PGA Q-School 1st Stage - Round 3, Pinehurst, NC

I turned things around today and made a much needed improvement after my 2nd round disaster. I hit it better than either the 1st or 2nd round, but I still had some horrible swings. I hit horrible approaches on #10, #17, #1, and #3 - but I was lucky to save par on each of those holes.

The best thing about my round was how it ended. I got a major jolt of energy with an eagle on my 17th hole (#8). I had just played #6 and #7 really well and continued that with two great shots onto the 8th green. My putt, however, was nearly impossible. The hole was on the left side of the green. I found myself on the back part of the green, on a higher tier. I had to putt alongside the tier, letting it fall straight left as it died. Once at the bottom of the tier, the putt would break back to the right and the green was sloping away from me. I died the putt just on top of the tier and it took a left turn, then turned back right, and snuck in the left side of the hole. It felt like hitting a grand slam. All of a sudden my ho-hum even par round was 2-under.

I hit 2 solid shots on #9 and missed my 20 footer for birdie, but I definitely felt the surge of confidence after holing that eagle putt.

I'm still outside the cut line, but I have confidence going into the final round. I've been in a similar situation many times this year. Eight times this year I've been in the final or 2nd to last group on the final day of a tournament. All of those experiences, good and bad, should come in handy tomorrow.

By now, you probably know where to go for scores.

Neil

PGA Q-School 1st Stage - Round 2, Pinehurst, NC

Opps. I took several giant steps backwards with today's round. Worse ballstriking than yesterday. Struggled to hit fairways and struggled to hit greens. I had a stretch from 16 - 2 where I didn't hit a single green and only hit one fairway.

This marathon is only half over and I can play two good rounds and move on, but honestly I'm going to struggle to play good rounds if I continue hitting it this poorly. It's been windy both of the first two days and that has wreaked havoc on my swing. I had a tough time choosing the right club and when my problems began on #16 I started trying to swing too hard.

I'll spend some time at the range this afternoon, trying to find my swing - but I know I can't hit it any worse than I have the first two rounds.

Neil

PGA Q-School 1st Stage - Round 1, Pinehurst, NC

I got off to a nice start, but it wasn't the prettiest of rounds. I'm very happy with a 2-under 70, but I hit a lot of loose shots today. I only hit 9 greens today, but I was saved with one chip in and two putts made from the fringe. In total, I had 25 putts in the first round. The two putts I made from the fringe were about 15 feet and the longest putt I made on the green was only 3 feet. Weird day with the putter.

My day got off to a great start, birdies on the first two holes. I drove it into a fairway bunker. My lie was perfect so I laid up with a 4-iron and have 141 yards left to the hole. I hit a soft 9-iron to two inches and tapped in for a birdie 4. On #2, I hit a perfect drive that left me with 120 yards to the pin. The second shots was one of the loose shots, as it came up short and right of the green. I chipped that shot in for a second consecutive birdie. Through two holes I had already hit some loose shots, but was 2-under. That felt great.

Round 2 begins at 8:50 Wednesday morning. I'll start on #10. Check for scores between 2 and 3 pm eastern time.

These round all take around 5 1/2 hours. They are long days. I expect to be fully exhausted on Friday when I've completed the final round.

Neil

Callaway Gardens - Final Round

Well I'd like to think that I had a chance to win the event, but Alex Hamilton's 8-under 64 was crazy good on the final day. His 64 was 3 shots better than the next best score of the day and he blew open the tournament to win by 3 shots when there were about 12 guys within 4 shots after 2 rounds. The wind blew for the first time all week and that makes his 64 even better.

Despite what Hamilton did, I was tied at 13-under with 5 holes to go. My birdie putt on #13 was only 10 feet and it lipped-out. The 14th hole was a par-3 into the wind and the pin was tucked front right side of the green, over a bunker. I was in between 5 and 4 iron - decided on the 4 iron because hitting a hard 5 may have ballooned up and buried into the front bunker. The 4 iron was too much; it bounced through the green and left me a tough up and down. The next hole I hit a 3-wood right down the middle, but hit a loose wedge just through the green and into the fringe. After saving par on 15 I knew I was trailing and needed to make something happen on the par-5 16th, but an errant drive into a fairway bunker and than a horrible approach into a greenside bunker resulted in a bogey. I had good looks for birdie on #17 and #18, but made a disgusting stroke on 17 and misread the putt on 18.

It was a good week, but I'll admit that nerves were a negative factor during the final round. During the last round, thirteen of my eighteen approach shots were "in between clubs". During the first two rounds, when nerves are non-existent, it's much easier to select a club when you've got an "in between yardage". You don't feel like hitting a hard 5 that may burry into a bunker is a life/death decision.

When I won in Marshall earlier this summer, I had an "in between yardage" on #18. I had a one shot lead and the person chasing me was already on the green with an eagle putt. Factors like a higher familiarity with the players, with the course, and with the Dakotas Tour made the club selection easier then. I hit the shot to 10 feet and easily two-putted for the win.

More experience with the Egolf Tour and continuing to put myself in those nervous spots will make those decisions easier and the nerves will seem more natural. It's pretty obvious that Hamilton didn't respond to the nerves like I did - the week before Callaway Gardens he was in contention in the PGA Tour event!

I'm off this week, but next week begins Q-School for me. I'm at the same course that I was at last year - Pinehurst, NC.

Neil

Callaway Gardens - Round 2

Day 2 in Georgia was just about as good as day 1. I got off to another quick start with a birdie at the first and then two more on 4 and 5. On #8, I made my 3rd putt over 20 feet for my 4th birdie. Then on #9, I made a great sand save to turn with a 4-under 32.

On the back nine I made a 15 footer on #10 for birdie and made a 25 footer on #16 for eagle, with only a single bogey on #12. My putter certainly warmed up today. Add that to more consistent ball-striking and it adds up to a 6-under 66.

Thursday morning is the final round. Follow results here and on twitter.

Callaway Gardens, Georgia - Egolf Fall Series

I got off to a good start in Georgia, with a 5-under 65 in round 1. Today's round was on the easier Lake View Course. The Mountain View course average nearly 2 shots harder, but that's not as big as I would've guessed. The Lakes course is 6100 yards and par 70. The Mountain Course is over 7000 yards and par 72. In regards to par, the Mountain course average .7 strokes under par and the Lakes course averaged only .57. I don't understand that, but the statistics don't lie. Maybe I will play the easier course tomorrow?

I continued my great ball striking that showed up in Nebraska. I missed two greens and two fairways in today's first round. The result of that good ball striking was a lot of birdie chances. The pin locations were difficult and these greens have a lot of tiers, which made it a challenge to hit my approach on the correct level. I had at least 6 birdie putts where I had to go up and over a tier before reaching the hole.

My second round is at 8:30 am, the first group off. The weather is perfect - no more tropical storms.

Neil

Event Cancelled

17 inches of rain since Monday has forced the Egolf Tour to cancel this week's event.

Too bad.

Neil

Egolf Tour Fall Series Event #3

I'm suppose to be playing this afternoon, but Southport, NC has had severe rains for 3 days and play has been "postponed" until Thursday.

The tournament has been shortened to 36 holes (from 54 holes) and we're scheduled to start at 8am Thursday morning. Unfortunately there are more storms in the forecast - most notably Tropical Storm Nicole. She's heading straight for us and is forecasted to hit us Thursday afternoon.

Until I get back on the course, you can check up my updated schedule/results for this past year. I received my Dakotas Tour bonus check last week, so I added that money to my yearly total. In the upper left hand corner of my schedule/results, you can clink the "stats" link to look at my various stroke averages and money total on each tour this year.

Neil

Nebraska State Open- Final Round

I made a great move the last day in Nebraska. My first two rounds were about as bad as I could've played. I hit the ball great in round 1 and round 2, but a few too many mistakes left me with a 1-under par 70 both Friday and Saturday.

On Sunday, things started to click. I still hit it as well as I did the first 2 days, but I made fewer mistakes - actually I only had one mistake (#14). My putter was solid all day, but I did have 3 or 4 putts burn the edge of the cup.

The highlight of Sunday was making back-to-back eagles on #12 and #13. I don't think I have ever made back-to-back eagles in my career. I know I'd never made them in a tournament.

#12 is a 330 yard par-4 which had a helping wind on Sunday. I felt confident with my drive so I aimed up along the o.b. on the left and let the wind drift the ball back to the right. I hit it to 10 feet and made the putt for eagle.

#13 is a 530 yard par-5 which also had a helping wind. I hit a great drive that left me 186 yards to the pin. From there I played an 8-iron safely to the center of the green. The pin was tucked 4 yards from the left edge of the green and anything left of the green would've bounced out of bounds - so playing to the middle of the green was conservative, but safe. I made the 30 footer for my second eagle in a row!

Those two holes weren't my only chances at eagles on Sunday. I had a 10 footer for eagle on #6. Then on #7, I drove it over the green and onto the fringe - resulting in a 60 foot putt for eagle. Finally, on #15 I hit an 8-iron to 20 feet and had my 5th chance at an eagle. The putt on #15 burned the edge, which means I was mere millimeters from having 3 eagles in 4 holes.

In all, Sunday was my an exciting ball-striking day. Considering that it was blowing 15-20 mph all day, makes it even better.

I've got two weeks off before my next event, but in the meantime I'll be moving to North Carolina. I drove to Charlotte immediately after Nebraska, but I have to travel to Arizona to retrieve my possessions that are stored in Phoenix.

Neil

Nebraska State Open Round 1

I made a lot of birdies today, but had too many bogies. Six birdies should result in a score lower than 1-under.

I three putted a few times and hit one drive out of bounds. For most of the day I hit it really well and I made some really nice putts - I just need to clean things up and avoid those simple mistakes.

Neil

Nebraska State Open

This weekend I'm playing in the Nebraska State Open. Follow results here.

Dakotas Tour Championship

We played 36 holes today and the final round of the 2010 Dakotas Tour will be Thursday morning. I shot even par 71 in the morning then made a nice move in the afternoon with a 5-under 66.

In the morning round the greens were extremely fast - we heard they stimped the greens at 14! Besides the speed of the greens, the pins were in difficult positions. Many of the pins were on top on mounds or placed on a knob.

In the afternoon we played with amateurs and they made the pins much more accessible, but the wind picked up. I survived the strong winds, and finished my round with 4 birdies on my last 6 holes. I started both rounds on #16.

There is a rumor that tomorrow the winds will be around 30 mph with gusts up to 50. If the winds blow anything close to that and the greens are anything close to 14 on the stimpmeter, we won't be able to play - the golf balls won't stay on the greens.

Leaderboard

Neil

Wisconsin State Open - 2nd Round

I have putted horribly for 2 days. I had 34 putts in the 2nd round and 33 in the first - that's 67 putts in two days. Through 36 holes I've had 5 three putts! It's pretty easy to figure out why I'm 10 shots behind the leader.

Tomorrow we play 36 holes so I've got plenty of holes to make up some ground.

Neil

Wisconsin State Open

Bad start, but it happened because of my bad attitude. I don't play golf well when I'm angry and frustrated, which I was during most of today's round. I'll need to have a better attitude tomorrow, but luckily I have 3 more rounds to catch up and get back into contention.

Unfortunately the course we're playing this year is not in very good shape. Severe floods tore through Milwaukee about a month ago and this golf course got hit hard. I heard that they completely lost the 17th green - it washed away with the floods! They have since re-sodded, but the green isn't much better than putting on a fairway. The rest of the course shows signs up over-saturation. Many fairways are scattered with brown spots and dead areas - ground under repair is somewhere on almost every hole. Everybody is playing the same course and under the same conditions, but it's disappointing to see mother nature still affecting this course weeks later.

Leaderboard

Neil

Arrowhead Pro-Am - Rapid City, SD

I don't have regular internet this week so here is a link to the leaderboard.

Also check my twitter page for updates.

Neil

Hillcrest Invite - Getting Caught Up

I'm six rounds behind and I'm going to do it alphabetically. Let's flashback to last Friday, July 30th:

Mitchell, SD -
Back-to-Back wins. I won last year in Mitchell, but I also won 2 straight events (Marshall and Mitchell) this year. This year in Mitchell I played lights out for 18 holes. I birdied my first hole - #6 - by making a 16 foot birdie putt. My birdies on 9, 11, 13, and 16 were all 5 foot putts or less. The real fun began on #1. I made a 40 foot birdie putt on 1, a 15 footer on 3, saved par with an 8 footer on 4. On #5, my final hole, I had an eagle putt that stayed on the lip. I tapped in for an "easy" 63.

Fox Run -
Fox Run is one of the easiest courses we play on the Dakotas Tour. It's wide open and they put a lot of the pins in the middle of the greens. My 69 on day 1 was not good. I played in the morning with very little wind and needed to shoot somewhere in the mid-60's. Day 2, I had to battle some wind but played much better. A 6-under 66 put me in a tie for 5th.

Hillcrest GC - (1st 3 rounds)
It's been a great first 3 days at Hillcrest. I've made a lot or birdies/eagles. Both of my eagles have come on #5.

The hole plays about 340 yards when you caught off the dogleg. On day 1, I had a little helping wind. I drove it on the green and made a 15 footer for eagle. On day 2, it was into the wind. I drove it left of the green and had about 52 yards to the hole. I flopped it over a tree, landed it just onto the green, and it just trickled in.

My scores for the first 3 days have earned me some funny money. Each day, this event pays out a little money to the daily low pro scores. I tied for the low round on day 1, then tied for 3rd on day 2. My pro-am team played great on day 2, so I won more funny money there.

Sunday is the final round. Pros begin playing around 1pm. I'll twitter results, but you can also follow them here.

Neil

Hillcrest Invitational - Yankton, SD

I've got some catching up to do - including a victory in Mitchell - but it's late and I have an early tee time. For now, I'm only going to post a link to this week's leaderboard.

I'm near the top after 2 rounds.

I play early Saturday morning and I'll try to update everything that's happened in the last week.

Neil

Marshall - Final Round

Winner in Marshall. Fun words to write.

3-under 68 in final round, won by two shots.

I'll comment more later.

** UPDATE ** Finally a major win on the Dakotas Tour. Every event that is 3 or 4 rounds on the Dakotas is considered a major. It feels great to finally break through and win one. I've been in contention nearly a dozen times - 10 top tens in the last three years - and it's awesome to get that first win behind me.

It wasn't easy, but it certainly was satisfying. I had a hot putter and that was the difference in a win and yet another top 10. Here's a list of all the putts I made today:

20' on 3 for birdie
9' on 6 for par
10' on 7 for par
18' on 8 for birdie
20' on 12 for birdie
15' on 16 for par

Those were the lengthy putts made. I made at least 4 other tricky 4 footers to save par. Marshall's greens have a lot of slope so it isn't uncommon to have a 4 foot putt break 6 inches.

Looking back, it's easy to say that the 15' par putt on 16 was the putt of the day, but at the time it only maintained my 1 shot lead with two to go. I still needed to play 17 and 18.

I had a one shot lead on 18 tee, which was a downwind par 5. I hit my drive slightly into the rough. Josh Persons was further into the rough and had to hit his 2nd shot first. He hit a 5-iron from 225 that never left the flag. He was very unlucky that the ball rolled 30 feet above the hole on the green.

I hit a 6-iron from 204 yards that bounced just onto the front edge of the green. That left me a 10' uphill eagle putt with a one shot lead. Persons tried to make his eagle, but just ran by and after he missed his birdie putt I was able to lag my eagle putt up to 6" and tap in for the win.

Tim Ailes also finished two shots back, but he was in the group in front of me and I had no idea where he stood so I don't know if he had an eagle putt to reach 8 under.

What a wonderful week.

I've got Thursday off and then I play a one day event on Friday in Mitchell, SD.

Feel free to ask any questions about the victory in the comments. I'll answer them.

Neil

Marshall - Second Round

Played early Tuesday morning, but it wasn't early enough to beat the wind. It was blowin' about 20 mph when I teed off at 9:50 and stayed that windy all day.

I hit the ball very solid and was able to control the ball into the wind or with the wind. Finished with a 2-under 69, 33 on the front and a 36 on the back.

My lag putting was good today and it was tested. I had 30 feet on #4 and #5, then again on #9 - all of them basically tap ins for par.

My only mistake of the day came on 14 (which was my only bogey in round 1). I hit a 3-wood up the left side and it came to rest directly behind a tree. I thought about hitting a herculean shot, but decided to play safe and chip out. After hitting my third shot onto the green I got a little overzealous with the putt and ran it by 6 feet. I missed the come-backer and made a double bogey 6.

Besides my double on 14, I had 13 pars and 4 birdies.

I'm one shot back of the leader with the final round on Wednesday morning.

Neil

Marshall - First Round

A clear mind goes a long way during a golf tournament. Sunday in Aberdeen, my mind was racing with too many thoughts. Monday in Marshall, I had very simple and quick thoughts that did not clutter. My pre-shot routine was quicker because I made decisive club choices and more specific aiming points.

I shot 4-under 67 and find myself 2 shots behind the leader.

Tuesday morning is round 2. My mind needs to be quiet and then hopefully I'll play another solid round of golf.

Neil

Aberdeen Final Round

Tough day on the course. Despite a lot of recent rain, the golf course played very fast and firm today - and we had a lot of wind.

I failed to adjust to the adverse conditions and shot a disappointing 76. Too many poor swings that were brought on by an overall lack of decisive choices. My mind was trying to be too perfect and I wasn't able to comfortably make a swing.

No break; I'm back on the course Monday in Marshall, MN for another 3 day tournament.

Leaderboard

Neil

Aberdeen Second Round

Yesterday's post had a goal - hit the ball more consistent.

Mission Accomplished. Today I hit every green on the front nine and only once did I have a birdie putt over 15 feet.

1 - 8 feet
2 - 10 feet
3 - 12 feet
4 - 15 feet
5 - 3 feet
6 - 12 feet
7 - 10 feet
8 - 35 feet
9 - 2 feet

I found a little bit of trouble on #12. I drove it into the trees and punched it just short of the green, but I managed to chip it to 4 feet and made the par putt.

My two bogeys were both 3-putts, but I still only had 29 putts for the whole day.

Final round is Sunday afternoon. I tee-off at 1:45. There might be live scoring throughout the afternoon, but I can't guarantee that. Check the leaderboard for updates.

Neil

Aberdeen, SD - Moccasin Creek CC

One under 71 this morning. Got a lucky break with the weather. It got windy and cool this afternoon whereas I had nearly perfect conditions.

I started on #10 and three-putted 13 for a bogey. On 17, I pulled my tee shot and failed to get it up and down from the bunker. Two bogies and no birdies through the first 12 holes was extremely boring, but I got things going on #4. I hit a smooth 9-iron to 10 feet and made the putt. Two holes later, I hit a 3-iron from 230 yards to 15 feet and made the eagle.

My goal tomorrow is to hit the ball more consistent. Today I hit it all over the place and managed to save pars everywhere.

Neil

Waterloo Open - Weekend Shootout

6-under 66 in the first round. I played very early - teed off at 6:50, which had to be an advantage compared to teeing off at 2pm. I'm in a decent position for the final round, but I'll have to go very low.

My putter was very hot for the first 14 holes today. I only had 16 putts through 14 holes, but I wasn't able to make anything on the last 4 holes. If I catch the leaders, my putter will need to be hot for all 18 holes.

I tee off at 11:50.

** UPDATE ** There is a live blog that will have frequent updates during the final round. You can find it here

Neil

Okoboji, IA - Final Round

Three penalty strokes today really hurt. Plus I missed 2 or 3 short birdie putts. That adds up to about 6 shots and that would've put me in contention to win. Instead I shot 71 and got passed by a lot of golfers and finished T-9th.

Neil

Dakotas Tour 2010 Begins

Immediately after the 4th of July, I begin my Dakotas Tour schedule. It always sneaks up on me, but it's fun to see some friends that I haven't seen since last September.

Today's first round was a pro-am (for some guys) and I got paired with a 14 year old, 72 year old, and a 40 year old. Odd mix of ages, but they were a fun group. I got off to a quick start with a birdie on the first hole, and 5 in the first 10 holes. One more birdie on #16 got me to 6-under - not 7-under as the leaderboard says. This course is a par 72, not par 73.

My ability to update this blog is always dependent upon an internet connection. Many of the hotels and houses I stay at on the Dakotas Tour don't have internet so you'll want to get used to checking my twitter page for daily updates of scores.

I've added a new gadget to the right side of my blog. It's a twitter feed that will show my 5 most recent tweets. However you check it, my tweets will be the quickest way to find my results on a daily basis.

Neil

Bushnell Championship 1st Round

Took a two week break, but I'm back in North Carolina for another Egolf Tournament. I shot a 3-under 69 today, which started out rough. I short-sided myself on 1 and 2 - lucky to make a par on 2. I missed the fairway on 3, 4, and 5 - luckily I hit a great shot from the fairway bunker and 5 and made an 8 footer for birdie. After that I was solid and had a lot of chances the last 13 holes.

I play very early on Thursday - 7:30 am EST. That's a great time because the weather has been approaching 100 degrees and extremely humid. Being able to finish before noon is a nice bonus.

Leaderboard

Neil

Rock Barn Golf & Spa - North Carolina

I'm staying with a friend in Charlotte and I don't have regular access to the internet. My tournament starts on Wednesday and you can follow the results on the EGolf website or on my twitter page.

Neil

Greenwood, SC - Round 2

Golf is an individual game where a bad round is your fault and your fault alone. Having said that, I'd really like to blame something for today's round.

The golf course I played today (which is the primary course for the rest of the week) has horrible greens. The winter was very cold and it damaged most of the greens. On top of the winter kill, they aerated the greens 3 weeks ago and didn't fill the holes with sand. Despite being 3 weeks later, the greens look like they were punched last week.

I know that everybody had to putt on these greens, but there is a lot of luck involved with making any length putt. Hitting a solid putt just wasn't enough - even those would wiggle all the way to the cup. The scariest putt was a downhill one where you had to be careful with the speed, but you knew the softer you hit it, the more it's going to bounce.

All in all just not a great situation. It seems like every mini-tour golf course I play is either a rinky-dink layout or in horrible shape. Amateur golf plays the best courses in the state and usually plays them in the best condition. That's why I enjoy State Opens so much. The local PGA sections do a great job of securing great facilities and the courses are proud to be hosting the event.

Unfortunately, thanks to my horrible putting today (17 two putts and 1 one putt) I'm going to miss the cut.

Neil

Greenwood, SC - Round 1

I'm done with the Hooters Tour and will now give the EGolf Tour a chance for a few weeks.

This tour plays from Wednesday through Saturday - and we play on two courses for the first two days. After the cut, the final two rounds are played on the primary course. My first round today was a solid one - much better than any of the rounds last week.

Leaderboard

Scores and positions don't mean much right now because half of the field has played a different course. I play the primary course on Thursday morning.

Neil

Georgetown, KY Round 4

More boring golf. At times during the final round I hit it great, but I never found any consistency.

A final round 72 put me at T-62nd.

Neil

Georgetown, KY Round 2.1 and 3

Finally got some nice weather. Our morning re-start was delayed because of the heavy overnight rains, but things got underway at 10am. I birdied my first hole in the morning and finished the 2nd round with a birdie - resulting in a bogey free 67. That easily made the cut, but left me 8 off the lead.

The third round began at 2pm and I struggled in the afternoon, but finished with a 71. It wasn't pretty, but nothing this week has been pretty. I hope that in the final round on Sunday, I can find my swing - but if not I'm ok with playing ugly.

In case you missed it, check out Chris Erwin's scorecard from round 2. He shot a 59! The amazing thing is that he shot this with a 2.5 hour weather delay in the middle.

Leaderboard

Neil

Georgetown, KY Day 2

This has become laughable. Last week the tournament was shortened to 54 holes and this week we're dealing with more bad weather. Friday morning we had a 2.5 hour delay, which pushed my afternoon tee-time to 4pm. We then dealt with 2 afternoon/evening delays and only managed to play 9 holes.

I will finish my 2nd round early Saturday morning and then the 3rd round will start sometime around noon.

You can see results here.

Neil

Georgetown, KY 1st Round

72

Boring round. Didn't make any putts and hit it absolutely horrible for the first 14 holes.

Sunset Hills 2nd Round

One bad hole during a long day and that's all it took. Unfortunately the bad hole didn't even start out as my fault. I hit my drive on #11 just off the fairway. I didn't even watch it because it was heading for the first cut - but when I got up the fairway I couldn't find my ball. The rough on this course is very long. They haven't mowed the rough in a few weeks, but it was still unlucky to not find my ball.

Leaderboard

Neil

Sunset Hills 1st Round

I only got in 9 holes today. We had hard overnight rains that continued into the morning. Everybody was delayed 2 hours and when I made the turn at 6pm we saw strong thunderstorms on the horizon. We teed off on #10 then heard the siren. Play will resume on Friday at 7:30 and I'll have to play 27 holes.

There aren't thunderstorms in the forecast, but more precipitation is. This golf course is soaked. We are already playing lift, clean, and place in fairways. They've deemed EVERY bunker ground under repair, which means you can take it out of any bunker you hit it in!

Here's the leaderboard. I'm 1-under par through my front nine.

Neil

Out Of Arizona And Into The Heat

My last tournament was 6 weeks ago. A gateway event that I missed the cut by 1 stroke. Since then, I've been working in Arizona, patiently waiting for my last day or work. That last day was May 2nd - and now I'm on summer vacation. No more working, just playing golf.

My schedule has been updated. My first tournament of the summer begins thursday, May 13. This first tournament is a Hooters tournament - one of two I will be playing this month. After that I will play four Egolf events. The Hooters and Egolf Tours have significantly higher purses than the Gateway Tour so I wanted to play a few of them this summer.

All of these tournaments will put me on the road for 7 straight weeks. I'll then travel home to Wisconsin for a few weeks, then I'll get back on the road for another 7 weeks. Should be an exciting summer.

Before leaving Arizona, I rented a storage unit and packed up a majority of my belongings. I've posted a picture of my keychain. It's not very occupied - only car keys and a key to a storage unit. This picture is the definition of a man on the road - a man currently without a home.



Neil

Winter Series #9 - First Round

* Before I get to this week's tournament, I must finish last week's. My final round last week - as Papago GC, which is a "muni" - was very boring. I hit the ball well, even better than I had in round 2. Unfortunately the better ball-striking didn't lead to a lower score. I only made 2 birdies all day. The biggest reason I didn't make more was my putting.

Final Leaderboard last week

Now onto my current tournament. I have continued my improved ball-striking, but only managed to shoot a 68. I'm not complaining about it, but it felt better than a 68. Plus one of my playing partners shot a 65 and he admitted that his round didn't feel like anything close to a 65.

Whatever the score was today, I'm happy to be hitting the ball as solid as I'm used to. It should only be a matter of time before everything clicks and I put up a really good number.

Leaderboard this week

Winter Series #8 - 1st and 2nd Round

Looks like I made the cut - but just barely. On Wednesday, my first round was an ugly one. I only hit a handful of truly solid shots, but I managed to shoot 73. In round 2 I hit the ball much better, with nearly 2 dozen solid shots! However, hitting it 400% times better than day 1, I only shot 2 strokes better.

Tough to explain that if you haven't played a lot of golf, but most golfers understand that scoring has nothing to do with how well you hit the ball.

During the 2nd round I was only in trouble twice, but I made a bogey and a double bogey on those holes. The other 16 holes were really positive. I had plenty of quality birdie chances, but couldn't convert many because the greens have become very fast and firm. I found myself hitting a great approach shot into the green, only to be left with a quick, downhill, sliding putt - not one you can get aggressive with.

Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #7 - Final Round

Probably not a surprise to anybody who follows my blog, but I forgot to post yesterday after my final round. There is a pattern to my absences. They are directly related to how well I play. If I played well, I don't forget to post. However, if I struggle - like I did on Friday - my blog conveniently "slips" my mind. I apologize for that. It's a horrible excuse because I do enjoy keeping my family and friends up to date.

As for Friday's final round - it was a poor performance. Only one birdie and it didn't come until the 17th hole (which on a side note, I birdied all three days!). One of my problems was my tee ball. I had been very accurate through the first two rounds, but in round three I started pulling my tee shots left and finding trouble. I managed to save pars on #1, #6, #7, and #8 with pulled tee shots. A pulled tee shot cost me a bogey on #13 and that was one of the easiest holes all week - and I played it +2.

I finally fix that mistake and hit the ball really well the last 4 holes, but it was too late to make a serious comeback.

Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #7 - Second Round

Now that was anything but a ho-hum second round. The perfect weather I mentioned yesterday changed into a breezy afternoon. We had steady winds around 20 mph and gusts reaching 35 mph. Despite the difficulty, I got off to a great start. Missed my first green long, but chipped it in. Made a good birdie on the short par-4, 14. Made a 18 foot birdie putt on #15 and made a 15 foot birdie putt on #17. A par on 18 and I made the turn at 4-under par. Biggest difference from round one was putting. I only made 60 feet worth of putts in round one. During round 2, I made 90 feet of putts (including the chip-in) on my front nine alone.

After my great front nine, I birdied #3 to reach 5-under. After that I stalled out. I bogied #4 and #6, which were both really tough par-3s. On #8, I was in the middle of the fairway and made a terrible swing, missing the green left and failing to get up and down.

It felt good to play a good second round. It's been 2 months since I scored better on day 2 than I did on day 1.

Final round is Friday morning. Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #7 - First Round

Another ho-hum first round - one under 71. I hit the ball well today, but couldn't make any putts. My stroke felt horrible for a majority of the day. I finished with 33 putts, which is a horrible number. I three-putted numbers 12 and 13 for bogies, but finished strong with a birdie, eagle, birdie run on 15, 16, 17.

Perfect weather down here - 70 and very sunny. Not trying to make everyone jealous, just stating a fact.

Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #6 - Second Round

More issues with my second round. At times today I hit it horrible and it looked like I would shoot 78, but then other times I hit it great and had several chances for birdies. I only made 2 birdies and that was not enough. I chipped in for one of my birdies and the other birdie came on the easiest hole on the course - a short par-5.

I'm glad we have an off week next week. I'm not as mentally sharp as I'd like to be. That explains why part of my round is ugly to watch. I believe a little break will help me find a tight focus in the next tournament.

Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #6 - First Round

Before I get to this week's tournament, I've got some catching up to do. I haven't had access to the internet and that's why I've failed to update my blog. Since my last post, I've put some new irons into my bag and it has taken some time to develop confidence with these irons. I was so comfortable and so confident with my old set that try anything new would take a few weeks. In case you're wondering, I switched because my old irons were extremely overused and beginning to look beat up. Also, I will have to switch in the near future because of the new groove rules.

Two weeks ago, I returned to competitive action and I failed to make the cut, shooting 147. During that tournament I made a double eagle on my 15th hole (#6) of the second round. That was my first double eagle, but the second one I have witnessed. The other one was witnessed 90 minutes before mine. Charlie Beljan had a double eagle on his 9th hole of the day (#18) and we were paired together. I'm not positive, but somebody told us the odds of 2 double eagle's on the same day - in the same group - is somewhere around 1/68,000,000.

Last week, I had an ok first round, but things fell apart on day 2. Missed the cut by 4 shots.

This week, I began with a 1-under par 71. Looking at my results from the past month, my first round isn't the issue. Tomorrow's round - round 2 - has been the problem. I play early and I hope to have much better results than the past month.

Neil

Winter Series #3 - Final Round

CANCELLED!!

No final round. It rained all night and still hasn't stopped. The golf course has added a lot of water hazards since yesterday so they called the tournament after 2 rounds.

Leaderboard

No tournament next week.

Neil

Winter Series #3 - 2nd Round

I guess I'm still on the roller coaster. My 2nd round had a terrible finish - a 40 on the back nine. I was playing well through 12 holes. I was 1-under par, but I had already missed three 5-foot birdie putts.

On #4, I made a bad club selection - tried hitting an easy 5-iron instead of a hard 6 - and made a bogey. On #5, I chunked a chip and three putted from 18 feet. On #6 I again made a bad club selection -easy 7 instead of hitting a full 8 - and I three putted for my third straight bogey. So three straight holes I make a bogey with two bad club selections, two three putts, and just a whole mess of mental errors.

I made yet another costly error on #8. After a simple birdie on #7, I rushed my tee-shot and hit it in the desert. I then chunked another chip and made my third 6 of the day. Any day with three 6s on the card, you're in trouble.

The only good thing about my bad finish is that all of the mistakes were simple mental errors. *If we play tomorrow, I hope to be much more focused - and this time for all 18 holes.

* I say if because we're supposed to get some bad weather. The past two nights we've have a lot of rain and Thursday it's supposed to rain all day - thunderstorms possible too.

Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #3 - First Round

Gateway tour has been like a roller coaster. First week was all fun and the 2nd week I threw up all over myself. Now to begin week 3, I'm on the way up again. Or would it be on the way down?

Either way, it's a relief to play well after last week's disaster.

Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #1 - Final Round

Final round today and I shot a 3-under 69. Had a great start - birdied 1 and 2 - then a great start to the back nine - birdied 10, 11, and 12. I fizzled out after that and made my one bad swing on #15. I pulled my drive into the desert and it took me two shots to get it back on grass.

Despite my good play through 12 holes, the tournament was way out of my reach. The winner shot an 8-under 28 on the back nine, with 2 pars! I guess everybody was playing for second place this week.

Final Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #1 - 2nd Round

Today's second round was better than yesterday's. I got off to a nice start, making birdies on my first 2 holes - #10 and #11. I also finished the round with a birdie.

I'm in a good position on the leaderboard, but there are a lot of shots between me and first place. Low numbers can definitely be shot on this course so I'll try my best in the final round.

Neil

Happy New Year

You're not even used to writing 2010 on your checks and I'm already back into tournaments.

The Gateway Tour Winter Series started today under perfectly sunny skies and nearly 70 degree temperatures. I shot a 70, 2 under. That puts me in a good spot after one round.

It is fun to be back on the golf course playing tournaments. I have updated my schedule for 2010, but it's only completed through early April because I haven't decided what to play after the Winter Series is over.

Neil