Awesome Day, Disappointing Result

I played my heart out today in U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying. With 112 guys--the majority of whom have either full Nationwide Tour or PGA Tour Status--competing for 10 spots in the U.S. Open Championship, I overcame a shaky start and played some the of the most solid golf of my life only to see my 4-under-par total for the day leave me in a tie for 11th, one shot out of the qualifying positions.

I played the shorter South Course at Woodmont Country Club in the morning and was three over par through seven holes. I was hitting the ball nicely even during that stretch, but a slight miss here and poor touch on the greens there led to three bogeys. For the final 11 holes of my morning round, I played beautifully, but only managed two birdies to offset my three bogeys and had to settle for a one-over-par round of 70 on the shorter course. I felt good about my game, however, and when I set out on the North Course for my afternoon round, I wasted no time getting after it. Some great tee shots and quality short irons and wedges helped me birdie four of my first six holes in the afternoon. My momentum was quickly stopped by back-to-back bogeys on my seventh and eighth holes (16 and 17 on the North), but I stood on the 18th tee with ten holes to go at one-under-par for the qualifier. I played very solidly from that point, but failed to convert a couple of good birdie opportunities on my final nine holes. I birdied my 35th hole of the day to get it to four under par, and then hit a driver and a five iron to just 15 feet on the 495-yard par-4 ninth only to watch my solidly struck putt stay just high of the hole. I tapped in for an afternoon round of 67. It was a great round. I played great golf the hole day and especially for my final 27 holes, but in the end I came up one shot short.

I'm so encouraged by the way I played today. I was a little off in the early going, but I continued to believe in myself, and my hard work really began to show as the day went on. I hit some great wedge shots under pressure, drove the ball beautifully, and was pretty solid with the putter. I beat 90 percent of the field today, and most of those people have Status on one of the PGA-run Tour's in America, so I know that my game is good enough to compete at any level. I won't be playing in the U.S. Open this year, but I know that my time will come, and I think it will be sooner than later!

Thank you for following me and for all your support and encouragement. Come back in a day or two to see what's coming up for me in the near future.

For full results from today, check out: http://www.usga.org/news/qualifying/2011/usopen_sectional/U-S--Open-Sectional-Qualifying-Results---Rockville,-Md-/