I didn't really need a re-charge, but some nasty weather and a weekend with my whole family together gave me a great opportunity to take a couple days away from golf and enjoy time with my favorite people in the world. I was with my parents, my sisters, my sweetheart, my bro-in-law, and my cute little nieces and nephew. I didn't hit a practice shot all weekend, but I feel like I got better and am really ready to compete and practice this coming week.
As for my practice last week, I did a good job finishing all of my fitness goals and all of my putting work, but I hardly did any of my short game or wedge play practice. I really do want to finish my process goals every week, and I expect to, but I will give myself a one-week pass given my solid play lately and the quality time that I was spending away from golf this weekend.
With that said, I will not be so lenient this week and moving forward. I need to be efficient and focused with my time and get my process goals done. This week should be fun. I'm playing a two-day event on the Carolinas Pro Tour at River Hills Country Club in Lake Wylie, South Carolina, Monday/Tuesday and will head up to High Point, NC, for an Egolf event at Willow Creek Country Club Wednesday-Friday. I'm going to have a good week. Keep it here for updates along the way!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Good Job on Wednesday; Time for a Work Week
I played in the Local Round of U.S. Open Qualifying at Holston Hills Country Club on Wednesday. Knoxville, TN, is a stacked place to try to qualify for USGA events, but I always know at the beginning of the day that if I take care of business, I will get the job done. On a slightly uncomfortable rainy day, I played very solidly and was good enough to advance to the Sectional Round of qualifying. I made five birdies, and after a great up-and-down to save par on the par-3 11th hole (my second of the day), I never came close to making a bogey. I hit 13 of 14 fairways, and really felt like my 67 was about the highest score I could have shot. I'm glad I didn't shoot any higher, too, because 67 wound up being the qualifying score right on the number. I'm happy with the way I played, though, and glad to be one step closer to the 2012 U.S. Open.
I have had a bit of slow week so far in terms of my practice, though, and I need to have a productive couple of days moving forward. I'm excited to have the rest of this week off from competition to continue to sharpen my game. I will get back into action next week with a Carolinas Pro Tour event on Monday/Tuesday and an Egolf event Wednesday-Friday. I am going to work really hard in the coming days and finish all of my process goals for the week. My game is feeling good, but I am excited to keep getting better. Another Nationwide Tour Qualifier and U.S. Open Sectionals loom just weeks away, and I plan to contend from some mini-tour victories between now and then. It all starts with a good week of work right now, though.
Keep it here for practice reports and to follow all of the action. Great things are coming! Thank you for following me!
I have had a bit of slow week so far in terms of my practice, though, and I need to have a productive couple of days moving forward. I'm excited to have the rest of this week off from competition to continue to sharpen my game. I will get back into action next week with a Carolinas Pro Tour event on Monday/Tuesday and an Egolf event Wednesday-Friday. I am going to work really hard in the coming days and finish all of my process goals for the week. My game is feeling good, but I am excited to keep getting better. Another Nationwide Tour Qualifier and U.S. Open Sectionals loom just weeks away, and I plan to contend from some mini-tour victories between now and then. It all starts with a good week of work right now, though.
Keep it here for practice reports and to follow all of the action. Great things are coming! Thank you for following me!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Wrap-up from First Nationwide Tour event of 2012
There is no doubt in my mind that I was exactly where I belong when I was playing along side the Nationwide Tour players this past week in the Stadion Classic. I always seemed to have one element of my game working well during the week, but could never match solid ball-striking with a good performance on and around the greens. I did enough things right to know for sure that I am ready for that level, and I am now more hungry than ever to get back out there where I belong.
In Sunday's final round, I was a bit shaky from a ball-striking perspective, but I was committed to being more aggressive on the greens, and the results were great. I survived some very errant shots in the first five holes to escape that opening stretch with all pars. I then settled down a bit and gave myself some good birdie opportunities on holes six and seven and was able to convert them both. An overly aggressive first putt from the fringe on the par-three eighth hole led to a bogey, but I responded with great birdies at holes ten and eleven to move to three under par for my final round. A slightly pulled tee shot at the watery par-five twelfth hole forced me to lay-up, and I narrowly missed a fifteen footer for birdie after my wedge shot came up just short of hole. From there, I made my first serious mistakes of the tournament. With the tees up on the water-guarded par-three thirteenth, I was between clubs and decided to go with a controlled seven iron. I was committed to the shot, but my execution was awful and I hit the ball some twenty yards right of my target and into the lake. A poor wedge from the drop area led to a two-putt double-bogey. I was determined to stay positive and get right back into a solid routine, but a bit of misfortune hit me on the very next hole. I missed the fairway by just a fraction, but my lie looked fine into the uphill par-four fourteenth. My approach shot from just 136 yards caught a "flyer" out the rough, however, and hit a cart path over the back of the green to go some 75 yards down a hill towards the next fairway. I hit a great shot up and nearly saved par, but the bogey dropped me back to even par for my final round with just four holes remaining. I was still determined to dig deep and finish strongly. I striped a drive down the narrow par-four fifteenth and made birdie after a great wedge to five feet. I executed very well on the sixteenth and seventeenth holes as well, but could not get the birdie putts to fall. On the final hole, I had a great two-putt up and over a mound from probably 90 feet to close with a par and a final round of one-under-par 70. It was very disappointing to squander the momentum that I had built in the middle of my round, but I am still proud of the way that I brought it back and gave myself a chance for some big birdies down the stretch.
My rounds of 68, 70, 70, 70 left me with a six-under-par total and a T31 finish for the week. One of the very exciting things about the Nationwide Tour is that a finish in the top 25 automatically qualifies a player for the Tour's next event. That was definitely something that I wanted and expected to achieve last week, so I am disappointed to have come up a little bit short. However, to finish 31st without ever really having my game firing on all cylinders is definitely very encouraging. I was very confident going into this past week that I could compete at the Nationwide Tour level, and I am absolutely certain of it now. There is no Monday Qualifier for the next event on the Nationwide Tour, but I will be signed up and ready to qualify when the Tour plays in Raleigh, NC, the last week of May.
For now I have to stay focused and positive and keep working to improve. I have a big day tomorrow (Wednesday) as I will be playing in Local Qualifying for the U.S. Open at Holston Hills Country Club. I was close to the U.S. Open last year, so I hope that I can get back to Sectionals again this year and give myself another chance. I will be ready to go when I tee it up tomorrow morning at Holston Hills.
Last week was an exciting and positive experience for me. It has me as motivated as ever to keep improving and to take my game to the next level. In order to do that, I have to stay focused on my process goals and continue to work hard to improve. I will do just that! Keep it here for a good news report from U.S. Open Local Qualifying and to keep up with my practice this week. Thank you for following. Great things are coming!
In Sunday's final round, I was a bit shaky from a ball-striking perspective, but I was committed to being more aggressive on the greens, and the results were great. I survived some very errant shots in the first five holes to escape that opening stretch with all pars. I then settled down a bit and gave myself some good birdie opportunities on holes six and seven and was able to convert them both. An overly aggressive first putt from the fringe on the par-three eighth hole led to a bogey, but I responded with great birdies at holes ten and eleven to move to three under par for my final round. A slightly pulled tee shot at the watery par-five twelfth hole forced me to lay-up, and I narrowly missed a fifteen footer for birdie after my wedge shot came up just short of hole. From there, I made my first serious mistakes of the tournament. With the tees up on the water-guarded par-three thirteenth, I was between clubs and decided to go with a controlled seven iron. I was committed to the shot, but my execution was awful and I hit the ball some twenty yards right of my target and into the lake. A poor wedge from the drop area led to a two-putt double-bogey. I was determined to stay positive and get right back into a solid routine, but a bit of misfortune hit me on the very next hole. I missed the fairway by just a fraction, but my lie looked fine into the uphill par-four fourteenth. My approach shot from just 136 yards caught a "flyer" out the rough, however, and hit a cart path over the back of the green to go some 75 yards down a hill towards the next fairway. I hit a great shot up and nearly saved par, but the bogey dropped me back to even par for my final round with just four holes remaining. I was still determined to dig deep and finish strongly. I striped a drive down the narrow par-four fifteenth and made birdie after a great wedge to five feet. I executed very well on the sixteenth and seventeenth holes as well, but could not get the birdie putts to fall. On the final hole, I had a great two-putt up and over a mound from probably 90 feet to close with a par and a final round of one-under-par 70. It was very disappointing to squander the momentum that I had built in the middle of my round, but I am still proud of the way that I brought it back and gave myself a chance for some big birdies down the stretch.
My rounds of 68, 70, 70, 70 left me with a six-under-par total and a T31 finish for the week. One of the very exciting things about the Nationwide Tour is that a finish in the top 25 automatically qualifies a player for the Tour's next event. That was definitely something that I wanted and expected to achieve last week, so I am disappointed to have come up a little bit short. However, to finish 31st without ever really having my game firing on all cylinders is definitely very encouraging. I was very confident going into this past week that I could compete at the Nationwide Tour level, and I am absolutely certain of it now. There is no Monday Qualifier for the next event on the Nationwide Tour, but I will be signed up and ready to qualify when the Tour plays in Raleigh, NC, the last week of May.
For now I have to stay focused and positive and keep working to improve. I have a big day tomorrow (Wednesday) as I will be playing in Local Qualifying for the U.S. Open at Holston Hills Country Club. I was close to the U.S. Open last year, so I hope that I can get back to Sectionals again this year and give myself another chance. I will be ready to go when I tee it up tomorrow morning at Holston Hills.
Last week was an exciting and positive experience for me. It has me as motivated as ever to keep improving and to take my game to the next level. In order to do that, I have to stay focused on my process goals and continue to work hard to improve. I will do just that! Keep it here for a good news report from U.S. Open Local Qualifying and to keep up with my practice this week. Thank you for following. Great things are coming!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
So Close in Round 3
My game was good in the third round. I felt the most comfortable and confident that I have all week, and at times it really showed. Unfortunately, I never found that "lovin' feeling" on the greens, and I have only a one-under-par round of 70 to show for my efforts. My third-round score maintained my position in the middle of the pack, but I definitely feel like I am playing well enough to move up this leaderboard. I'm very excited to have one more day to go out play on Sunday. I've been shooting a lot of low scores for the past month, and I feel like I can do it again!
I will come back with a final-round report tomorrow, and in the coming days, I will give a full review of the entire week. There have definitely been a lot of positive things for me this week, and I hope this is the first of many Nationwide Tour events for me this year. For now, though, I am simply focused on playing a solid round on the final day of this event. I will be relaxed and enjoy myself all day, and I'm confident that I can put up a good number. Come back for a full report in the evening. Thank you for all the support this week and always!
I will come back with a final-round report tomorrow, and in the coming days, I will give a full review of the entire week. There have definitely been a lot of positive things for me this week, and I hope this is the first of many Nationwide Tour events for me this year. For now, though, I am simply focused on playing a solid round on the final day of this event. I will be relaxed and enjoy myself all day, and I'm confident that I can put up a good number. Come back for a full report in the evening. Thank you for all the support this week and always!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Weekend Charge Coming
I was disappointed with the way I executed on the back nine of my second round, but I held it together for a one-under-par score of 70. My two-day total of four under par has me in a tie for 27th heading into the weekend. I haven't really been sharp yet in the tournament, so I'm excited to improve and have a great weekend performance. It's going to be fun! Keep it here for the good news!
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Thursday, May 3, 2012
Good Start
I played very solidly in the opening nine holes of the Nationwide Tour's Stadion Classic at UGA today, and despite some shaky ball-striking on my second nine, I finished strongly to shoot three-under-par 68 in the first round. I hit every fairway and every green on my first nine holes (the back nine) and failed to convert a number of great birdie opportunities, so I made the turn at one under par. After feeling totally in control with my driver through nine holes, I sprayed one well right of the first fairway (my tenth) as I made the turn. That drive set the tone for what would be a much more adventurous nine holes, but I still managed to give myself some opportunities and was able to offset my lone bogey on the fourth hole with birdies at holes five, seven, and eight. I left a great birdie putt on my final hole short, but tapped in to shoot 68 and feel good about my start. My game feels good, and I'm excited to go out and play again tomorrow. I'm going to continue to be relaxed and enjoy myself, and I'm confident that I can deliver a strong performance for the entire round. I'll be back with an update tomorrow evening. Thank you for following me and for the support!
Time to Get 2012 Rolling
I feel prepared for today's first round of the Nationwide Tour's Stadion Classic at UGA. I had a very productive practice round at the University of Georgia (UGA) Golf Course on Tuesday. The course is fairly demanding with a lot of medium to long par-4s and very tricky green complexes, but I think the challenge of it fits my game well. I worked quite a bit in the past couple days on my long and mid-iron shots and also have had some good short game work, so I feel like I am tuned up and ready for a great week. I get started at 2:25 today, and I am going to be relaxed and execute a smart game plan fearlessly on every shot. I will be enjoying myself out there, and I bet I'll have good news to share in the evening. Come back for a round-1 report tonight!
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