I just arrived back in Saint Louis after playing five straight days of competitive golf.  The weekend in South Carolina went great from a goal standpoint of being great mentally, but I was only able to get three more strokes under par on the weekend and fell to 24th place at weeks end.  I did alot of great things this past week and have plenty to be proud of and build on.  The final round was even more special because there was actually a gallery out there watching.  On the 3rd and 18th holes there were upwards of 300 people watching and it brought on a nervous feeling of wanting to perform well. 
    Yesterday I played in my first Nationwide qualifier of the year and shot a two under par 69 and missed qualifying by four shots.  The course played extremely easy with zero wind and three very reachable par 5's and one short drivable par 4.  I was right on track on the early going as I was 3 under par through seven holes, but a double bogey on my 8th hole really set me back and made it an uphill climb to the finish that I was unable to climb.  It was very disappointing yesterday when it settled in that I didn't qualify, but at the end of the day it was just one round of golf in the big picture.  I am doing a lot of great things right now with my golf game and have the week off in St. Louis to tighten things up.
     I need to stay focused on improving my short game, staying fit in the gym, and eating well.  These are just a few of the things I can control to help me keep progressing to where I want to be.  I have US Open qualifying next Monday in Iowa.  This is always one tournament each year I highlight on my calender and dream that on Sunday afternoon in June I will be hoisting the trophy.  It all starts May 9th in Iowa where 60 of us will be vying for 4 spots to advance to the sectional qualifying stage.  I couldn't be any more excited, so now I just need to stay patient and go grab the bull by the horns.