I just finished up my tournament at Southern Dunes. I ended up finishing in 44th position and pocketed $600 for the tournament. The only problem is the entry fee for the tournament is $800 so you can do the math. It was a frustrating final round where I started the final round in 14th place in great position to really have a strong finish. Unfortunately I played the par 5's the last day in two over and got absolutely lapped. It was unfortunate because the first two rounds I was 4 under and was really hitting it solid. To be honest the 1st two rounds were annoying as well because I hit it so much better and should have been more like 10 under if I hadn't made some STUPID mistakes. What I can take from this week though is an arsenal of remarkably quality shots that can go into the memory bank for confidence. I have a good friend named Jay Woodson who is also a professional golfer. Jay has a voice from God. I tell him all the time that he could realistically win American Idol. We have another good friend that can play the acoustic guitar. Well Jay is a really good improv singer where he can just feel the beat and make up lyrics as he goes along. In the Winter of 2007, with the help from our other friend strumming the guitar, he sang a song he is famous for called the "Hooters Winter Series $600 check". This is the check that goes to all players who make the cut and finish 40th or higher. Well I can laugh about that today because I just lived it! Sometimes you have to be able to laugh at yourself or life just wouldn't be all that interesting. Well that wraps up my 2009. Still looking for my maiden victory in the professional ranks. I have a real good feeling that I will get that 1st trophy hoist in 2010. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season and I will touch base in early January. Thank you for your ongoing support in helping me live my dream.

It has been roughly a month and a half since my Q School let down has come and gone and in between now and then I have had a lot of time to contemplate my past, present, and future. In 2008 after I had a similar 1st stage exit I was extremely depressed and actually put my clubs in the closet for 28 straight days. It was the longest break I had ever taken from golf since I first put a club in my hands at the age of 8. At the time that was the best thing for me to do because the game had really gotten stale and monotonous at the time and I had lost the enjoyment out of playing. Well flash forward to a year later. After Q School I knew I was going to have a heck of a lot of down time to think about where I wanted to go with my game in 2010. Sure I was devastated much like in 2008, but this go around I have absolutely grown stronger as a man from this. Instead of taking the easy way out and taking a break, I have decided to keep moving forward in the right direction. Golf is fun again and I am enjoying going out to the course every day and getting better, so I had no reason to gather dust on my clubs by hanging them in the closet. Not but a few days after Q School ended I began to get back to work with my instructor Brian Mogg down in Orlando. From about December-February this is the part of the calender year where I have the best opportunity to really get very mechanical with my swing and work on the elements of my swing and game that hold me back. Since I began seeing Brian in the Fall of 2007 we have worked on many of the same things. I have always fought my draw bias, so we work on getting the golf club in front of me in a more efficient way that allows me to start the ball on line, with an ability when needed to work it from left to right. Essentially the way I do that is to quiet my leg drive and become more aggressive with my upper body rotation. I have played in 5 tournaments since my last update and have made the cut in 2 of them. The three cuts I missed were by 1, 3, and 1 shots collectively. I was proud of myself actually for the mini run I went on where up until the first cut I missed this winter I had made 13 consecutive cuts in tournaments where a cut was made. The fact that my bad golf, which I have had a bit of lately, is still producing scores that allow me to be competitive is a major hurdle it looks like I have begun to climb. A 77 in pro golf is disaster. A 73 is something you can battle back from. Consistency in golf comes from being able to weather the storm during the bad times and turning those days where you don't have it into scores around 72 or 73. Currently the item of greatest concern for me is to be able to quiet my mind in competitive tournaments. I have a lot of swing thoughts from my work with Brian, and the challenge is to limit those to the practice range and keep it as simple as possible on the course. In the summer I play a lot more feel golf and trust in the changes that I make during my winter training. It is more of a maintenance issue I deal with on a day to day basis during the summer. Now is the time that I really put my head to the grindstone so that come next year I know that technically my swing is where I want it to be and I can focus on my mental game. I have one more tournament in 2009 which begins tomorrow at Southern Dunes, about 40 minutes south of Orlando. This is one of my favorite stops over the winter series because it is a course that really suits my game. I have had a very productive last week of practice and really look forward to going out tomorrow and giving myself a chance to play my best golf and have fun. My goal for this week is to really use this tournament as a spring board into next year. This year, as I have previously stated, I didn't get things going until July. In 2010 I want to have things clicking from start to finish and that will all begin in the early stages of January where I polish off the rest of this Winter Series in the Orlando area.Cheers, and here is to a bushel of birdies this week!! Always moving forward, John.

As I am sure you are well aware I once again did not advance through the 1st stage of Q School. The tournament was contested on a long, tough golf course that really suited my game, but I just never put my best foot forward all week. I got off to a nervous start the first day with a 75. I will be honest I was extremely nervous and tense that first day and just never settled down. I rallied the 3rd round with a 68 to put myself in a tie for 23rd place. Directly on the magic number of 23 players and ties who would advance. The final round in the end all I needed was a round of 72 and I would have moved on. Instead I came with a 76, my highest competitive round since June 9th where I shot the same score in Tennessee. It was one of the most frustrating ends to the year and it all happened so fast and so early. I had such a remarkably consistent year and all signs pointed towards me finally moving up the professional ranks. I won't lie I am still in shock and it really hasn't hit me yet completely. When I am at a low point, all I can help but notice are the negative things. I feel like my golf career is slightly passing me by. Yea, I may only be 25 years old (its my birthday today actually), but it feels like I am stuck in a rut in the mini tours and the hole I have to climb out of keeps getting deeper and deeper. My golf game is night and day more refined and better that a year ago, but I am still scrapping it out on the mini tours in little small towns that honestly are often times difficult to withstand week in and week out. I'm glad I have friends to travel with! Its easy to get caught up in being jealous of all my friends that are part of the PGA Tour circus and all the glam and hype and freebies that go along with it. I want to be part of that tour so bad I can't even try to type a way to describe that feeling. Quite possibly that is part of what is holding me back. If you want something so badly, often times that can almost do more harm than good because you get in your own way. I have always been told nobody likes to listen to a complainer. That is exactly what I am doing right now, but to be honest this blog really does help me get rid of some of those inner demons and frustrations just by getting it off my chest and onto the computer screen. I will be on the PGA Tour some day. I know it as a fact, its just a matter of when. 2010 will be another year of the same. Competitive mini tour tournaments and a good handful of Monday Qualifiers. The Monday Qualifier is the tiniest of outlets that keep my dream alive week in, week out that I can at any time jump to the next level. In fact this year, I can sum up the FACT that I was only 2 shots away from being a full time professional on the Nationwide Tour in 2010 due to my 2 shot loss in Springfield, Missouri in August. I am in a lot of pain and hurt inside right now, but when it subsides and I move on I will be stronger for it as a person and as a golfer. Right now I just need some patience and perseverance to get me along. For the remainder of 2009 I will be playing in a few Hooters Winter Series events. I hope everyone has a very great remainder of 2009 and I will be back soon. 2009 for me may have not ended the way I wanted, but it was a successful year due to the reemergence of my golf game. My game has come out of hibernation, and 2010 will be the best year yet.

Sorry for the delay with a new post. I have been very busy. I ended up my competitive season pre Q School by missing out in both my final two Monday qualifiers for the Nationwide tour in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Miami, Florida by 3 shots at each site. In Chattanooga I started out hot early then fizzled late in my round. Miami I played a completely opposite round to Chattanooga in that I started plus 4 on my first 4 holes and ended up shooting even. My final Adams Tour event which was our tour championship was laughable. If I hadn't known better I would have thought Hurricane Katrina 2.0 had settled upon the Gulf Coast once again. It rained for 18 days straight apparently before we got down there to Gulfport, Missisippi. We got in one round where I fired an even par 72. After that the tournament was canceled due to a flooded course that was unplayable. So I sit here at my new apartment in downtown Orlando excited for my opportunity at Q School once again this year. I begin first stage next Tuesday Oct. 27th in Valdosta, Georgia at Kinderlou Forest, the same course I played 1st stage at two years ago. You can once again follow my scores at www.pgatour.com throughout the week. Click under the tournaments link then scroll down to Q School and double click on it. From there pull up Kinderlou Forest under the 1st Stage sites. I have had a remarkable second half of the season. It is with that that I am confident in my abilities and that if I put my best foot forward I can make a living playing this game I love. Q School is a time when 900 some odd individuals embark on a journey that will inevitably shape what their future holds for the upcoming year. This is my 3rd go at this event and I now understand what it takes to get through. You can't put this tournament on a pedestal. I have to treat this the same as any other event I have played during the calender year and hope I bring my game to the table. I can't press or be worried about what is at stake. I have to play each hole, each shot one at a time just like every other tournament. It is all about just being consistent. I have done an extremely good job at that this year so I look forward to doing much the same during this event. I don't have to go out there and shoot 67 every day. Just plotting my way around each round with care and ease while knocking in a few birdies along the way and keeping the ball in front of me is what leads to patient, consistent golf. Many people would call me a liar, but I am really looking forward to starting Q School next week and having fun at the same time. Sure this is my job and there is a lot at stake, but I am blessed with an immence amount of talent and the opportunity to play GOLF for a job! I have had a fantastic 2009 and have learned so much about myself along the way. I have done all I can do to get ready to make a run at getting my card through the 3 stages of Q School. Now all I can do is go out and make the most of my opportunity that each and every one of you have helped give me. The confidence and ability is there and I am going to go out and take what is mine. I will be posting next week after the conclusion of play. Cheers!

April 29th, 2007. Why is this date important? The answer is this is the day I last won a golf tournament at any level. September 26th, 2009 I had as good a chance as any to put an end to that drought. As it turned out I lost in a two hole playoff in Columbia, Missouri at Old Hawthorne to Parker LaBarge. The Missouri Open put on a good event and in the end Chris Johnson, Parker LaBarge, and myself each turned in a 36 hole score of 136 (8 under par) to end regulation. The three hole playoff was narrowed down to Parker and myself after we both made impressive birdies on the opening par four hole. Chris was unable to chip in to extend his chances. On the second hole, a par 3, we both hit the green. I unfortunately 3 putted the hole to give up my chance of victory. It was a sad and disappointing way to end a tournament where I played steady, error free golf, but that is the nature of the game. Sure I would have loved to have won, but one of my best friends walked away with the trophy and I put up a good fight, with one nasty error at the end. I will grow from this, and continue my hunger to get better. I know a win is coming my way at some point soon, so I'm not concerned. The last few months I have really been playing some of the best golf in my life. It really has all come down to just being a little bit more consistent consistently if you know what I mean. As one of my mentors has always instilled competence builds confidence as well. If you do something well it can't help but breed the inner belief that you can repetitively do it time and time again. I am trying to keep my game sharp through mid December when Q School ends. The reward would lead to a present even Santa Claus couldn't fathom replicating. To avoid looking to far forward, I am trying to keep myself busy. I'm currently down in Orlando looking for a winter residence. I will have the remainder of the week off. Next Monday I will be in Chattanooga, TN for the Nationwide Monday that I successfully got through last year. I'm staying at the Lodge at Bay Hill right now and getting in a bit of quality practice at my home club in Orlando. Over the summer they completely reshaped the whole course and practice facility. The results are spectacular and greatly improved. This will be an even better resource for me to improve my game at an even quicker rate now that Bay Hill has upgraded the compound from top to bottom. It is an exciting time in my life right now and I am just trying to enjoy every moment as best I can. Until next time!

Hello. I finished out my tournament in New Mexico strongly with a 10th place finish. I came home anxious to head to Boise, Idaho to get into the event. However, the big man upstairs had different ideas. In the Monday qualifier I turned in 31 strokes and was in GREAT shape to get in. For how well I played on the front nine I played equally bad on the back and missed getting in by 2 shots. This was painful because I really let a great round get away, and by doing that I didn't give myself a chance to compete on a course in Boise, Idaho that I knew I could win on. I had success there in 2007 in my pro debut, but I just didn't muster enough down the stretch on Monday to allow for a chance. I licked my wounds and payed for my expenses out there by playing in an enjoyable pro am in Boise on Tuesday. The pro am was sponsored by Albertsons. So as you can imagine I had a great time. Every 4th hole there was like a grocery store set up on the tee boxes for all the participants to eat and drink like kings. If I played in a pro am like that once a week I would probably be better suited for sumo wrestling. Anyway I headed quickly to Lubbock, Texas for another Adams event. I played steady all week, just didn't get the ball in the hole quick enough and finished in a tie for 14th place at 12 under, a distant 11 strokes off the tournament winner. From there I made the quick jaunt down to Midland, Texas for another Nationwide Monday. It was a extremely easy course, where I once again struggled at the qualifier. I shot a 70 on a day where it took a 65 to get in. The feeling of missing at these Monday qualifiers I would equate to something along the lines of a root canal. I know I can compete with these guys but I am just not getting the chance to. Its like the guy at the end of the bench on the basketball court. He can't score because he isn't in the game. Anyway long analogy short, yea I'm aggravated, but yes I am still excited and very confident in the way I am playing. Next stop is the Missouri Open in Columbia, Missouri on Friday the 25th and Saturday the 26th. It is a two day event in my old college stomping grounds that should be fun. My fitness is coming along nicely and my short game is as well. Each and every night I try to be honest with myself and ask myself if I did what I had to do to be a better golfer and person than yesterday before I put my head on the pillow. Well enough with the preaching, talk with you soon!

It has been awhile since I have updated. I have played a lot of great golf in between. I had a wonderful week in Springfield where I ended up finishing in 4th place, only missing out on a playoff by 2 shots. It was great to accomplish playing well on a higher stage. The top 25 finish allowed me to get in the following week's event in Kansas City. I finished a disappointing 39th place after positioning myself in the top 10 at the half way point. I learned a lot about myself those two weeks which I will take forward. It would be nice to be able to sit around and be content, but I have to keep moving forward. The week after Kansas City I went down to Texas and finished 16th in an Adams Tour event where I felt I never got anything going. Its nice to be able to see a solid result when I didn't bring my "A" game. From there I went on a week vacation with my family to New York where we watched the US Open Tennis. It was great to see some other athletes in another sport succeeding at the highest level. I got back to Saint Louis without having touched a club in 5 days and quickly left for Utah for the Nationwide qualifier on September 8. I shot a poor 75 and never sniffed qualifying. The rust from not playing the previous week was evident, but looking back this was a break I needed to recharge. I left Utah that night and made my way to Riudoso, New Mexico where I am currently playing in the New Mexico Open. Yesterday I shot a tired 1 under 70 due to arriving the previous night at 1:30 at night from Utah. I sit here waiting for my second round to begin. I just checked the weather and it looks like it is going to rain throughout my round so I am trying to mentally prepare myself. It is a beautiful place here at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort that I feel privileged to be able to come to. Yesterday during my round I heard an elk call from a near mountain top. Going forward I will be playing in probably 5 of the remaining Nationwide Qualifiers to finish up the season. If I don't get in I will be playing in Adams Tour sanctioned events as a plan B. Q School is about a month and a half out so I am really keying in on my fitness and short game, which will be useful come the end of October. Blog with you soon!

Hey yall. I ended up finishing up the tournament in Garden City in 13th place. It was a bit disappointing, but I took alot out of the week. The final round the wind once again blew very hard. I entered the round 5 off the lead. With 5 holes to play I was within one shot of the lead. I was unable to finish off the solid round I had going and played the final 5 holes in 3 over. I lost by 4 shots. It was great preparation going into the Wichita Monday. I was paired with a friend of mine, Billy Horshchel. I turned in 3 under and once again was not able to finish off my round with a real poor back nine. I picked up a cold in between Garden City and Wichita. I believe a loss of stamina down the strech due to my illness was very much the reason I was not able to finish strong. This past week back home my main goal was to get rested and get healthy before heading to Springfield for the Nationwide Monday. I accomplished just that. In fact my practice sessions went so well I shot my career low round last week with a 61. I needed to birdie my last hole on Norwood Hills East to shoot the magical number of 59 and made a sloppy bogey, but it was very satisfying to shoot such a low score. Well today after a rain delay yesterday(Monday Aug 10th) we finally got our qualifier in Springfield concluded. Great news!!!! I qualified for the event after shooting 65 and getting through in a one hole playoff which included 5 guys for 4 spots. It was sweet redemption at Millwood Golf and Raquet Club where I lost at the Missouri Amateur final some 4 years ago on the same course. I even got in a practice round after my day at Millwood. In all I played 37 holes of golf today, so I am exhausted. With great pleasure I will post the website where you all can follow my progress this week in Springfield at this week's Nationwide event. WWW.pgatour.com

Hello. Well I am in Garden City, Kansas right now, but let me tell you how I got here first. I went up to the Waterloo Open for the two day shootout that pays $45,000. I hit alot of great shots during the two day event where I knew I had to go low. I ended up shooting 6 under for the event, whereas the winner ended up at 14 under. I started birdie, birdie, birdie my second round but was only able to play even from there which was extremely frustrating. From there I went over to Omaha, Nebraska to try and get in the Nationwide event. For whatever reason this year, I have been struggling at these one day qualifiers. I feel like I am putting too much pressure on myself to shoot a low number which is required rather than relaxing and enjoying the experience of putting together a great round. I made an early triple bogey and was looking for the nearest exit early, but finished my round. I was actually proud of myself for battling back from 4 over par at one point and getting it back to even. However a late rain delay really allowed me to lose interest. I was even par needing to play the last 4 holes in 6 under when we went back out and I pretty much just whacked it in from there knowing I had basically zero chance. From Omaha my next stop was the Cedar Rapids Open. Long story short I ended up in 18th place for the event. I got absolutely hosed on my end of the draw as far as tee times go. The first two days I played late the first day and early the second. Well the wind blew HARD in the afternoon the first day and HARD in the morning the second day. However the wind was absolutely still the opposite times of day from my tee times the first two days. This led to a grossly lopsided scoreboard. I was in FIRST place in my wave after the first two days, but 16th in the tournament overall. Only 6 guys from my wave made the cut. That is how the cookie crumbles sometimes, I unfortunately drew the short straw. The good news is it was great preparation for this week in Garden City, Kansas. Not but a couple miles down the road is Dodge City, Kansas which is recognized nationally as the WINDIEST City in the United States. So as you can imagine the wind just whips through the plains of Kansas like it is clockwork. I shot a 73 today(+2) and was not that disappointed. I wish I had video of some of the shots I hit today. You have to be so creative out here. For example, down wind I hit my 6 iron one time 240 into a par 5. Back into the wind, I was hitting my 5 iron on the hole before that into a par 4 from 157 yards. Par may have said 71 on the scorecard today, but I can assure you it was more like 75 or 76. Looking forward to a great last couple of days. I go to Wichita Sunday night to try and once again get into the Nationwide event next week on Monday. I missed by one shot last year on the course I am playing on Monday. Hopefully this time around I will be on the inside looking out! Catch you all later and hoping I don't blow away in this wind.

Good news and bad news. I unfortunately was unable to get through the pre qualifier to advance to the Monday qualifier for the John Deere this year. I was definitely quite disappointed because of last year where I painfully missed by just one shot. Well I missed by one shot this year too, but it was only to advance to the actual Monday qualifier. I turned in 40 and made a good run on the back with 33, however it took level par 72 on the day. So I headed home and was able to get in some nice preparation for the Metropolitan Open in St. Louis, an event I didn't anticipate playing in. Well I am glad I did. I was in contention all the way and ended up finishing in 2nd place and garnering the $5000 first place check because the talented amateur Scott Langley clipped me by 3 shots. I played tremendous golf all week. Probably my best ball striking tournament in the past 5 years. The 17th hole derailed me. I played that hole in 7 over for the three rounds and care not to elaborate on the torture I endured there. The other 51 holes I played great and I really am proud of myself. I have the next week off for good reason. I want to see my dad through his prostate cancer surgery. I really wanted to get a win for him today, but I'm sure I still made him proud. I successfully navigated a couple years of adversity today by proving to myself finally that I can really play this game professionally. Hopefully he can see this and navigate his fight as well. I intend to venture to Waterloo, Iowa next Friday to resume my great play at the Waterloo Open. $45000 to the winner, but that isn't why I play the game. I play for the satisfaction of victory and that nervous, yet anxious feeling you get under the gun in the heat of competition. There is no better feeling than when you can't spit and your hands are shaking. That is what drives me to play. Today will help me tremendously for the rest of the year, especially when I get those jitters again I will be able to draw on past experience.

Hey y'all. I am on the last leg of a 3 week stretch on the road. I unfortunately missed the cut in both Adams Tour events in Louisiana. I played okay in the 1st event in Baton Rouge, but I couldn't get the ball in the hole from the green. I shot 3 under and missed the cut by 2 shots. The guys played real well that week, huh!?! I then headed over to Fort Smith, Arkansas for the Nationwide Monday Qualifier I previously mentioned. I shot a dismal 75 on a day where it took 66 to get through. It was just one day where I didn't play well at all. I decided to erase this day from the memory like it never happened. So I retraced my steps basically 9 hours back to the great state of Louisiana for more golf in the heat. The next week in Alexandria, Louisiana I hit a lot of great shots, but I hit a lot of poor shots as well. In the end my total for 36 holes wasn't good enough to play the weekend. I got to go home for a couple days before I headed on down to Rogers, Arkansas on the northwest part of the state for a Hooters Tour event. I got in a couple of days of relaxed, yet intense days of practice where I feel I really made some crucial fixes to my swing. I went over some video from the US Amateur back in 2006 where I played so well and noticed something I haven't been doing in two years. I have re-implemented this swing sequence and am hitting the ball arguably the best I have hit it as a professional. I shot a one under par 70 today and could not have shot any higher. I cant wait until my putter heats up like the 100 degree weather we are facing this week. I am extremely excited and confident going into the rest of the summer if I can keep refining at the pace I am. My July schedule is shaping up the 1st week I will be in Iowa for the John Deere Qualifier, the 2nd week I will be in Waterloo, Iowa for the Waterloo Open, the 3rd week I will be trying to get in the Nationwide event in Omaha and Plan B will be the Colorado Open in Denver, and I will round out the month at the SW Kansas Pro Am.

Sorry it has been awhile since I last updated. I have been busy playing. I ended up making the cut in St. Louis for the Hooters event and was unable to really get anything going all week. It was a good sign that what I would call poor golf at least cashed me a check for the week. From there I headed over to Evansville, Indiana for the next week's Hooters tournament. I did not get the memo that it would require 27 under par for the week to win. I shot 71-72 and missed the cut by a country mile. I flew into Maryland a few days later to attempt a Nationwide Monday qualifier. I struggled mightily and never sniffed qualifying. That was a short day and a half and I flew home and continued working on improving. This past Monday I attempted another Monday qualifier, this time for the PGA Tour St. Jude Classic. Once again my golf game didn't show up with me at the first tee. I shot 76 and wasn't even close to qualifying. My playing partner did however make it, so it was at least nice to witness in person how to qualify for a PGA Tour event. It just takes steady play and a few putts to drop. I am currently in Baton Rouge, LA for an Adams event that starts tomorrow. The key for me personally this week will be playing the par 3's well, which I have not been doing lately. The other key will be picking specific targets off the tee. The course is wide open, so I want to make sure not to get lazy swinging the driver. I need to hit to specific targets and I will be able to score from there. I have been doing a lot of things just a little bit wrong and it has been adding up lately. My practice sessions going into this tournament have been precise and positive. I am looking forward to a good week and getting back on the right foot with a swing of momentum coming my way after a good week. I will be qualifying for the Nationwide Fort Smith Classic next Monday. I would like to put together 4 good rounds this week to give me the confidence I need to get through next Monday. Keep you posted

I am finally back home in St. Louis after the hectic travel schedule that whipped me around what seemed like the entire south east portion of the US. I ended up missing the cut in Victoria, Texas due to a difficult second round that I had trouble enduring. I made an unfortunate triple bogey 8 on my 10th hole of the day on a hole that was extremely difficult. The pin position was in the back of the green on a side of a hill, which was unfortunate due to the ridiculously fast greens. To make a long story short, I was 25 feet away from the hole on my third shot, and it took me 5 from there to get it in the hole. I actually tried putting a ball from the bunker, and that backfired big time. It was an unfair pin position and I got whipped by it. Luckily I was able to laugh it off. Sometimes that is all you can do. The next week came quick and I was able to get a good look at the course in Waco, Texas. I struggled the first two days with my putter, but the rest of my game was great. I came up to the 36th hole knowing I needed a birdie to make the cut. My second shot came up 40 feet short of the hole and I drained it right in the middle. It may not have won me the US Open or anything near it, but I took great satisfaction in executing with perfect precision a shot that I knew I had to make. These are the moments that 10 years down the line I can look back on when someone asks me how I ascended the ranks to being a world class PGA Tour player. The weekend saw much the same, near perfect ball striking coupled with near imperfect putting. I shot 9 over for the week on a difficult golf course and finished T-42nd. I collected $550, but it would have been zero had I not rolled in the bomb to finish off my 2nd round. I am getting ready for my next swing of events beginning next Thursday in St. Louis. From there I head to Springfield, Illinois on May 19th to for a one round local qualifying for the US Open. It should be a great week next week enjoying the pleasures of home while playing in a tournament.

Hey everyone. Well its been a bit since my last post. I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter. I am very well traveled since the last time I updated the blog to say the least. I moved my things out of Orlando for the winter two weeks ago to the day. All my stuff is in my car. I am currently the ultimate road warrior. I have attempted two Monday Qualifiers over the past two weeks. The first one was in Athens, Georgia for the Nationwide tour. I shot a 73 and it took a 66 to get in. Course was brutally wet because it sat in a huge valley. I should have brought my rain boots instead of my golf shoes because it was soaking wet. However the greens were receptive and guys were very aggressive and were able to attack the pins. I struggled with my driving and hit 5 tee shots into hazards. With straight driving (which is usually my strength) I could have easily gotten through. The next Monday qualifier I played in was for the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. The qualifier was on April 20th in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. I shot a disappointing 75. It took a 68 on the day to get through. I got off to a poor start. I was 4 over through 4 holes. I played my next 13 holes in 3 under and unfortunately doubled my last hole. I was really playing great golf leading up to the qualifier, but unfortunately just didn't get it done. So currently I sit in my hotel in Victoria, Texas for an Adams Tour event. I just completed my first round and shot a 74. For whatever reason I have been in a scoring rut where I am having trouble getting out of shooting anywhere from about 72-75. Today actually was not that bad. Today's conditions in Texas I would compare to a British Open, minus the cold. It was hot, extremely windy, extremely firm, and extremely fast. I was a couple unforced errors away from a real good round. The forecast calls for even stronger winds tomorrow, so I am going to go out there and grind out a good round and try and move up the leaderboard. I would encourage everyone to follow me this week and all summer with live scoring at www.adamsgolfprotourseries.com After this week I will be headed to my old home of Houston, Texas for a couple days, before moving along to Waco, Texas for the Adams event next week. From there I will finally be headed home to St. Louis for a couple weeks. The yellow highlighter has been used and dates have been circled May 14th-17th due to a rare "home game" where I will be competing in a Hooters Tour event in ST. LOUIS. Sleeping in my own bed and competing on a course I know fairly well has really got me fired up. It will mark the first time in a serious professional tournament that I will get to compete in my home city. Like LeBron James in Cleveland or Michael Jordan in Chicago, hopefully I can represent my home city and state and secure a victory that would get the whole town excited. Until then, I look forward to my next week and a half down here in Texas as I work diligently at getting closer to my reality of soon playing on the PGA Tour.

Well, its been a long couple of weeks. I just never got it going out there in Brooksville and failed to get my Canadian Tour card by 5 shots. I shot a solid two under my last round but couldn't make up enough ground to get where I needed. From there I flew into New Orleans to try and Monday Qualify for the first Nationwide event of the year on American soil. I shot a one over 73 and also missed getting through that qualifier. I flew home and entered the Ocala Open just north of Orlando for a 4 day event. I got off to a sluggish start this past Monday with a one over 73. The second round could not have gotten off to a better start. For the first 11 holes I didn't miss a shot and was 3 under for the day with several lip outs. For whatever reason on the next two holes I made a pair of the worst swings with the driver that I have in a long while and had two balls out of bounds. I went from being far inside the cut line to the outside looking in. A 75 at days end put me 4 off the cut line and scratching my head. Looking back on the past couple months I have not had the results I have been looking for, but I am headed in the right direction. Swing wise I have made some solid changes that in the long run will be very beneficial. I just got back from Bay Hill yesterday. I had the great pleasure of watching a good friend James Nitties for 18 holes. It wasn't but just last year that he was grinding it out on the Hooters Tour with me. I kept looking inside the ropes and visualizing myself being right there next year. Keeping positive, visualizing, and working hard are the key ingredients to doing just that. I am off for a couple weeks before I head back to New Orleans for the Monday qualifier in New Orleans for the PGA Tour. From there I head to my old home state of Texas for a couple of weeks where I will compete in two Adams Tour events. I am looking forward to some needed rest after the cluster of competitive rounds I have strung together the past few weeks!!

Hey guys. I had a nice time in Puerto Rico. I feel very lucky that my golf has taken me to such great places. I unfortunately had a short week by shooting an 80 at the Monday qualifier. I struggled on my front nine with speed control and had 4 three putts on the ultra tricky paspalum greens. This grass surface is extremely rare, and it took its toll on me this round. I registered a 10 on my 16th hole of the day which really put a damper on the day. Other than the 4 three putts and real big number on 16 I played solid. The wind blew real hard making scores soar. I am currently in Brooksville, Florida for the Canadian Tour Qualifying. I shot a 75 today and have some work to do the final 3 days. My practice sessions the past two weeks could not have gone any better, so I am really looking forward to posting 3 great rounds to finish up my week here in Brooksville. I know the Canadian Tour is a great place to hone my game to the next level due to the parallels it has to the PGA Tour. The key for me is to not get ahead of myself this week, and everything will fall directly into place.

I am back in America after a hectic couple of weeks. My first tournament since my last blog entry resulted in a missed cut by one shot at Rock Springs Ridge February 17th-18th. I shot rounds of 73 and 71. I honestly didn't play that bad, but just could not get the ball in the hole. I made a lot of good putts that burned a ton of edges. From there I scurried on down to Mexico to try my hand at the Monday qualifier south of the border. I ended up shooting a 1 under 71 to miss qualifying by 3 shots. Again I was close, but was just plain and simply not rewarded for my efforts. My story from that week began with my commute to the golf course. Due to a language barrier, the shuttle driver took me to the wrong course on Monday morning. Long story short I made my tee time with 1 minute to spare. It was very unfortunate that I paid all that money to travel down to Mexico, spend all the time preparing as hard as I could to shoot a good round, and have this misfortune strike me at the last minute. I was actually satisfied I was able to come out and actually get in contention late to qualify even with this black cloud that surrounded me. I got back to America via Miami, Florida and drove all through the night back to Orlando to begin the Hooters Tour Championship this past Tuesday morning on February 24th. I played a sluggish opening round due to being exhausted and shot a 74. The second round began much better as I was 1 under with 4 holes to play. I was struggling to get into contention, but was directly on the cut line. Unfortunately for me I made an uncommitted swing on my 15th hole of the day due to lack of trust and hit one out of bounds. I needed to play the next three holes in three under and forced the issue and made another huge number on the next hole and that was the end of that tournament for me. Looking back on the last few weeks is difficult in the respect that I can take an honest look at my game and tell you I am seriously playing well, but have got nothing to show for it. Luckily in my profession, there is always next week. For me this means a week of preparation here in Orlando before I head off on Saturday for Puerto Rico to try another PGA Tour Monday Qualifier. My game is good, I just need to trust in my ability one shot at a time. I really am hoping I can update my blog next Monday and let you all know that I will be spending a week in the big leagues in beautiful Puerto Rico.

Hey guys. I am back in Orlando after a special week out in California. I started my trip as I said working with Neale Smith just south of LA. We got some great things accomplished in our all day session. We worked alot on routines while on the course, especially the time between shots. Since you are on the golf course for about 4 1/2 hours each time and only narrowing your focus on specific shots for about a total of 30 minutes, there is a lot of down time. Instead of thinking about my round, Neale is trying to get me to get away from the competition during this period. It has seemed to really help so far. After seeing Neale I headed up the coast to spend the rest of the week in Carmel, California. I got to play a fun round of golf at Pebble Beach. Once arriving back home to Florida I wasted little time in implementing my new knowledge from Neale in a competitive setting. The Hooters Tour was at Rio Pinar this past week and I ended up finishing the tournament in 42nd place. I started off the first day with a 3 under 69 and unfortunately couldn't get anything more going the rest of the week. It was refreshing to finally make a cut after a bit of a struggle the past month or so. I am really looking on building on this tournament for bigger things. We play at Rock Springs Ridge this week starting again on Tuesday. Upon completion of the tournament I will be headed to Cancun, Mexico for the PGA Tour Monday Qualifier. My game is sharp, so I am really looking forward to a productive week that will hopefully end with a birth in next week's PGA Tour event in Mexico. Keep you posted!!

A painful day at the office

I want to update everyone on my week at Providence Golf Club. I ended up shooting 69-75 for the first two days and missed the cut by three shots. The results obviously speak for themselves. For the 5th straight time this winter I will not make a penny for my efforts. My finish was something out of a horror movie. After making the turn today in two over par I rallied on the back nine and got five shots back putting me at three under for my round and six under for the tournament. This was refreshing because for the first time in over a year I was in contention in a golf tournament! However that excitement soon faded as I finished off my round double bogey, quadruple bogey. It would be easy to sit here and beat my head against the wall thinking about how I made Jean Van De Velde's meltdown at the British Open look tame, but I won't. I will be leaving for California Friday afternoon to spend a couple days with Neale Smith, my sports psychologist. To be honest I am thankful I had this appointment penciled into my calender, because after today my head is spinning. I am going to keep plugging away at it like I always do. Its hard to keep a solid mindframe when the chips just don't seem to be falling your way. I will update everyone with the insight Neale gives me when I get back. I KNOW he is the one who is going to help ME get over the hump. My next event begins February 10th at Rio Pinar. I have good memories at this course. I finished the event in 10th place last year and am very familiar with the course. From an outsiders perspective it would be easy to tell me to just go out there and make the cut at Rio Pinar and build from there. However, this is not how I play. I play to win everytime I tee it up. If I can erase the last two holes from my memory and rally around the other 34 holes I played well this week, there is a ligitimate chance I could do just that.

I want to welcome everyone to 2009. The year tournament wise has gotten off to a slow start, but to be honest I am not overly concerned. I have missed my first two cuts of the year on the Hooters Winter Series. In the first rounds in each of the two tournaments I have dug holes to deep to come back from. I would be a fool not to mention that in the first round of the first tournament I teed off in the third to last group and had to play 15 holes in a solid rain at Forest Lake. The first round of the second tournament at Deer Island was played in a steady 25mph wind in 50 degree temperatures. These were extremely difficult conditions, both of which rank in my top 5 most difficult rounds weather wise in my young career. However rounds of 79 and 81 are inexcuseable. I am working on finding ways in difficult conditions or days that I don't have my best stuff to grind out scores a lot closer to par. In both these tournaments I bounced right back the next day with scores that were a bit more reasonable in relation to par. What has led to my slow start in 2009 has been poor putting that is costing me some 5 to 6 shots each round. It also boils down to trusting myself from the moment the gun goes off in the first round from tee to green. In the second rounds when I have had nothing to lose I have played a lot more steady. I am really looking forward to keeping that mindset going into next week at Providence Country Club. The holidays were good to relax and sit back and set some high, but attainable goals in 2009. I got in some great time in the gym with my golf trainer Allison Thietje of Motion Memory Golf in Saint Louis. After the tournament next week I am headed to California for the week to work with my new sports psychologist Neale Smith. I have a great team of support behind me and I am ready to get this motor running shortly. Once the putter heats up I am fully expecting and ready to get a win in the near future.