PGA Q-School - 1st Stage, 2nd Round

Today was interesting. I finished with a birdie on my last hole to shoot a 71. In fact, my second shot on my 18th hole (# 9 ) landed a foot from the hole and spun to within 2 inches. That's a great way to finish the day. Tap-in birdie.

The interesting part came on my 7th hole of the day (#16). In the middle of my swing, I felt something give in my 6-iron. I channelled my inner-Tiger and stopped my swing. Immediately I noticed the head had rotated. I basically twisted the head right off! That meant no more 6-iron for the rest of the day. Watch that video and you'll see Tiger go right to his clubhead and start twisting. That's what I did. I'm guessing Tiger felt something give during his swing, just like I felt.

Once I dismantled my 6-iron I decided to hit a chocked up 5-iron into 16. Made par. Then the next hole, I had 177 to the pin to an elevated green - probably a perfect 6-iron. I decided to try and sling a 7-iron up there and I hit it just short of hole high. Two other times on the front nine I could've used a 6-iron, but instead had to step on a 7-iron.

The sun came out early today and really warmed things up. That's probably why I was able to hit the 7-irons farther today than I could the past few days when it was cloudy and cooler.

Neil

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

First round in Pinehurst, NC this morning. It's cool, cloudy, and wet here. This golf course plays around 7400 yards, but it seems much longer. We aren't getting any roll and the air is so heavy that the balls aren't flying very far. I normally hit a 7-iron around 175 yards, but down here it's not going 10 yards less. Three of the par 5's are around 550 yards, none of which are reachable - not even close really. On #18, I had about 250 yards to the front of the green and didn't even think about going for it. I laid up to 75 yards, and got up and down for a birdie.

I shot a one-over par 73. I made 3 nice birdies on my last 7 holes.

As soon as I finished it began to rain. It's been raining off and on all afternoon and it's supposed to rain most of the night. The forecast for round 2 is for rain. That means that the course will even be softer and longer.

Neil

Final Round in Nebraska

Shot a second consecutive 66, which once again included 7 birdies and 2 bogies. I finished alone in 10th.

I love making 7 birdies in a round - and 19 through 3 rounds, but I very easily could've been bogey free in the final round. Both of my bogies came on three putts. I had two other three putts that came on par 5's that I reached in two shots.

I'll make the excuse that the greens were much faster today than in the first two rounds, and the pins were on some difficult slopes. However, 4 three putts is obvious that I didn't adjust to the quicker greens.

I did hit my wedges really well today. On the first hole, from 73 yards I hit a sand wedge to 1 foot. On #5, my drive went into the trees so I had to punch out. I then hit my sand wedge to 2 feet and saved par. Another good wedge on #7, from 70 yards - in the rough - to 8 feet.

One interesting note - I played the final round with Ryan Quinn. He shot a 69 on Sunday, with 16 pars and 2 birdies. After the round he told me that he made ZERO bogies all weekend! That is amazing. I had 7 bogies, and he had 54 pars or better. I've only had one round this summer without a bogey, but nothing close to an entire tournament.

Summer schedule has been ** UPDATED **

Neil

Nebraska State Open - End of Rd 1 & Rd 2

Played the last 4 holes of round 1 early this morning. Birdied my first hole, a par 5 - but I gave it back 2 holes later with a bogey on a par 3. Finished at 2-under, 69. However, you can see how easy scoring was since I was tied for 30th after round 1. I played pretty good too. I had to grind out a lot of pars in the rain and had to deal with greens that had inconsistent speeds. Regardless, I finished 2-under and got some great scoring conditions for round 2.

In round 2 I made 7 birdies - and 2 bogies - for a 5-under 66. I think I played well, but got outplayed by one player in my group. Trent Peterson also made 7 birdies, but had no bogies for a 64. He managed an even par 71 in round 1 and now finds himself at 7-under, tied with me. Between the two of us we birdie 12 of the 18 holes in round 2, including a birdie stretch from #15 - #2.

I'll post results later tonight when they're put online.

** UPDATE ** Here are results.

After the final round on Sunday, I'll be on the road so watch my twitter page for an update.


Neil

Nebraska State Open - Part of Round 1

2 hour weather delay to begin the afternoon. Then it began raining on the 9th hole and only rained harder as the day wore on. We were pulled off the course after 14 holes. I'll finish my 1st round Saturday morning and then play my second round right after the 1st round is complete.

Through 14 holes I'm 2-under par. Hopefully tomorrow is dry because it was difficult playing this afternoon in the wet conditions. The greens got really bumpy and it was very tough to see during the last 3 holes. Those players who played in the morning had perfect scoring conditions, so I hope I get a taste of that on Saturday.

During the day, you can find results here.

Neil

Tour Championship - Round 2

Second straight 70. Got off to a good start with 4 birdies in my first 7 holes, but stalled out and made no birdies. Two rounds on the course and I've played the last 6 holes even both days. That's bad because 3 of the final 6 holes are par 5's and they are all reachable in two shots. One of the guys I played with today played the last 6 holes 6-under par, which helped him make the cut.

Final round is early Friday morning. I'll be driving home immediately after finishing play, but I'm going to try something new. I just signed up for Twitter, and I'll update my page with my results once I finish. Being on twitter allows me to use my phone to text results. Without it, I'd have to wait to get home where I have an internet connection.

Here's a link to my twitter page. You'll see one update, which was basically a test. Friday afternoon there will be another one. I think you can "follow" me page, which will send you emails when something new has been posted.

Tour Championship - Round 1

1st round 70, 2-under par. I only made one bogey all day, but couldn't make many birdies. There were times when I struggled getting the ball close to the hole and when I did, I made a bad stroke or the ball bounced offline.

It was gusty today and much cooler than it has been, but the most difficultly came on the greens. They were slow and quite bumpy in many spots. Nothing you can do except make a good stroke and hope it stays online.

Neil

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