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!