Web.com Tour Q-School Quick Notes

Sometime in the future I will write a post that details each of the 6 marathon rounds at PGA West.  For now I have some simple stats/notes during my 108 holes.

1. I liked hearing, "from River Falls, WI - Neil Johnson," when I was announced.
2. Putts per round - 27, 31, 29, 29, 26, 24
3. Played Nicklaus Tournament course 3 times - only made 3 bogies, one each round.
4. 108 holes, only 1 3-putt, 16th hole of the 2nd round (#16 on Stadium course).
5. 108 holes, only 1 double bogey, 8th hole of 5th round (#17 on Stadium course).
6. Greens in regulation per round - 13, 13, 10, 12, 9, 11 - 68/108 - 63%
7. Sand saves for the week - 8/11 - 73%
8. Up-and-down for the week - 29/40 - 73% (with 2 chip-ins)
9. Putts longer than 10 feet made - first 4 rounds = 9, last 2 rounds = 9
10. First 23 holes, -5 under par
11. Next 44 holes, 0 even par
12. Next 5 holes, +5 over par
13. Final 26 holes, -10 under par! 

Lucky #13 was by far my favorite stat of the week.  I battled for 6 days and kept playing until the very last hole.  The birdie on the 108th will hopefully get me into an extra tournament or two.  I was also proud of the short games stats for the week - 73% from bunkers and around the greens.  A lot of those chips were hit to a foot or two, leaving a simple tap-in for par, very little stress.

I'll be back sometime around New Year's with a detailed post that explains what happened in each round.  I'll do my best to describe what the roller coaster of emotions felt like.  Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Neil

Web.com Tour Q-School Final Stage

Today is the first round of the Web.com Tour Q-School final stage.  It's a 6 round tournament that will end on Tuesday with 45 guys receiving a fully exempt status to begin the 2014 tournament schedule.  Results, info, stories can be found here.

I'm really looking forward to the week of golf.  I've already had a good week of golf in Palm Springs.  I've played a bunch of practice rounds on both of the tournament courses.  The tournament consists of 3 rounds on each of the two courses - the Nicklaus Tournament Course and the TPC Stadium Course.  They're both great courses, but the Stadium course should play much tougher than the Nicklaus course.

I've always loved Nicklaus courses and I have some really good memories on such designs (winning WI State Match Play and all 6 courses at Desert Mt.).  The Stadium course is a Pete Dye design, which means crazy bunkers, railroad ties, and water hazards.  I also have great memories from Dye designs ('11 WI State Open, '09 WI State Open), which is a good feeling.

TPC Stadium Course #17 island green (very similar to #17 at TPC Sawgrass)

I will tee of at 9:20 local time on Thursday (PST) and I think there will be some kind of live scoring.  I think each group will have a walking scorer so those of you sitting at work can enjoy updates all day long!

Neil

Advancing Through 2nd Stage

This is a fun post to write.  I get to recap my wonderful week in Houston were I advanced through 2nd stage and onto the Final stage of Web.com Q-School.  Before the week started, I posted a short note about how it's a great course for my game - and boy was that true.  This was far from a bomber's golf course - which another 2nd stage site was.  I consider myself longer than average off the tee, but my real advantage comes from my accuracy off the tee and my putting skills.  Let's dive into the daily round-up.  Follow along here.

ROUND 1 - 

Warm weather, mid-70s.  Light winds to begin with, but kicked up to 15mph by the end of day.

Started on #1 and I quickly faced a gut-check with a 10 foot made putt for bogey on #3.  I rebounded from that hole with a great stretch from 5-7.  Three birdies - hit 8-iron to 6 feet of 5, made 18 footer on 6, 2-putted on 7.  After that good run, I struggled for a majority of the rest of the round.  I made a double bogey on #9 from the middle of the fairway, chunked a sand wedge short of the green on #10 (again from the fairway), and hit my second shot into the water on #16.

It wasn't a pretty finish, but I had confidence that I would peak at the end of the week when the pressure would be at it's highest.  I even told my caddie that each round on the course was helping me become more comfortable and more familiar with the tee shots and the approaches and by the final round, I would be totally locked in.

ROUND 2 - 

Cold start, 45 minute frost delay, but it warmed up quickly.  Highs in the low 60s with light winds.

Started on #10 and had a rough start with 2 bogies on #11 and #13 caused by awful approach shots to the green.  After that start, I fell into a good rhythm and made 1 birdie and 9 straight pars before reaching the short par-5 7th.  My second shot to #7 almost carried the front bunker, but instead it buried DEEP under the lip and I had to take an unplayable (remaining in the bunker and dropping the ball).  I blasted it out to 15 feet and made the putt for par!  Then I hit a 7-iron to 8 feet on #8.  Never once did I imagine not making that birdie putt, but it was one of the few times all week that I misread a putt and had to tap in for par.  I finished the day on #9 with a disappointing bogey.  After 2 shots, I was just off the left of the green and had a straight forward bump and run chip.  I blew it 15 feet past the hole and didn't make the putt.

The 2nd round had a similar ugly finish as the 1st round did and after signing my scorecard, I went to the range to work off some of my frustration.  My caddie and I talked about how frustrating the last 40 minutes of that 2nd round were.  If the ball wasn't buried under the lip in the bunker, I could've gotten up and down for birdie.  Then the putt on #8 really surprised me because I had putted so well inside of 10 feet.  Top if off with a bad bogey on 9 where I failed to execute a simple chip.

After 2 rounds, my confidence in my swing was growing, but I needed to see the results on the course.  With half of the tournament still to play, my caddie said we needed 2 good rounds - not mediocre - but 2 good rounds and we'll move up the leaderboard.

ROUND 3 -

Another cold start (no frost), but temp was around 40 degrees when I arrived at course.  Temperature warmed up very quickly and stripped the clothing layers throughout the day.  Highs in mid-60s with light winds.

First group off of #1 and I was paired with Shaun Micheel, who won the 2003 PGA Championship at Oak Hill CC.

My frustration from the 2nd round had worn off and I was confident that I could put together a solid round and make a bunch of birdies.  I had a goal going into the 3rd round, that if I could hit 6 approach shots inside 10 feet, my score would be significantly lower (especially because my putter had been working so well).  On the front nine, I hit it inside of 10 feet on #1, #3, #6, and #7 - making birdie on all of them except #3.  On top of the better ball-striking, I stole a birdie on #9 by making a 40 foot putt that was straight down hill.  A player in my group had a 45 footer, on a similar line, and I watched him roll it right into the cup.  I followed him in, but I definitely learned from his - my initial read was quite different from my final read.

Making the turn after a 3-under 33, I felt good, but a bad double bogey on #10 (tee shot in fairway bunker, then 3-putt from 15 feet) soured that good feeling.  I quickly forgot about the double bogey and played really well on the last 8 holes, including 2 birdies on #13 and #15.  I made about an 18 foot putt on #13 and hit a lob wedge to about 3 feet from 80 yards on #15.  I had a great chance on #16 after  I reached the putting surface in 2 shots, but 3-putted for par.  I finished with a 3-under 69 and I felt great about how I was hitting the ball, putting the ball, and how comfortable I was beginning to feel on the course.

ROUND 4 -

Warm weather, low 70's.  Light winds throughout the day.

My final round was a very nervous start.  I didn't hit a single good shot on #2 and made a bogey.  Plugged my tee shot in a greenside bunker on #3, luckily got up and down (making a 15 foot putt).  Then on #5 I hit it into the right rough, hit an overhanging pine tree on my second shot and made another bogey.

It was on my walk from 5 green to 6 tee that I started to calm down and play golf like I had the rest of the week.  I admitted that I was extremely nervous, which was normal.  Worse than being nervous, I was fearful of playing poorly and failing to advance through 2nd stage.  Nerves are a natural emotion that everybody gets and having nerves is a good thing.  Fear, on the other hand, is not a good thing.  It clouds your mind with negative thoughts and makes every muscle tight, which severely hinders a golf swing.  I told myself to stop being afraid of failing because my desire to succeed should out weigh that fear by 10x.

            "You want this.  You've practiced to get yourself in this exact situation.  Now prove to yourself that you have the skills, patience, and mental toughness to play 13 great holes of golf."

The pep talk really helped because I played 13 great holes of golf from the 6th tee until the 18th green.  I ended up making the cut on the number, but I definitely had several great chances on those last 13 holes that could've put me way ahead of the cut.

My first birdie on the day came on #7.  I was hole high in 2 shots and hit a perfect flop shot to about 8 inches, tapping in to get one of those early bogies back.  On #8 I hit an arrow 7-iron to about 10 feet, but couldn't make the quick, downhill, slicing putt.  On #10 I hit an 8-iron to about 5 feet, right over the flagstick, but again couldn't make the quick, downhill putt.  Walking to #11 tee, my caddie said that my putting routine was a little quicker than it had been all week, so from that point on I made sure to slow it down a bit on the greens.

The next par-5, #14, I hit a perfect drive, then pushed my 4-iron into the green side bunker.  I splashed it out to 7 feet and thought for sure I'd make another birdie to get back to even-par on the day, but my quick, downhill, slicing putt just slid by.  Do you notice a theme with the quick, downhill birdie putts?  I had a lot of them in the final round.

I finally got 2 straight birdies on #15 and #16, but they were much more unlikely than what I could've done on #8, #10, & #14.  My tee shot on #15 found the trees right, and stopped on pine straw.  I only had about 60 yards to the pin and if I could hit it 50 yards to the top of a ridge, the ball would roll straight down to the hole.  I landed it just short of the ridge and on it's 2nd bounce, the ball checked up, and trickled straight down to the hole - 3 feet away.  My birdie on 16 started with a pulled drive towards the water.  I thought it was wet, but my caddie wouldn't let me grab a new ball out of the bag because he thought it stayed short.  Sure enough, the ball was 1 foot from the water, inside the hazard line, but on grass.  My only shot was a chip shot down the fairway, leaving myself a wedge in for my 3rd shot.  I was standing in wet mud, choking up to the metal on the club, and chipping the ball about 100 yards down the fairway.  It ran just through the fairway and into the rough, but on my 3rd shot I was able to hit a full gap wedge and use the slopes on the green to funnel the ball close to hole.  My ball stopped about 10 feet from the hole and I rolled that putt in.

One birdie from pine straw and another one from the water hazard!

Two great iron shots on #17 and #18 (6-iron and 5-iron respectively) allowed me to 2-putt for pars and shot a final round 71.  I played the last 13 holes 3-under par and only battled for a par on #9 and #13 (making 5 foot putts on both).  The rest of the holes I was staring at a birdie chance.

As fearful as I was for the first 5 holes, I was equally as patient, focused, and controlled for the final 13.  Trust me when I say that the nerves increased exponentially as the day went on, but I remained call and patient, even after those birdie putts failed to fall.  I didn't catch myself thinking about what the cut would be or how many birdies I needed to make.  I was just in my game, hitting each shot, and accepting both the good and the bad.

My focus was so clear that I was able to visualize the shots in the air.  I "watched" them go into the fairway, or land on the green, and I "watched" putts drop into the hole.  In the past, I've had to close my eyes to visualize the shots, but not on that final day.

After signing my card, my caddie and I hung out in the locker room for a while.  He needed a few beers.  I just looked at the leaderboard on my phone, making sure that I was good.  Once my score was posted, my phone started blowing up with texts, tweets, calls, and messages from EVERBODY!  At first I responded to anybody who congratulated me, but eventually I started falling behind.  I'd be writing a text to one friend when another one comes in from a relative.  When my caddie and I left the golf course, we were starving, so we went to dinner.  Throughout dinner I kept my phone in my pocket, but kept feeling it vibrate every couple minutes because of an incoming text or email.

Everytime my phone vibrated, I got a tingly sensation throughout my body.  I smiled to myself knowing that I had overcome a big hurdle during that final round.  I had embraced my nerves, accepted my fear of failure, and allowed my skills to perform each shot.

Not a single person at that restaurant had a better meal than I did that night (and I don't even know what I ate)!

Neil

2nd Stage Starts on Tuesday

2nd Stage of Web.com Q-School begins this week.  I'm in Houston, TX at Deerwood GC.  It's a great course for me, where you have to hit it straight off the tee and the greens are difficult.  If you miss a fairway, you definitely have tree trouble.

For you film fans, this course is where they filmed the movie 'Tin Cup'.  The famous 18th hole in the movie is the 4th hole on this course and it's actually a par-4 (a really difficult one).  I'll try to remember to take a picture of the green, which will probably look familiar and they also have a plaque in the fairway.

Here's a link to the tournament info.  On Tuesday, you can click on the 'Results' tab to see the leaderboard.

Neil

Advancing Through 1st Stage

My week in Dayton, NV was a success in that I advanced through 1st stage and onto 2nd stage.  I'll recap each round and discuss some of the major moments of each day.  You can follow along with my scorecard here.

FIRST ROUND -
Tuesday's round began on #10, but only after a 20 minutes frost delay.  The overnight lows dipped into the 20s and I put on several layers of clothing to prepare.  The sun was going to be out, but the wind was forecasted to blow all day and it did, keeping the temperature very cool.  My first 5 holes were down wind and I missed an opportunity to get off to a really fast start.  Being 1-under through 5 was just average and the final 4 holes on the back side would be right back into the wind.  I played 15-18 well, with a lone bogey at the long and difficult 17th.

On the front side I 3-putted 2, but bounced back right away with a birdie on 3.  I only had 8 feet for eagle on 3 thanks to a big drive and only a gap-wedge left in.  The final 3 holes on the front nine were back into the wind so finishing with 3 pars was a good way to finish the difficult 1st day.

Take a look at the statistics and you'll see that day 1 was the toughest day, by far!  The cool temps, high winds, rock hard greens, and tough pins really had the course showing it's teeth.

SECOND ROUND -
Another cold morning and another frost delay.  This round began on #1 and I got off to a bad start.  I failed to birdie the down-wind 3rd hole and then 3-putted 4.  Bad approach shots on 5 and 7 led to 2 more bogies and I was quickly +3.  On the 8th hole I hit a good drive, leaving myself only 220 yards to the green, but I decided to lay up instead of flirting with the water that surrounds the green.  My strategy paid off when I made a 15 footer for birdie.  Once I made the turn, my game had turned the corner and I started making a lot of good swings.  I birdied both 10 and 11 and found myself hitting every green and having a lot of chances for birdies.  The last hole of the day was another example of following a game plan and having that strategy pay off.  After driving the ball in the fairway, I had 240 to the pin, but only 215 to the front of the green.  Again, I laid up, to give myself a full wedge in and eliminate the chance of hitting it into the water.  I hit my 3rd shot to 12 inches and tapped-in for birdie.

THIRD ROUND -
Thursday was the warmest day of the week and the winds were quite calm.  That still didn't make the course easy because of the rock hard surfaces and fast speeds.  I guessed that the greens were rolling close to 13 on the stimpmeter, but close to 16 if you had a downhill putt.  Definitely some of the fastest greens I've putted on.  My first birdie in the 3rd round came on #4 after I hit a 9-iron to 2 feet.  It curled around the hole and just slipped by the cup.  My bogey on #6 was a 3-putt blamed on an awful approach from the tee.  On #8, I again wanted to lay up, but I had 200 to front edge (and over water) and 229 to the back pin.  I decided to get aggressive and hit a 5-iron, which was plenty of club to carry all the water.  I hit a great shot and had 12 feet for eagle, which I left about a millimeter short.  One birdie and one bogey on the back side left me with a second straight 71.

FINAL ROUND -
Not a good day, but the best stretch came in the middle of the back nine.  I inexplicably hit two tee balls into the water on 7 and 11, leading to bogies.  Mixed in with those water balls were 3-putts on 9 and 13, so I found myself at +2 for the tournament on the 14th tee.  Knowing that I was now close to the cut line, I dug deep and rattled off 3 straight birdies, hitting great drives on 14 and 15 followed by wedge shots that left me makeable putts.  On 16, the hole was playing 207 (199 front edge),  and everything short of the green is water.  I hit 6-iron that landed on the front fringe and trickled back into the rough.  I chipped-in for a 3 straight birdie and assuring myself a trip to 2nd Stage.

I don't know where I'll be sent for 2nd stage yet, but I'll find out Oct. 29th.  Most likely I'll be in Murrieta, CA or Dallas, TX.  Thanks for all of the kind messages after I finished.  It's good to hear from friends after a long week of battling the elements.

Neil

Web.com Tour Q-School 1st Stage

1st Stage of Q-School begins this week and for the second straight year, I'm in Dayton, NV.  This course was my first choice because I really like the greens and enjoyed playing the course last year.  The tournament begins on Tuesday and goes through Friday.

Here's the info page, but on Tuesday you'll be able to click on the 'Results' tab and see the leaderboard.  Despite my disappointing summer, I'm confident going into this week.  My ballstriking has improved, thanks to a slight adjustment to my swing.  My coach and I worked on this adjustment the day I got back from Canada.

I might be back later in the week, but most likely it won't be until after the event.  It's tough for me to talk about each round as opposed to just dealing with the tourney as a week long marathon.

Neil

Calgary Revisited

I'm back in Canada for 6 days and I'm hoping that we're able to play our tournament in Calgary this time.  I was here about 6 weeks ago and a ton of rain flooded downtown Calgary and we weren't able to play our tournament.  They rescheduled it for this week, Tuesday through Friday, and we have completed at least one round.  I play round 2 on Wednesday morning, but the forecast is for rain all day, which shouldn't be a surprise because it's been raining on me all summer.

Follow along at home or work as I tee of at 9am CST.

Neil

Back into the USA for 2 weeks

After playing in Winnipeg I've had 2 weeks back in the US and I "spent my vacation" playing golf tournaments.  First off, I went to Marshall, MN to play a Dakotas Tour event there.  Then I snuck in a CVGA on the weekend at Whispering Pines GC in Cadott, WI.  Finally I went to Yankton, SD to defend my title at the Hillcrest Pro-Am.

Marshalls event was one that I really wanted to play.  I have always enjoyed playing Marshall GC and I have a great family to stay with when I'm in town.  It's a tournament that I've won before so it's fun to go back and try to win again.

I didn't win, but I was happy with the consistency of my game.  71-71-66 put me in a tie for 6th and earned $1485 for the week.  The difference between the first two rounds and the final round were making putts.  I didn't make much during the first two days, but it wasn't because of bad strokes/putts.  During the second round I had a handful of putts curl around the edge of the cup and end up 6 inches past the hole, directly behind it.  All of the putts looked like they were going to go in and rolled beautifully, but they just failed to catch the cup.  All of those putts went in during the final round - especially on the front nine where I shot a 5-under 31.  The putter cooled down on the back.  An unfortunate 3-putt on 10 was my only bogey of the day, but I finished the day with a birdie on the final hole.

A few days later, I played a CVGA event, something I haven't done since 2008.  The weather was very fall like.  Temps didn't even approach 70 degrees, the wind was blowing all day, and we even got some rain on the back nine.  I played well through the difficult conditions and won with a 3-under 69.  My putting was really solid throughout the day, but especially early when my ball striking was trying to figure out the wind.

My last tournament before returning to Calgary was the Hillcrest Pro-Am in Yankton, SD, which was the site of my big win last summer.  Just like Marshall, I was really glad that I could return to this tournament because it's always been a favorite for me.  The course is a great test - you can't just bomb the ball like some other courses and it's a long 4 round tournament that turns into a week long marathon.  I also have a great host family that puts up with me for the week.  Every year I kick one of the kids out of their bedroom and they don't seem to resent me for it.

The tournament started out on Tuesday with the Ladies day Pro-Am.  This wasn't part of the actual tournament, but just another chance to get a practice round and a chance to win some money.  I finished  T-2 and won $550.  The ladies I played with became fans and they recruited their husbands to cheer for me so I was winning over the crowd one marriage at a time.

Thursday was the first round and I got off to a slow start, but finished with a 31 on the back nine, which included a hole out from 88 yards on #4.

Day 2 was a stormy day and I didn't tee off until about 7pm, but I got really lucky.  The players who teed of in the morning had to play through a lot of rain and it was perfect by the time I teed off.  I only played 7 holes on Friday night, but I took advantage of the scoring conditions with birdies on the first 3 holes.  I resumed played on Saturday morning at 7am with 11 holes to finish in round 2 and 18 to play in round 3.  I battled for the rest of the 2nd round and stole a couple of late birdies (#16 and #17) to shoot 68.  I had to time between the 2nd and 3rd round - in fact, I was teeing off on #18 when they announced my 7 minute call to the 10th tee.  The quick turn around didn't bother me and I had a great 3rd round.  I was really hot in the middle of the round playing holes 17-3 6-under par!  One more birdie on #7 after I knocked a wedge to 5 feet and I had a 3rd round 64 and a one shot lead heading into the final round.

I was extremely confident going into the final round, but I knew I had some good players close enough to catch me.  I didn't play as freely as I did in the first 3 rounds and that resulted in a bulky putter.  I didn't make anything and left a lot of putts short.  That opened the door for a bunch of players and Brady Schnell came from behind and caught me by the 10th hole.  I watched Brady make a lot of putts or at least barely miss and that added to my pressure.  I hung close and had a chance with 4 holes to go, but a missed 5 footer for birdie on 15, followed by a lip out on #16 and #17 left me 3 back on the 72nd tee.  I drove it hole high, got up and down for birdie, but had to settle for a T-2nd place finish.

I've been traveling with Brady all summer up in Canada and I knew how well he has been playing.  In the back of my mind I figured he would be the one guy outside of the last group who could catch me.

No break for me.  I'm flying to Calgary on Monday morning to play a PGA Tour Canada event that is Tuesday through Friday.

Neil

Syncrude Oil Sands - Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada

Three weeks ago I traveled to Fort McMurray, Alberta for a golf tournament and was able to take a tour of the oil sands.  My host family took me, as he has worked there since the mid-80s.  Prior to the tour, my knowledge of the oil sands and the process of getting oil from the ground and into our cars was at a 1st grade level.  After the tour, I had only advanced to junior high, but it was a lot of fun to learn the process and see some of the heavy machinery.

Proof that I was there.  My tour guide, "host dad", worked on the fire crew for years and now he trains the volunteer firemen.  He gave me a tour of the firehall and showed me all of the trucks.  The beast in the picture is their emergency response vehicle that has 8-wheel drive and can navigate the mines with speed.

In my hand is a chunk of oil that is mixed with sand.  Didn't feel much different than a chunk of dried mud, but up close it looks quite different and gets your hands very dirty.  The process of separating the oil and begins by adding hot water and moving the sludge into big spinning tubs and eventually the sand falls to the bottom.  After the separation, some very complicated chemical processes are used to refine the oil into Syncrude Sweet Blend.  Simple enough.

One of the many byproducts of the chemical process is sulfur.  They build pyramids of sulfur and plan to turn it into fertilizer.

When mining is completed on a section, Syncrude has to reclaim the land to the way it was before they started.  Some areas are reclaimed as a forrest and pine trees are planted.  Look at the first sulfur picture and you can see a thick green forrest on the horizon.  Those pine trees are all about 10 feet tall.  Another option for reclamation is turning the land into a buffalo ranch.

Dirty

Huge hauling trucks - costs about 5 million dollars

Another huge hauler

'67 Dodge Hemi Charger - how we got to oil sands.

I really had a fun time in Fort McMurray.  That is as far north as I had ever been, but it's a very pretty part of North America.  The town is all about the oil sands.  Nothing else is up there, but the town has a a huge recreation facility - with ice rinks, curling lanes, badminton, floor hockey, fitness center, lap pools, swimming pools, and a water park.

MacDonald Island Park

Pools!

Neil

Players Cup - Winnipeg, MB - Getting Closer and Closer to Minnesota!

I was up early today watching some of the Open coverage, but this afternoon I get to play golf in yet another PGA Tour Canada event.  I've continued my travels east and find myself in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  The tournament is being played at Pine Ridge Golf Club which is a wonderful Donald Ross designed course.  Donald Ross designed Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina and he also designed White Bear Yacht Club in Minnesota.  He loved to make greens look like upside down saucers - a big challenge to any players short game.

Storylines

Expert Picks  *spoiler alert, no expert picked me

Leaderboard

Looks like they've started hole-by-hole scoring.

Neil

Syncrude Boreal Open Recap

Final Results - T-19th - 70, 70, 74, 69 - 5-under par.  $1768.75

It was a good week in Fort McMurray, AB.  The end of my third round was a bad 7 hole stretch, but I'm really happy with how I played the other 65 holes.  I stuck to my game plan and had enough confidence in my putting that if my tee shot found the rough, my only goal was to get the ball into the green.

Before the tournament started, I didn't think this golf course would be a great fit for my game.  Fort McMurray golf club is very narrow and they let the rough grow up to nearly 5 or 6 inches in some spots.  You're forced to hit a lot of irons/hybrids/3-woods off of tees and everybody ends up hitting into the green from the same yardage.  I prefer a course that gives you the option to be aggressive with driver, a club that has usually been one of my strengths.

During the practice rounds, my swing didn't feel good, and I honestly hit it very bad on the range and on the course.  The only bright spot was my putting.  Late in the practice round I found that a more aggressive putting stroke produced a more consistent roll for the putts.  The greens were heavy on the poa annua which always makes the greens bumpier as the day moves on, but the aggressive stroke seemed to help keep the ball rolling, instead of hopping.

The shapes and contours of the greens were fairly benign so that gave me more confidence when I reached the greens.  I lived in the rough all week, but from there I just tried to get the ball to the middle of the green and I knew I could 2-putt.  That worked all week and took pressure off of my short game or even my iron play.

Trust me when I say that I lived in the rough.  The most fairways I hit in any round was seven (1st round), but then I only hit three in round 2 and six in the final 2 rounds.  Sticking with my gameplan - to aim at middle of green from rough - I hit 14, 15, 12, and 16 greens in each of the 4 rounds.  That gave me a lot of chances at birdies and resulted in a bunch of tap-ins for pars.

The most positive thing about the week was how my ball striking improved and my confidence grew each day.  That's no doubt a result of the confidence in my putting carrying over to the rest of the game.  It was a lot easy to make confident swings when I knew all I had to do was get the ball onto the green surface.

Glad to have my first top-20 on the PGA Tour Canada especially after the week started off with apprehensive thoughts.

Next tournament is in Winnipeg, MB and then I'm back in the USA for 2 weeks.

** 2013 Schedule & Results have been UPDATED **

Neil

Syncrude Boreal Open - a.k.a. "Oil Sands Open"

It's Thursday, which means the start of another golf tournament.  I tee off later this afternoon, but I'm posting a few links before I get started.  There will be live scoring every 3 holes this week.

Fort McMurray, AB is the furthest north I have been, but the weather has been beautiful and the golf course is cut straight out of a pine tree forest.

I'm hoping to get a tour of the oil sands at some point this week.  If so, I'll have a bunch of pictures.

Neil

Recap Dakota Dunes Open

All done in Saskatoon and I battled all weekend to finish T46, which earned me $651.  That wasn't a great pay day, but keep in mind that I only paid $450 to enter this event (as opposed to normally $1000).  I briefly talked about the first two rounds after Friday's round, but now I'll get into a deeper recap.

FIRST ROUND - 

1st tee time out, 7:30, with perfect conditions and a group that all played well.  I made three birdies and shot 33 on the front, but was beaten by both of my playing partners (30 & 32).  The back nine finished as a disappointing 36 because I had putts inside of 12 feet for birdie on 10, 12, 13, and 18 - and I failed to make any of them.  My lone bogey came on #16 with a bad 3-putt from 25 feet.  Basically my 3-under 69 was 2 or 3 shots higher than what it looked like and felt like.

SECOND ROUND - 

More perfect conditions in the morning helped that wave of golfers reach double digit under par and I teed off at 12:30 wondering if the cut would move to 7 or 8 under par.  I don't really concern myself with what the cut might fall at because I know if I play well, I'll be on the good side, but most of the afternoon golfers were mentioning that the cut could be a record low number.  Once I started playing golf I got off to a slow start and was +1 through 8 holes.  The ninth hole was a down-wind par-5 and I took advantage with a simple 2-putt from 15 feet (eagle try just burned the edge).  Two holes later I had another 2-putt birdie, this time from 40 feet.  The very next hole (3) I hit a 5-iron to about 3 feet and made my second straight birdie - 3rd in 4 holes.  I kept the momentum going with a 3rd straight birdie on #4 after making a nice 10 foot putt.  That stretch of 4 birdies in 5 holes, right around the turn, helped me make the cut on the number.

THIRD ROUND - 

Awful conditions after a 4 hole weather delay made the round very difficult.  It rained for 15 holes and it was just windy enough to annoy you.  I made 2 bogies and a double bogey on the front nine, which included a 3-putt for par on #2.  I birdied #10 and told my caddie that it's about getting those shots back one at a time.  I battled for the rest of the back nine and when the rain stopped with a few holes to go, I managed to make one more birdie on #17.

FOURTH ROUND -

Sunny conditions, but for the first time all week the wind started to blow.  I missed a short putt for birdie on 1, then lipped out for birdie on 2 and 3.  I bogied 2 of the next three holes, but quickly rebounded with a birdie on 16.  My third shot on #16 was 82 yards from the thick left rough.  I hoisted a lob-wedge high in the air and it landed 10 feet short and released right up to the pin - tap-in.  That shot turned my final round back into the good side.  I played pretty solid after that hole and made 3 more birdies without a bogey.

Overall, it's a positive that I made the cut and kept battling throughout the entire weekend.  My putting held me back all week, but that didn't stop me from stepping up on the next tee and hitting the drive right down the middle.

Now that the week is done, I'm off the the next tournament - Fort McMurray, AB.  It's way up north and I'm flying up there tonight.  Tuesday will be a light day for me, just a little bit of practice, before a practice round on Wednesday.  So far, these travels in Canada have been a great experience.  Every week is a new town, new course, new housing, and a new schedule so the biggest challenge has been getting accustomed to everything new as quickly as possible.  I play my best golf when all I'm focusing on is the shot at hand, instead of worrying about my flight to Calgary or trying to find housing in Winnipeg.

Goodbye from Saskatoon,

Neil

Dakota Dunes Open is a Shootout!

Two rounds are complete and the leaderboard is a sea of red.  The cut fell at 6-under par, which is probably the lowest cut I've seen as a pro.  I battled for 2 days and got to 6-under.  My ballstriking has been solid, with a bunch of birdie chances and a few eagle tries each day.  My putting has able been good, but I hope to start rolling in some putts from 15+ feet.  I'd like to believe that I have played better than what my score has been, but that's why it's fun to still have 1/2 of the tournament to play.

My third round starts at 8:30am and we get to play in twosomes, which should keep play moving.

Neil

Next Stop Canada

I have left Arizona, stopped in Reno, and now I'm spending the weekend in Seattle. Tomorrow, I will ferry across to Victoria, BC and spend the next 7 weeks in Canada. After Victoria, I will be in Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Fort McMurray, and Winnipeg. I expect to drive nearly 5,000 miles - starting from last week when I left AZ to the middle of July when I re-enter the USA.

My phone will be of limited use while I'm up north, so the easiest way to contact me will be via email. However, those of you with an apple iPhone or iPad will be able to sends me message through IOS. I'll have plenty of access to the internet so you'll still get updates from my adventures. Other ways to contact me:

Skype
Facebook
Twitter

Now let's get caught up on my results over the past few months. It has been a bunch of tournaments flirting with great, but often retreating back into mediocrity.  Pretty much every tournament had 1 great round and then 2 disappointing rounds, which placed me right around T20.  When looking at each individual aspect of my game I have liked where it has been, but matching all of those pieces together at the same time was the challenge.

I expect that playing the events in Canada will help me remained focused throughout the entire week.  I have been looking forward to the PGA Tour Canada events since I returned from Thailand and that meant the Arizona events were overlooked.

My trip has already provided me with some beautiful scenery - something that will certainly continue in Canada.  Photos are posted below showing how pretty the Northwest part of the US is.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

At the end of 2012, a few days after Christmas, I held a casual happy hour fundraiser in my home town of River Falls, WI.  I was 2 weeks away from heading to Thailand and I hoped to raise some money that would support my golf career and allow me to start focusing solely on golf.  No longer would I be balancing a part time job at a golf course - I wanted to dive head first into playing and eliminate my excuse of having to work 2 days a week.

The turnout was fantastic, with family, friends, teachers,  classmates, former bosses, and former co-workers.  Some people weren't able to make it due to the busy holiday season, but they still contacted me and wanted to express their support and help out in whatever way they could.  I opened a PayPay account with hopes that people who no longer lived near River Falls would have a way to donate and reach me.  I've received donations from former neighbors, godparents, college roommates, and friends from the golf course.

I can only try to say how thankful I am for those that have donated and those who have clearly wanted to help me succeed.  Even if I say thank you in every sentence, it still is short of what is necessary.  Below is a list of those who showed up and donated.  From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you.

Paul & Deb Meyer
The Wiersmas
Peg Steinmetz
Grandma Conroy
The Ornelas Family
The Conroy Family (Pat, Lora, Brendan, Keely, & Matthew)
The Kjosas
The Rasmussens
Diane Brady
Matt Piper
Jonah Evenson
Phil Kluss
Sue Moen
The Ericksons
The Loomis Family
The Heiman Family
The Loney Family
Jack Cullen
Mike Miller
The Babler Family
The Wells Family
The Deal Family
The Nelson Family
Tom Carroll
Todd Schultz
Matt Danielson
Kevin Pechacek & The West Wind Supper Club
The Mielke Family
The Dawsons
The Schultz Family
The Betzel Family
...and of course my Mom and Dad!

Since the fundraiser,  I have seen results that are directly related to the extra time and energy that are devoted to golf instead of work.  My trip to Thailand was a success.  I advanced to final stage of Q-school and even though I did not earn my card, I realized that traveling around the world to play golf is an option and I have begun planning a trip to Europe this fall for European Tour Q-School.

Once back in Arizona, I started playing All-American Gateway Tour events.  I played a handful of these in the fall of 2012, but without great success.  The first 6 events of 2013 on the All-American Gateway Tour, I have recorded 4 top-10s.  Prior to this year, I have only 3 top-10s, while playing over 40 Gateway Tour events.  That is a pretty obvious improvement and exactly what I knew I was capable of.

My new schedule involves a lot more time to practice, but also a lot more time to relax.  The day after a tournament used to be a work day - from 6:30 am until about 7:30 pm, but now I have turned it into a mental/physical health day.  I'm able to work out with my trainer, and regardless of how I finished in the tournament that week I tell him to "punish" me because I have the weekend to recover.  Those of you on Facebook have probably seen some of the pictures of me working hard.

Taken Feb. 7th, the day after finishing t-4th.  At the very end of a workout when the body is  in fatigue.

My hard work has not gone unnoticed and my trainer recruited me to be a model in a couple of his golf fitness videos.  Here's another one.

Besides working out, I have the time and guts to start going to yoga classes.  Just one more way to improve my flexibility, but more importantly, even out the imbalances in my body and discover how difficult it is to truly control your breathing.

The rest of the year will be a new and exciting one with tournaments in new states and new countries.  I have posted my schedule in the sidebar and you can follow results there as well.

Many more thank you's for everybody who has donated.  I still have the PayPal account open and will continue to accept donations throughout the year.  Any amount will help with entry fees and caddie fees while I play PGA Tour Canada events.  Your continued support and help will allow me to play the tournament schedule I want to.

Thank you, and keep following my results, reading the blog, and cheering for my success.

Neil Johnson

Catching up with Last 3 Tournaments

The last 3 weeks I've played tournaments and made the cut in each event.  In the past, I have always missed the cut at these golf courses, so it's nice to see some good scores where I have struggled before.

The first tournament was at Anthem G&CC - Ironwood, and here are links to my past results there:  2010 - 2012

This year, I got off to a blistering start, but wasn't able to continue the birdie fest and finished T25th.

Week 2 was at Trilogy at Power Ranch, and here are links to my past results there: 2009 - 2010 - 2012

This year, I got off to another great start, and I continued that good play throughout the final round.  The second round was a difficult one because the weather played a major factor.  The players in the other wave had it much worse.  They had to play through some cold rain, up until standing water started collecting on the greens.  By the time I teed off, most of the rain had passed, but we battled wind, cold, and then the setting sun.  We had to finish our second round the next morning and then quickly regroup for the final round.

The event at Power Ranch was the final event on the All-American Tour schedule before their match play Tour Championship.  The top 25 players on the money list will be exempt into the match play and there will be a qualifier to determine the other 7 players.  I knew I needed a good finish to move into the top-25 and I managed to do it.  If you look at the money list online, you will see me at #36.  That is the overall money list and the events in January do not count towards the official money list, which obviously helped me.

The Tour Championship is next week and you can see the bracket here.

Finally, this past week I was at Vista Verde and here are my past results: 2009 - 2009 - 2012

There is a familiar theme, with yet another fast start.  Unfortunately I played the last 24 holes of the tournament awful and finished T39.  I was 6-under after 30 holes and finished +2.  My second round ended with back to back 3-putts on #8 and #9, and then the final round was a big struggle.  There isn't much to read into the bad finish.  I'm lucky not to be working anymore because I was able to take Friday off - it turned into a mental and physical health day.  The rest of the weekend I'll be able to practice and get prepared for next week's match play tournament.

Neil

I'm Not There Yet, But I'm Closer Than I Was Yesterday

After several days of getting over jet lag, I got back into my playing schedule with an All-American Tour event.  It was played last Monday-Wednesday at Sundance GC, which is way out west from downtown Phoenix.

My game was a little rusty (physically), but mentally I was sharp and excited to be back out there.  My short game showed the most rust.  I failed to get up and down on a handful of easy shots throughout the tournament.  On the other hand, my strong focus kept me from letting those mistakes sabotage the rest of the round/tournament.

One example is during the final round.  I was just short of the green in 2 on the par-5 9th hole.  I chipped it up to about 4 feet, but missed the putt.  This could've been the start of a downward spin, which would've resulted in a disappointing finish.  Instead I shrugged it off and eagled the next hole, the par-5 10th.

The other example happened early in the first round.  I hit my approach to 1 foot on the 1st hole of the tournament.  I came up just short on the 3rd hole and hit an awful chip to about 15 feet.  It was a straight forward bump-and-run, but I banged it way past.  I didn't make the putt and tapped in for bogey.  After the nice birdie on 1, the bogey could've put me in a funk for the rest of the round, but I shrugged off that mistake and went to the next hole.  I birdie the next - #4, and also birdied 7, 8, and 9 for a front side 32.

By the week's end I found myself tied for 4th.

The weirdest stat of the week - -

* First round - 7 birdies, 1 bogey, 1 double bogey
* Second round - 7 birdies, 3 bogies
* Third round - 1 eagle, 1 birdie, 1 bogey

Odd how some rounds you can only make a bunch of pars, whereas other rounds you make a load of birdies, but throw in a few bogies.

A few pictures to share.  First one is from Thailand, during the final stage practice rounds.  Follow this link, scroll to the bottom, and find my name.  Click on it and you see a picture of me teeing off.

The other picture is from this past week in Arizona.  During the final round, a photographer snapped this picture:

Am I smirking?  or grimacing?  You tell me what you think.

I've got another tournament this week - Tuesday through Thursday.

Neil

Safe Return from Thailand

Traveling back from Thailand was just a exhausting as it was going there, but it feels good to be home, with some time to relax.  I don't need to retell the story of traveling halfway across the world.  Instead I've got a bunch of pictures I need to post.

After the pictures, I'll explain what tournaments I will be playing for the rest of the year.  Even though I didn't earn my Asian Tour card, I've still got a fun scheduled plan and enough tournaments to keep me busy all year.

These pictures are from the entrance to our hotel.  It was an open aired hotel/lobby and they changed these floral arrangements every couple of days.

These pictures are taken from the same spot in Beijing airport.  We had an 8 hour layover on the way to Thailand and a 7 hour layover on the way back home.  Both times we landed early in the morning.  Beijing was cold - about 20 degrees - and the airport wasn't much warmer.  It's a huge airport that has ceilings reaching about 50 feet high, so there are a lot of cold draft blowing throughout the terminal.  The picture with the sun was taken on the way over to Thailand and that was the first time we saw the sun in about 24 hours.  On the way back, it was extra foggy, but it might have been a mix of fog and smog.

J.J. Grill was the place to eat.  A short walk from our hotel was our "hang out" spot.  We ate a lot of meals here, played a lot of cards, and always got ice cream for dessert and our walk home.  We rented motorbikes from here and got our laundry done.  Jane's family owns the place and it has been open for 15 years.  Her sister does massages all day.  The picture of the food is chicken stir-fry with young chili, which isn't too hot (it's got a little kick), but it's got a great flavor.

Lambo was the family dog at J.J. Grill.  He became more comfortable with us as we came there everyday.  It's found it amusing that Lambo learned to understand Thai and would obey his owners when they asked him to sit or come.  I struggled learning the numbers so I could tell my caddie what club I wanted to hit.

"Monkey Island" - the first day we rented motorbikes we drove South and ended up at this location, which was atop a step hill, right on the ocean.  It has a large temple (no pictures allowed) and it's surrounded by monkeys.

We rented motorbikes a couple times during our trip.  It's a cheap way to get around, but I had never ridden a motorbike so I was a little nervous at first.  Especially considering that we immediately got onto the highway and went 70 or 80 km/h.  No major accidents, just one small crash as we arrived at "Monkey Island".  My bike crashed into Jeff's - my shin was scraped and the front fender broke off (small fine when we returned the bikes).

This is one of my favorite photos from my trip.  The old fashioned sewing machine (operated by a foot pedal!) with a seasoned woman working hard, but maybe not too hard judging by the coconut drink nearby.

Our last day in Thailand we rented motorbikes, but we had to return them to a place about 7 kilometers away from our hotel and J.J. Grill.  Jane actually drove us up there to pick up the bikes and when we dropped them off we could've hailed a taxi, but we decided to walk.  How many miles is 7 kilometers? It's over 4 miles.  We ended up walking about 3 of those miles on the beach, alongside the ocean.  This picture is of a full moon with the moonlight reflecting off the ocean.  If you look closely at the horizon, you'll see a bright "dot" of light.  That's a green light from a fishing boat that is out to sea.

The trip to Thailand was a great experience and really proved that traveling across the world isn't out of my comfort zone for a golf tournament.  I wouldn't have been able to do this trip a few years ago because it was difficult to travel outside of the midwest.  Since then, my game has evolved far beyond Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas.  It's even matured past Arizona and North Carolina.  I'm excited to make any trip where the golf tournaments are good enough.  This summer I'll have the PGA Tour Canada and I'm already eying the European Tour Q-School which is in the fall.

Besides PGA Tour Canada, I'll most likely spend the month of May out east playing eGolf Tour.  Until May I'll be in Arizona playing All-American Tour.

Neil