After an eventful week in Portugal I am back here in the US.  I successfully advanced through first stage of qualifying after finishing in 21st place at weeks end.  The course played very easy over the first two days with not a breath of wind and warm temperatures.  The last two days were a different story.  The wind blew a constant 20mph and made scoring very difficult.  I shot 72-72-75-73.  On the 13th tee of my final round I sat at 6 over par for the tournament and knew that the cut would come more than likely at 5 over par.  I needed to play my last six holes in one under par.  I did one better in tough conditions and made two birdies coming down the stretch when it was crunch time.  This was a defining moment for me this year and further bolstered my confidence for the remainder of the season.  I flew home last night with some great memories from my week in Lisbon.
    Today I played in the Nationwide qualifier in Miami, Florida after getting in last night late.  I played poorly and shot 73 to miss qualifying.  I felt energized after getting to sleep in, but I had to play the course blind and that is never easy.  The course played really simple, but having not played the layout it was somewhat difficult to realize that.  Oh well.  Chalk it up to one poor day where I didn't have proper preparation to put my best foot forward.  Currently I am in Port St. Lucie, Florida ready to start a 3 round Hooters Tour event tomorrow.  It is a really nice course and it will give me a nice competitive atmosphere to keep my preparation going for US Q School which runs from October 25th-28th in Pinehurst, North Carolina.  It has been a busy schedule for me over the last week and it will continue over the next three days, but this is exactly what I need at this state of the game.  I feel great about my game and good things are definitely unfolding.