Still Breathing

Hey everyone, I just want to check in and let you all know that I’m still alive. I’m actually working on a new website that will be easier for me to update and hopefully more user-friendly for all of us. Long story short, I was just in St. Louis and got through the first of two stages for US OPEN qualifying. I’m playing in two eGolf events in North Carolina and a Web.Com Monday qualifier before playing in the Sectional Qualifier for the US OPEN on June 3rd (hopefully in Columbus, OH).

Below is a link to a recent article about the Local Qualifier and my life in general if you’d like to check it out… All the best!
click here for: News Magazine Network Article

2013

Hey everyone, sorry for the hiatus! With this post, I’ll try and cover the major issues going on in my world (besides Duke basketball). If you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to post a comment, send me an email, or give me a call!

1) 2012
Last year is very difficult for me to summarize. Long story (pun intended) short, I played 17 tournaments on the Web.Com Tour and was pretty frustrated with my play for most of the year. Having conditional status was kind of a mixed blessing. The drama of not knowing if I was going to get into events was a little draining. However, I learned that I’m not very far from the top of the game. In other words, I was not impressed by the level of play on that tour. I know it’s not hard to do well out there and I intend to get another shot at it very soon. Unfortunately, I don’t have status out there yet this year so I’ve got work to do…. Highlights of 2012: 2nd place at Hooters Winter Series event, T9 Web.Com event, and four hole-in-ones (two in back-to-back Web.Com events).

2) 2013 QSCHOOL CHANGES
For those of you who don’t know, the PGA TOUR has made substantial changes to QSchool beginning this year. Instead of giving the top 25 finishers at final stage status on the PGA TOUR, all participants at final stage of QSchool will be playing for only Web.Com status and priority. Thus, it will be called “Web.Com Qualifying School.”
Previously, 50 PGA TOUR cards were given out each year (the top 25 on the Web.Com money list and 25 from QSchool). Beginning this year, the top 75 finishers on the Web.Com TOUR and the bottom 75 finishers on the PGA TOUR will compete for the 50 PGA TOUR spots over the course of four fall events. However, the top 25 from the Web.Com TOUR will still be guaranteed a PGA TOUR card (like before) and will only be playing in the fall events for positioning/priority. Which technically means the other 125 players are competing for 25 PGA TOUR cards…. There are more details to it all but the gist is players now have to play on the Web.Com TOUR to get to the PGA TOUR.

3) PGA TOUR CANADA & PGA TOUR LATINOAMÉRICA
The PGA TOUR recently assumed operational control of both the Canadian Tour and the Latinoamérica Tour. The PGA TOUR Canada will have eight events in the summer while the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica will have eight events in the spring and seven events in the fall. Both tours will have their own qualifying tournaments for membership. The top five finishers of each tour will be given Web.Com TOUR status for the following year; the next five finishers will be exempt to the final stage of the Web.Com TOUR Qualifying School.

4) JUPITER
At the end of November, I moved from Pinehurst, North Carolina to Jupiter, Florida. My apartment is less than 200 yards from Roger Dean Stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins play spring training. I joined The Dye Preserve Golf Club where there are about 25 other professional golfers including seven PGA TOUR players and four LPGA TOUR players. I absolutely love it out there, it is a very golfer-oriented place, no pools/tennis courts, etc., and it is always in premier condition. The weather down has been amazing, I can see why it has become one of the most popular locations for professional golfers.

5) 2013
My goal for this year is to re-gain status on the Web.Com TOUR. There are four ways to accomplish this 1) Monday Qualify into an event and get on a roll, 2) PGA TOUR Canada 3) PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, and 4) Web.Com TOUR Qualifying School.
The first thing I’m going to do is try and qualify for the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica which will be February 12-15 in Sebring, Florida. There will be about 135 players for 20 full status membership cards.
The PGA TOUR Canada schedule and qualifying information hasn’t been released yet. I know there will be multiple qualifying sites in America to choose from in April/May.
I also joined the eGolf Tour this year so I’ll have a place to play no matter what. Plus there’s always that whole US Open thing, I wouldn’t mind getting another crack at that!

As you can see, 2013 will be a very busy year and I’m anxious to get going. There will be plenty of opportunities and I plan on taking advantage of them. Thanks again for all of your support, let me know if you have any questions!

Hoping for a Gusher

For all of you who think everyone in this country is struggling: you’re wrong. I just spent a week in Midland, Texas and can tell you that West Texas is absolutely BOOMING. The current surge in the oil industry out there has spread to every level of the local market. It’s a small town but money is pumping through there like crazy.

I went out to Midland hoping to find a gusher of my own. While I was playing the Monday Qualifier, I was notified that I had gotten into the Web.Com tournament as an alternate: great news. I hired Derek Barfield as my caddy, we had been trying to link up several times throughout the year and this was a perfect chance for both of us. I certainly didn’t play well but I scored very well. I didn’t have much control of my swing but my short game and putting picked up the slack. I made some key birdies on the back nine on Friday to make the cut by two strokes and then took advantage of the weekend to move up the leader board. I shot a bogey free seven-under 65 on Saturday which included a hole-in-one on the 16th hole. That makes six in my life, four this year, and the second in as many tournaments. (Grandpa: I owe you two balls, might want to consider finding a larger space for your quickly growing collection). Anyway, I scrambled to an even-par 72 on Sunday for a ninth place finish, the best of the year for me on this tour. It was great to feel the excitement of a final round in contention haven’t felt that in a while… A special shout out to my hosts Ron and Peggy Ainsworth! I was so lucky to have them as hosts! Nice house, great food, and even better people!

With that finish I will be playing this week’s Web.Com tournament in South Charlotte this week. Thankful that my mom is driving my car to me from St. Louis! My birthday is tomorrow so I guess this is my present…

Anybody Out There?!

First of all, I’m alive and well. Sorry for the unannounced hiatus. As most of you know, the past few months have been very difficult. I’ve experienced a tough slump that resulted in several missed cuts, frustration, and disappointment.

Don’t worry, this post isn’t a sad reflection of the past. I’m in the process of turning a corner in several ways. I just spent the past week in southern Florida and have (unofficially) decided to relocate to Jupiter. The area is loaded with professional golfers from every tour (most notably Tiger Woods). It really has everything a golfer could ever want, especially great winter weather. I’m not sure when I’ll make the move but it is pretty inevitable. My guess is late October.

After visiting Jupiter for a few days, I went down to Miami and worked with Jim McLean for a couple days at Doral. I’d say it was one of the best lessons I’ve had from him. We worked on mostly my full swing and putting. We kept it really simple because I told him I’m starting to feel a lot better about my game. While Brian Fogt is still extremely involved, moving to Jupiter will make McLean a lot more accessible (plus I’ll be living less than a mile from where the Cardinals have spring training).

Unfortunately, I’ve played my way out of the final seven Web.Com tournaments of the year. I plan on Monday qualifying for Boise, Midland, Charlotte, and Maryland before first stage of Qschool which for me is in mid October in Dallas, Texas. I may throw in an eGolf or NGA prep series event but I haven’t looked too seriously at those yet.

Well that’s the latest with me, a lot going on as always. I’m well aware that golf can be brutally punishing but I also know it can be extremely rewarding….

Talk to you in a few months! Haha, just kidding, I promise I’ll be better…

In the Field

While I was standing on the first tee for my practice round today, I got a call from the Tour saying I was officially in the field. It was a call I was expecting to get but it’s still a great feeling when that number pops up on my phone.

I am using the same caddy I had in Utah, hopefully we can build from the success we had there.

Tee Times:
Thursday: 8:20am off #10
Friday: 1:20pm off #1
Pairing: Chris DeForest and Jeff Corr

The Golf Channel will have coverage of the tournament:
THURS: 12:30pm-2:30pm ET
FRI: 12:30pm-2:30pm ET
SAT: 6:30pm-8:30pm ET
SUN: 7pm-9pm ET

Here We Go Again

Another close call on the alternate list for the Web.com event this week. I went to bed last night (Sunday) as the sixth alternate and woke up as number four. There’s a website where I can see my status and any movement and the Tour calls players when they become the third, second, and first alternate, and again when they are officially in the tournament. Over the next few hours I got three great phone calls, the last saying that I was the first alternate. Long story short, I packed up my bags and headed for the airport. Here we go again…

The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational is a unique event on the Web.com schedule. It is played on The Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio which is supposed to be one of the best courses of the year. Players are invited to this tournament strictly based off of the money list (not related to any priority shuffles). Last year’s First-Team Collegiate All-Americans, College Player of the Year, and the Current US Amateur Champion are also invited. With a big purse, smaller field (144, instead of the usual 156), and amateurs playing who can not accept money, this could be a great opportunity to move up before the reshuffle which is right after this tournament.

The good news is I was the third alternate at this time before the tournament in Utah and got in Tuesday afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed!

Workin’ the Weekend

Sorry for my absence on here lately, but don’t worry, you haven’t missed much. After a great vacation in northern Michigan, I flew out to Salt Lake City for the Monday Qualifier for the Web.com event. I shot four under (68) but missed a playoff by two shots. However, I got into the tournament as an alternate on Tuesday afternoon. As a result, I had to withdraw from the Metropolitan Open Championship at St. Albans in St. Louis which was my backup plan if I did not get into the Web.com tournament.

I picked up Will Wilcox’s caddy because he unfortunately was diagnosed with pneumonia on Monday and was forced to withdraw. Steve is a great guy, I really lucked out considering I met him Wednesday afternoon.

Anyway, after rounds of 68-67, I sit in a tie for 14th place with two rounds left. I’m looking forward to a couple more good days and working my way up the leader board. Check out live coverage of the tournament on the Golf Channel tomorrow from 6:30pm-8:30pm EST and Sunday from 7:00pm-9:00pm EST.

Track live scoring at: http://www.pgatour.com/h/leaderboard/

Don’t Lose Sight of the Forest for the Trees

I just got back from a Nationwide tournament in Leon, Mexico at El Bosque Country Club. El Bosque means “the forest” in Spanish even though there weren’t many trees around the course. In fact, it reminded me more of a desert than a forest but who am I to judge? I arrived in Leon on Monday evening, played a practice round on Tuesday, practiced on Wednesday, and teed it up on Thursday. We were at 5,000 feet elevation so the ball was flying about ten percent farther than we are used to at sea level. I played steady and shot 70-72-71-70 (-5) and finished tied for 23rd. Obviously, I wanted to win the tournament but 25th was the magic number because the top 25 automatically get into the next Nationwide event (which I probably wouldn’t have gotten into otherwise). I knew when I made the turn in the final round that I was right on the bubble and I needed to play well on the back in order to secure a trip to the next tournament. Fortunately, I shot two-under on the back nine and stayed one shot inside the top 25.

This was my third Nationwide event in a row and I have definitely made some progress but I’m certainly not where I want to be. As I told my swing coach, Brian Fogt, I feel like I’ve just been doing everything okay. I’m not necessarily struggling in any area but I’m also not doing anything great. When I’m playing my best, I feel like there is at least one or two parts of my game that are as good as anyone in the world. I honestly haven’t had that feeling in a while. I’ve been playing alright and shooting okay scores but I’m ready to get over the hump and really go low. I know I’m close, I just have to keep working, stay patient, and not lose sight of the forest.

Next up is the Nationwide event in Wichita, Kansas. Apparently this is one of the most fun tournaments on the schedule. The par three 17th hole somewhat mimics the 16th hole at the PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale with an amphitheater like atmosphere, tents holding up to 1,200 people, and caddy races to the green.

I’m in Pinehurst for a few days before heading to St. Louis for the weekend and over to Wichita on Sunday.

Check out this video I found on YouTube of a caddy race on #17 a few years ago, pretty classic:
Wichita Caddy Race

Keep on Keepin’ On

Last week’s Nationwide tournament was crazy. 168 players, 168 amateurs, three courses: craziness. It was a fun week with a lot going on but I definitely didn’t play my best. Simply put, I didn’t give myself enough birdie chances.

On a brighter note; I found out today that I am receiving a sponsor’s exemption into next week’s Nationwide event at TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, NC. The guys at 1 Degree Sports Management were instrumental in getting my name out there and our persistence paid off. I played TPC Wakefield quite a bit my first few years at Duke but it has obviously been a little while. I’m looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunity and having a great week. I also believe there is a decent chance that I get into the Nationwide tournament the following week in Mexico.

Unfortunately, my family is celebrating my cousin’s graduation (from a university that shall not be mentioned) with a big family reunion on the Outer Banks at the same time as all of this. Hopefully I’ll still get a few spectators out there. Missing out on awesome family functions because of school or golf is nothing new to me but it’s never fun. I still hear about the 1996 Olympics and Yellowstone National Park… apparently those were the “best trips ever.”

Another Opportunity

I’m looking forward to teeing it up in this week’s Nationwide Tour event in Greenville, South Carolina. It’s the BMW Charity Pro-Am, which is like the PGA Tour’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am. There are 168 professionals competing against each other, meanwhile, each professional has an amateur partner and they compete as a team. I’m still not exactly sure what the format of the pro-am is so hopefully that will be explained soon. We play three different courses, there’s a cut after the third round with the final round being completed on Sunday at the host course (Thornblade).

Some facts about the tournament:
> Last year’s event raised $652,070 for charity.
> In 2004, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player participated in the Pro-Am
> Each year, more than 2,500 hotel rooms are booked in the area for the tournament
> More than 1,400 volunteers donate their time to help run the event
> The Pro-Am generates about $5 million to the local economy
> This year’s celebrities include:
– Anthony Anderson (actor, Law and Order)
– Steve Azar (country music artist)
– Andy Buckley (actor, The Office)
– Mark Bryan (Hootie and the Blowfish lead guitarist)
– Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts guitarist)
– Dean Felber (Hootie and the Blowfish guitarist)
– Josh Kelley (musician)
– Cheech Marin (actor/comedian, “Cheech and Chong”)
– Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts lead guitarist)
– Reggie Smith (retired MLB All-Star)
– Holly Sonders (host of Golf Channel’s Morning Drive)
– Gary Valentine (actor, King of Queens)
– And several others…

The Golf Channel will be providing live coverage:
THURSDAY (5/17): 12:30-2:30pm/est
FRIDAY (5/18): 12:30-2:30pm/est
SATURDAY (5/19): 1:00-3:00pm/est
SUNDAY (5/20): 2:00-4:00pm/est

Hopefully I’ll do something cool to get a little air time. Anyway, I’ve got a lot of work to do in the next few days in order to master these three courses. They’ve gotten a lot of rain here the past few days so they are all playing very soft. It should be a busy and fun tournament with all kinds of activities throughout the week. I’m looking forward to taking advantage of another opportunity…
————–
BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation
Thursday May 17 – Sunday May 20, 2012
Thornblade Club (host course) · Greer, South Carolina

Purse: $600,000 Winning Share: $108,000 http://www.bmwcharitygolf.com