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.