Some Good Signs, but Not This Week in Omaha

I am definitely mired in a bit of a mid-season slump right now. For the last four weeks, my game has felt close to good but some elements have been a bit lacking each and every time out to the course. In the Monday Qualifier for this week's Web.com Tour event in Omaha, Nebraska, that continued to be true. I birdied two of my first three holes and had moments of brilliance throughout the round, but I scattered a lousy shot or two in each facet of my game and made four costly bogeys. I made five birdies and an eagle, but the mistakes left me with a score of 69, and I finished a full three shot off of the qualifying score.  I was definitely very uncomfortable in a lot of areas of my game, but had a few moments of triumph, so I will continue to take some positive even from another disappointing result.

Speaking of positives... Though I certainly feel it is accurate to say that my last four weeks are fitting into the category of "slump," it is worth noting that I have had just one over par round during that stretch and have made the cut and earned a check in each of the tournaments that I have played. Making cuts is certainly not my goal, but the fact that my scores are still decent and my final results have yet to dip much below the realm of mediocrity shows that my standard of performance is increasing. I know that I don't have my best stuff right now, but I am still able to post somewhat respectable results. When I get that lovin' feeling back, it will be special!

Though my practice hasn't felt especially smooth or easy lately, it has been thorough. I completed all of my practice goals last week during the Missouri Open (though a skipped run on a lazy Sunday morning cost me finishing all of my process goals), and feel like I made progress despite not getting the tournament results that I wanted. I will have the rest of this week off from competition, and will take advantage of some great practice facilities in Columbia, Missouri. I will complete all of my process goals this week, and hopefully will recapture my good form.

I will play again in a Monday Qualifier next Monday for the Web.com Tour event in Springfield, MO. I still know that my game is good enough to compete at that level, so I am hopeful that a good week of work will have me ready to go next Monday!

Thank you for following me, and keep it here for practice reports throughout the week.

By the way, for those of you who use e-mail to keep in touch with me, please note that my address has changed. My new e-mail is peterjmalnati@gmail.com. Thank you for your support!