Title TBD

Wasn't sure what to call this post. One option was, "From the Outhouse to the Penthouse". Another was, "Ugly Duckling".

My final round at the North Dakota State Open was not bogey free. Ten minutes into my round I had a bogey. If it wasn't for two phenomenal flop shots on #4 and #7 I would've bogies those two holes, just like I did the 1st hole. I made the turn at +1, 37 - only 4 greens hit in regulation and only 3 fairways hit.

I hit my drive in the trees on #10, didn't chip it out to the fairway, hit it over the green, chunked a chip, then two putted for a double bogey. After exchanging a birdie and a bogey on #11 and #13, I was 3 over par on #15. I hit another poor iron shot and missed the green on 15, but hit a great chip out of a horrible lie and saved a par.

It was on #16 tee that I found some magic. I nearly drove #16 and chipped to 1 foot for a birdie. I hit a 330 yard drive on 17 and got it up and down for another birdie. Finally on #18, I hit another 330 yard drive, then hit my wedge to 15 feet, and made the putt for my third straight birdie.

15 holes of barely hitting the club face and I end the round with 3 birdies to finish T-4th. On #15, I was 4-under par and in about 20th place. After 3 consecutive birdies, I moved up to a $2600 payday - instead of $1200!

When I see a results page, I'll link to it.

Neil

ND State Open - Round 2

Bogey free today. I believe that is my first round this summer without a bogey. 5 birdies and 13 pars - 67. I left right after my round and results aren't online yet, but I believe I'm right around 7th place. Probably 2 or 3 shots back.

** UPDATE ** Results are in and I was right. 7th place and 3 back of the lead.

Neil

North Dakota State Open

Cold, windy, and cloudy day in Fargo. It already feels like fall. The 1st round was mixed with great shots and some ugly shots. I double bogied a 135 yard par 3, but I managed to birdie all 4 par 5's. I finished at 2-under and scores are higher than expected, which must be because of the wind.

Saturday I play around 2pm, so I'll update late at night.

Neil

2nd Round - WI State Open

Another good round in Sheboygan. It was very windy today and I started the round with 2 bogies through the first 6 holes. I made a great eagle on #16 (my 7th) and didn't look back from there. I hit a 5-iron from 230 yards to about 12 feet and made the putt for an eagle.

No bogies after that eagle, but I had to make some nice saves to keep it that way. On #18 (my 9th), I had to two-putt from 70 feet. On #3 (my 12th), I got up and down from behind the green. I pitched my ball into the fringe and let it just trickle onto the green. Once onto the green, it was downhill all the way to the hole. On #5 (my 14th) my tee shot hit a tree and bounced back into long grass. I pitched out and left myself 30 yards to the pin. My ball was in the first cut of rough so I could easily flop the ball high in the air and have it land soft on the green. I made the 10 foot putt for par. The final nice save was on #6 (my 15th), which played and one of the toughest holes of the day. Instead of hitting it at the pin, I hooked the ball to the left side of the green and chipped it up to 3 feet. Being left of the green was a much easier up and down then if I had short-sided myself on the right.

Final day is Wednesday, but we get to play 36 holes so this tournament is only half done. It's pretty special that 2 guys from the same town are in 1st and 2nd. I hope it finished that way.

Neil

WI State Open Live Scoring

I had a good first round in Sheboygan. Live scoring is being done every 4 or 5 holes. Check out the scoring at this link.

Back Home for a Night

Finished 9th in Rapid City. After playing I drove 9 hours home to Wisconsin. After a few hours of sleep, I'll be travelling to Sheboygan, WI for the WI State Open. That tournament starts on Monday.

I'll post some more info when I'm more rested.

Neil

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful

After finishing in Yankton, I drove to Kansas City. Most of Iowa was construction and one lane traffic. Then most of Missouri/Kansas was strong thunderstorms. I spent the night in Kansas City and drove three hours to Springfield, MO monday morning. One hour into my drive I ran into some more strong thunderstorms. I thought about turning around and starting my drive to Rapid City - my thinking was that I wouldn't even get to play in Springfield. However, at the time the storms were all north of Springfield and maybe they would slide by.

They did not. When I showed up to the golf course, all the players had been pulled off because of incoming storms. That was 2 1/2 hours ago. I left the course because it's boring standing around the clubhouse. I'm now sitting in a Panera Bread restaurants, eating a bagel, and waiting to see if the weather turns around. It doesn't look like it will.

I've never had a Nationwide monday qualifier get rained out. I'm not sure if they push it back to Tuesday. Perhaps they just cancel the whole thing. Either way, it is very likely that I'll be driving to Rapid City at some point this afternoon. I don't think I can wait until Tuesday to try and make it.

Summer schedule has been ** UPDATED ** It now has stroke average, total money won, and cumulative under/over par on the bottom.


Neil

Hillcrest Invite Final Day

Didn't get much going on Sunday. I managed a mini run of birdies on 14, 15, and 16. I ended with a 69 and finished T13. I beat Jesus by 3 strokes!

At times this week I hit great iron shots and made some great putts. But those moments only lasted for a few holes, never an entire round. This golf course has really small greens and most of the holes are lined with pines trees and tall oak trees. I never seem to get into a comfortable rhythm because of the claustrophobic feeling I get from the small greens and large trees.

Somehow, I was able to score consistent all weekend. My nine holes totals were as follows:

36, 33, 35, 36, 36, 34, 35, 34

For the second straight tournament, I found myself on the unlucky draw for tee-times. First off, I had an afternoon tee time on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday - half of the pros only had 2 rounds in the afternoon. By far the worst times to be playing were Thursday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. It rained for about 9 holes during my Thursday round and the wind was brutal on Saturday.

Amazingly 15 guys from each wave made the cut, but it certainly seemed way less equal. Allright, enough complaining about tee times. It's just luck of the draw.

Neil

Hillcrest Invite 2nd & 3rd Round

No update yesterday because I checked out of my hotel and moved into a house where I don't have access to internet.

Friday's round wasn't pretty, but I managed to shoot under par - 71. That was my only round in the morning (both the 1st, 3rd, and 4th rounds I tee off after 1pm) so I would've liked to have taken advantage of smoother greens, cooler temperatures, and calmer wind, but I just didn't hit it well enough to make it into the 60's.

On Saturday, weather was the story. It was forecasted to be the hottest day of the year. Temps were supposed to reach 100, with high humidity. It was very sticky when hitting range balls, but a steady wind kept it cool and storms began to brew off in the distance. The storms never reached us, but they definitely altered the wind. It shifted a few holes into my round and that made the golf course different than what it had been all week. I shot an even par 36 on the front side, with a bogey on number 9. My start to the back nine was horrendous. I bogied 10 and 12, with a lucky par save on 11.

Things turned around on 13. I made a 15 footer for birdie, then followed that up with another birdie on 14 - this time a 20 foot birdie putt. I then made a bad par on the short par 5 15. On 16, I knocked a 4-iron to 8 feet and made the putt for birdie. Number 17 was playing downwind, but I could only managed a par on the par 5. Then on 18, I made a 10 footer for birdie to shoot a 2-under 70. I was very lucky to birdie 4 of the last 6 holes.

I hit the first 6 greens today and played those holes 1-under par. I missed the next 6 greens and played those 3-over par. I then hit the final 6 greens and played those holes 4-under par. Quite a roller coaster of emotions!

Final round is Sunday. I am at 6-under and the leader is at 13-under. I think I'm in the top-15, but I'm not sure. Results will be posted later tonight. You can check them out at this website.

After my round on Sunday I will be driving to Kansas City, MO to get ready for my Nationwide qualifier on Monday.

Neil

Hillcrest Invitational 1st Rd

Rainy afternoon in Yankton, but I stayed relatively dry and shot a 69 - 3 under par. I made all 4's on the front side (birdied the par 5, bogied the par 3). On the back nine I birdied one of the par 5's and one of the par 3's. My only bogey on the back side was a 3 putt, where I got too aggressive with the first putt and rolled it 5 feet past.

The exciting part of my round was the last hole. Number 18 is a drivable par 4 - it was only playing 290 yards on Thursday. The wind was at my back so I didn't even have to hit a full driver to reach the green. There were about 100 people gathered behind the green checking out the leaderboard, drinking, and watching people play the 18th hole. I hit my drive to 10 feet, but it rolled right by the hole. Somebody at the green was calling for it to go in!

I made the putt to finish with an eagle and a 69.

Second round is Friday morning. The weather forecast is for more thunderstorms - especially in the morning. Hopefully the rain holds off.

When I see some results, I'll link to them. Lot's of results there. It would take too long to explain every game that is scored in this tournament.

Neil

Wichita Nationwide Qualifier

No good news from Wichita. I shot 1-under 71, but needed at least a 69 (if not a 68). My front nine was a solid 35, but on the back nine I hit a few horrible shots that led to 3 bogies. I was fortunate to make 3 birdies on the back nine to counteract those bogies, but just too many mistakes.

Now, I'm back in Yankton, SD resting for the next Dakotas Tour event. It begins Thursday and runs for four days.

Neil

Fox Run - Final Round

Shot a 69 in the last round. No idea where that placed me. Probably around 30th. I was on the tough side of the draw because the wind blew much worse for my tee times. I played morning on Saturday and afternoon on Sunday. It was very windy on Saturday morning, but somehow calmed during the afternoon. On Sunday it was calm for most of the day, but it did get windy around 5pm - when I made the turn.

When I see final results, I'll post them here.

Neil

Fox Run Round 1 - Yankton, SD

72 in round one. Double bogeyed the last hole. Very windy day and it will be windy tomorrow, which has kept scores higher.

Final round is Sunday.

Neil