Great Course; Ready for a Great Week

I am in Newburgh, Indiana, for this week's Web.com Tour event. The tournament is at a course called Victoria National Golf Club, and it is absolutely astounding. In fact, the course reminds me very much of The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tennessee--a venue on which I have some fond memories! This week's course features a nice blend of long and short holes, and I think the premium it places on accuracy really plays to my strengths. 

Speaking of my strengths, one of my greatest attributes as a professional golfer is my dedication to an intelligent and intense practice schedule. I have returned to having very productive work over the last three or four weeks, but I still haven't put together a thorough enough effort to complete all of my weekly work goals in quite a while. As I come closer and closer to realizing my ultimate outcome goals, my commitment to my process goals becomes even more important. Starting this week I am re-dedicating myself to my weekly work goals for this year, and I will prioritize my practice in such a way to ensure that I get them done every week! (With that said, I still have two weeks for the remainder of year during which I can let myself out of achieving my goals in order to spend quality time with loved ones--balance is important!)

My game is feeling good, and I'm very excited about this week's event. With a solid week of work, I feel like the major breakthrough that I have been predicting for quite a while is imminent. Keep it here for exciting reports throughout the week. Thank you very much for following me and supporting my career! 

Still Going!

There is much to tell, and I will tell it soon, but here's the essential information. I posted a final round 68 (-3) in the Web.com Tour's Rex Hospital Open, and that was good enough to move me up the leaderboard into a tie for 24th place. The top 25 and ties at each Web.com Tour event earn a spot in the next event, so I am moving on to the United Leasing Championship at Victoria National Golf Club in Evansville, Indiana. Come back for more details soon! Thank you for following me. 

Moving Up the Board

I played well in the third round. A friend of mine is famous for saying, "you're only as good as your score, Malnati." There is definitely truth in that, but, man did I feel better than the three-under-par 68 I posted on Saturday! I am really hitting the ball nicely, and I feel like I am very close to playing a great round. As I said, I shot three under par in my third round, and that was nice, but given benign scoring conditions, it certainly wasn't a spectacular result. I played very solidly and hit a lot of greens in regulation. I made just one bogey. I simply couldn't get a birdie train started. When I would string together some nice shots consecutively, I could never capitalize with a key putt at the right time. I did hit two quality shots into the 18th hole and roll in a ten footer for a closing birdie, so I am confident that will carry over into Sunday's final round. My Saturday round moved me from a tie for 54th place at the beginning of the day into a tie for 31st place at the end of the day. I need to make another significant jump up the leaderboard on Sunday, and I feel like I am playing well enough do to just that. Come back for a quick update from the final round on Sunday afternoon and then a more thorough report early next week. Thank you for your support! 

Hard-earned Saturday Tee Time

My golf swing felt as good as it has in a long time during the second round at the Web.com Tour's Rex Hospital Open. That is much less than half the battle when playing tournament golf, however. An unlucky bogey on the par-5 fourth hole rattled me on Friday, and I couldn't seem to recover. I was very nervous for the remainder of my round, and it showed. My pace was awful on the greens, and I hit a few very squirrely shots with my longer clubs. I scraped and clawed and tried to stay positive and encouraged, but as I walked to the 16th hole, I was two shots outside the cut line. With my back to the wall, I committed fully to my routine, and I delivered. I hit a 7 iron close at the par-3 16th and converted a slick four foot putt for birdie. At the long par-4 17th, I hit a beautiful drive that just crept through the dogleg and into the left rough. I judged the flyer lie perfectly, however, and bounced another seven iron up to within three and a half feet of the front hole location and converted the birdie. Two solid shots led to an easy two-putt par on the closing hole, and I earned myself a Saturday morning tee time in the third round of the tournament. I am pumped about the gutsy way I finished in round two, but more importantly, I am feeling confident about my game and am ready to take care of business over the weekend. Keep it here for good news from the next two rounds. Thank you for keeping up with me!

Mental Toughness in Round 1

I did not get off to a good start in the Web.com Tour's Rex Hospital Open in Raleigh, North Carolina. I had a beautiful warm-up session before my 8:50 tee time for Thursday's round, but I hit a pathetic diving hook into tall rough off of the 10th (my 1st) tee, and I was a bit shaky for quite a while after that. I bogeyed my first hole and dropped another shot on my third. I calmed down a little bit, but still didn't feel overly in control through the early and middle stages of my round. I hit a few good shots here and there, but a bogey on the par-3 second hole (my 11th), left me at two over par for my round and not in very good shape. I don't know why I was so out of sorts in the beginning of my round, and I'm also not sure what changed, but I stayed patient and kept believing in myself all day, and I eventually settled down. I hit a lot of good shots over the final seven holes of the first round and played them three under to post an opening-round 70 (-1). That is certainly not a great score on a day when scoring was quite good, but I have momentum rolling into Friday, and I am feeling great! Keep it here for another report after round 2. Thank you for following me!

On to Raleigh with the Web.com Tour

Sunday did not go perfectly as planned at my first Web.com Tour event of the year, but I still played well. I was tied for 10th and just three shots behind the leader heading into the final round of the Air Capital Classic in Wichita, Kansas, and I truly thought that I was playing well enough to have a special day. It never quite materialized that way. I began my round with pars on the first 13 holes before finally getting something going with consecutive birdies on holes 14 and 15. Unfortunately, I finished the event very unglamorously with a lousy bogey on the 17th hole and a par on the very reachable par-5 18th. My final-round 70 (-1) gave me a nine-under-par total for the event and left me in a tie for 15th place. That is not the finish for which I was hoping heading into the weekend, but it certainly does indicate a solid performance for the week, and, most importantly, it allows me to move on with the Web.com Tour to this week's event in Raleigh, North Carolina. (The top 25 finishers at each week's Web.com Tour event are automatically awarded a spot in the next event, regardless of status.) So my goal of playing my way onto the Web.com Tour mid-year is very much intact.

This week's event is at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) at Wakefield Plantation. I had a great day of practice on the course today (Tuesday), and I feel like I can have another very successful week here. As usual, the tournament begins Thursday, and I will be ready to keep the good times rolling.

Keep it here for news during this exciting time. I will try to give nightly updates during the tournament. Thank you so much for following me and for supporting my career!

Final-Round Ready

I couldn't get anything going in Saturday's third round, but I still played very solidly. I made two birdies and one bogey for a one-under-par round of 70. That dropped me down the leaderboard a few positions, but I am still just three shots back of the leader heading into the final round. Most importantly, my game is feeling very solid. I will definitely be a little anxious in the final round, but I feel like my game and my mindset are ready for the challenge. Keep it here for a full report from the action. Thank you for following me!