd Place at Fuhrer

My third round saw me get off to a good start, even getting into the red briefly.  Unfortunately I hit a bad stretch on my back nine, making 4 bogies in a row that dropped me into 4th going in to the final round.  Three players were tied at +2 while I was at +4.  But not to worry, because I would pull even with them pretty quick in the Final Round.  After an unbelievable flop shot on one to set up a great par save, I continued my aggressive philosophy on number 2 (a 330 yd par 4) and hit driver all the way onto the front fringe of the green.  After reading it to break a little left, I hit the putt, apparently pretty hard, because it hit the back of the hole from 50-feet, popped up, and fell back into the cup for an eagle 2 to put me back in a tie for the lead at +2.  My playing competitor and I plodded along that front nine making all pars, until I missed a 4-footer for par on 9 to drop 1 behind him.  The other two players in contention at this point had fallen back, so it was a two-horse race.  I made up for the bogey on nine quickly as I hit a gap wedge to a foot on 10 for birdie and then got some more back with a 30-footer for birdie on 11 as well, which put me in the lead with 7 to play at +1.  My playing partner, David Bradshaw, was +2.  I had a really nice up and down at 12 and had a 3-footer at 13, while David had 25 feet for birdie.  He poured his in, while my delicate breaker caught a lot of hole, but spun out.  So instead of having a 2 shot lead like it looked like I might have, we were both tied at +1 instead.  Pars on 14.  15 was another good opportunity for me, but I caught my second shot a bit heavy, not hitting the par 5 green in two, rather having a 90 foot putt from the fringe.  My 8-foot birdie try slid past while David made his 6-footer for par.  He hit it to 3 feet on the downhill par 3 16th for birdie and did the same on 17.  It was over after his birdie on 17, because my mis-hit 3-wood took a hilacious bounce up a hill behind some trees, forcing me to punch out.  I made a double.  He was -1 while I was back at +3, but still in second by 1.  I made a really nice par on the par-3 18th to shoot 69 the final round and finish lone second to capture the $15,000 pay day.

It was a lot of fun to be in contention and feel the heat coming down the stretch.  It just would have been nice to take advantage of those opportunities on 13 & 15.  That's where I really feel like I let the the tournament slip away a bit.  Anyhow, a very positive week as I now go west to play in John Deere qualifying.  Hopefully I qualify and again play in the site of my first PGA event.  If not, I've got two eGolf tour events lined up at The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, NC and Grand Harbor in Greenwood, SC.

That takes me through about July 20, stay tuned for updates!  Playing well!

Good Start at Fuhrer

Today was the start of the Frank Fuhrer Invitational, one of the best tournaments on my schedule, if not the best.  $150,000 purse with 30K going to the winner.  I got off to the least coveted of starts, bogeying my first hole and then hitting a drive OB on my 2nd hole, the 11th at the Pittsburgh Field Club.  Things took a while to get better as I found myself +6 thru 12 on a windy day with firm greens.  But I strung together some birdies to fight back for a 73, closing the final 9 with a 33.  Doug Stadler (who is caddying for me) and I grabbed some lunch between rounds and didn't let the break between rounds deter from our momentum.  I shot another 33 on my outward 9, which included a great up and down from the greenside bunker on the par 3 6th hole and made 2 more birdies and one bogey on the back to finish the day at 140 (Even Par) with an afternoon round of 67, the low of the tournament thus far.  I'm tied for the lead with two others heading into our third round tomorrow.  I tee off at 10:12, results should be posted on the Tri State PGA website

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