I'm at my hotel in Madison, Mississippi and I am very fortunate to be sitting here.  I made it through the pre qualifier yesterday on the number with at 74.  46 guys teed it up and the top 34 guys made it through.  I started off with a 3 putt on my first hole and a 4 putt on my third hole to put me at +3 through 3 and playing catch up the rest of the day.  I hit some good shots the rest of the way, but really nothing too special.  On my final hole of the day I missed a point blank tap in and that about summed up my day on the course.  It was a rude wake up call as my heart pounded as the last group came in.  I needed 2 of the 3 players in the group to shoot 74 or higher or I was going home.  Low and behold that is exactly what happened.  Call it fate, or call it luck, I secured my spot on Monday and everything starts anew.  I am playing great golf right now, I just had a slip up yesterday.  These are sometimes the breaks you need to make things happen.  I fully intend to capitolize Monday by playing the golf I know I am capable of and getting in the Viking Classic.  I'll update Monday with some great news!!!

Nothing good to report, but I'll file a report anyways.  I went to Columbus, Nebraska last week for the Nebraska Open.  I finished 36 holes with a 73-72 and that wasn't good enough to make the cut.  It is a real strange course with hard doglegs where you have to bend the ball real hard or take your tee shot up over trees to cut the corner.  For me personally, I really don't like the layout because I think it puts a strain on your swing mechanics.  When you are constantly off the tee trying to manipulate the golf ball in funky ways it can mess with your fundamentals.  Maybe I sound bitter for not playing well, but that is my two cents about Elk Run CC.  Anyway I went straight from there to Boise, Idaho for the Albertson's Boise Open Monday Quallifier.  Since the PGA Tour playoffs are going on simultaneously, the Nationwide takes 10 spots away from the qualifiers so that the PGA Tour players that don't make the playoffs can go down to the Nationwide Tour and compete.  That left the Monday qualifier with only 4 spots.  It sounds crazy that they would "reward" the tour players who have had a miserable year with this opening, but that is the way it is.  So as you can imagine, the shootouts that occur every Monday were even exponentially even harder this past Monday.  I played a steady, solid round and shot 68, but I missed the playoff by 4 shots which occured at 64!  It's a hard pill to swallow that 68 just doesn't cut it, but I have to take confidence away that I played a nice round but just wasn't rewarded.  My next event more than likely is going to be the Tour qualifier in Madison, Mississippi.  I have to go through all the hoops and hurdles to get there with the annoying pre qualifier ( scheduled for 9/24/10) and then Monday qualifier, but I am deadset on getting in and finally getting my first PGA Tour start as a pro under my belt.  Looking at the big picture, my game has progressed nicely all summer, and as Q School is right around the corner I am very excited to put my best foot forward in a month's time when it gets kick started at First Stage just north of Charlotte, NC.  From Jan 1st of this year I have known this is going to be my year, and I am not backing down from that thought process in the least.  There are ups and downs and everything in between, but by the end of the year when I look back and evaluate it is going to have been a remarkable year.  Anyway back to the present, thanks and I'll blog soon.  

So great news.  The trip to Portugal was a resounding success.  I successfully navigated my way through the 1st stage of European Tour Qualifying by finishing 13th place at Ribagolfe Club just outside of Lisbon, Portugal.  It was a very difficult course that demanded length and accuracy off the tee.  That really is what characterized this layout:  driving it straight with length.  I drove the ball just okay this week, which would normally not be good for this course, but my putter saved me this week as I made a ton of putts during my 4 rounds.  I finished the 4 rounds in a total of 2 over.  4 over was the cut at 20th place.  Normally I would be scratching my head wondering what went wrong after posting 2 over for 4 days, but trust me that was a solid effort on a grueling championship course.  The winner only posted 5 under for the week.  Going into the last round, I knew I needed just a solid round to get through, and when the pressure was turned on I delivered with a steady round of even par 72 to lock up my spot into 2nd stage in Spain the last week in November.  I can take away a great deal of confidence from this week realizing that A) I have the game to get to the next level and B) I was able to perform well under the gun while completely maintaining my composure and mental clarity in the heat of the battle.  This was my 6th try at Qualifying Schools if you count my 3 US Tour Qualifyings and 2 Canadian Tour Qualifyings in years past.  It was the first time I have successfully advanced onwards to the next stage.  Though it has been a painful process at times, the giant gorilla has finally been lifted and I am exuding confidence from finally passing a test.  This was just the 1st stage of 3 total for European Tour Qualifying, but now there are only two left.  The 2nd stage is much like the 1st where only 25% once again will move on to the final stage.  At the final stage the top 30 players earn their tour card.  So that is it in a nutshell.  I arrived home today after 9 hours on a plane.  Above are pictures of my family at dinner one night in Lisbon, and also of a 60 yr old glass of port wine I had for dessert the last night of our trip.  A nice way to cap off a successful week that points me directly in the direction I need to go.  Next up for me is hopefully the Nebraska Open later this week.  I am currently the 3rd alternate, so I am waiting to see if a couple guys drop out.  After that I head up to Boise, Idaho to try and get into next week's Nationwide field.  Things are coming together for me and it is nice to feel some positive vibes come my way.  I'll check back soon.