Pepsi tour @ Wood Ranch CC

In the meantime, while the Hooters Tour is not in season, I have been playing in some smaller tour events around southern California. Just this last Monday Feb. 12th, I played in a Pepsi tour event at Wood Ranch in Simi Valley. This was a last minute decision to where I just showed up that morning hoping they had room for me to play, which they did. I wasn't expecting much because I haven't been hitting my driver or irons to well, but I have been spending a lot of time working on my putting and wedges. Well all I can say is that the putting practice I have been doing has paid off. I had the best putting round of my life only putting the ball 22 times, this is amazing never before have I done this. So now your asking well how did you play? Well even though i didn't hit the ball great my putting made up for it. I shot 69 (-3) on a very difficult golf course only hitting half of the fairways and only 8 greens. I shot even par 36 on the front nine and then make the turn and shoot (-3) 33 on the back nine. My group was the last group of Professionals so when we came in I didn't have to wait for anyone more scores to come in. I come to find out that I tied for first place and I am going to be in a play off. The last time I was in a playoff was when i played on this summer tour during college and I lost after the second hole, this time it was different. We skipped over the first hole because there were people playing on it and we went to the second hole, a short par 5 that requires you to lay up off the tee. I hit three wood into the left rough and my opponent hit driver in the left rough as well. I am a little behind him and further to the left, I am first to go with 235 yards to the hole. I hit a three iron just short of the green side bunkers leaving me about 40 yards to the pin. My opponent has to hit a cut shot around a tree, which he did not execute the way he wanted to and the ball hooked on him and went into a hazard up by the green. He had to take a drop from the hazard then chipped it onto the green having a 15 footer for par. Now it is my turn to go and I hit a great pitch shot out of the rough that ended up just behind his ball, leaving me to putt first for birdie. I stepped up thinking that I am just going to make this putt and not even give him a chance to tie me. A little more than 15 feet with about 3 inches of break moving from the right to the left, I had a good read on this putt and I trusted it. Boom!! I nailed it right in the center of the hole, one hole and the playoff was over, I was victorious for the first time in a playoff and for the first time as a professional.

Thanks for all your prayer and support, I will be playing another Pepsi tour event this weekend on Sunday and Monday down in Temecula. The results are on the Pepsi tour website and www.pepsitour.com then click on the results hyperlink and you can find it there.

Joe

Results from Ranking school a month later

I just have to say that since I have come home from Ranking School I have been very busy working on my game and on my motor home and other things to get ready to leave for the tour. I promise that once I am back on the road I will be much more diligent about posting. Anyways, back to the results from Ranking school. I could write about a ten page paper on the hole by hole analysis of each round, but for time and for the sake of my readers enjoyment I have decided not to, but to give you a synopsis of each round. For the first round I was nervous, but just wanting to get off to a good start. What I mean by a good start is one the doesn't put me in a hole for the rest of the week. According to those standards I succeeded, I had a good solid round shooting even par 72 only missing one fairway all day. The rest of the stats were good to hitting 10 greens (okay), but only having 29 putts (good). Happy with how I play the first round, but could see much room for improvement, came into the second round ready to go. Things did not get off to a good start for the second round. I started off the second round par, double, triple. Lets just say i was pretty devastated after that, although I was able to realize that this is a 72 hole tournament so there is a lot more holes to be played I came back on the next hole and made birdie. That was just about the last good thing for this round. Shooting 44 (+8) on the front nine, I was trying to do anything I could to keep myself in the game to finish out this round without making a fool of myself. I didn't do much on the back except make a birdie on the last hole to shoot 39 (+3) on the back nine for a 83 total. This round was very frustrating not only because of the obvious, the score, but I had the two worst bunker lies of my life in the same round, during a qualifier none the less. These two bunker lies cost me about 5 strokes alone, which still doesn't explain for all of the high score, but they were both on the front nine making it hard to keep my mental edge sharp. The third and fourth rounds were very respectable shooting 73 (+1) and 70 (-2). The third round I hit the ball well, but I just couldn't make any birdie putts. I only made one birdie through the whole round, but that also means that I only made two bogie's in the round. The last round was great, it could have been one of the best ball striking days I have ever had. I hit 15 greens in regulation (great) and had 31 putts (so so), but more than anything I was proud of myself for how I came back after the second round. My total score for the four rounds was 298 (+10), yeah I know I was +11 just in the second round. What I would give to get that day back, but that is what it is and I know that God has a plan for me and this is obviously in it because it already happened. So now the first tournament is in Guatemala Feb. 26th through Mar. 5th. I will be playing some small tour events between now and then to keep my game sharp. I will keep you updated.

Joe

Been a long time since I posted

The last time I posted was in October!!!! I apolagize for the lack of effort on my part, but I am ready to get back in the swing of things posting a couple times a week. Well lets get started by filling you in on my offseason at home in California. It was a much needed rest from the non stop tournaments and traveling. Once I took a short break it was back to some hard work on the golf course, but also in the gym. I have hit the gym hard working between 3 - 5 times a week. I've also been trying to keep my tournament experience up by playing some smaller events. Playing the Golden state tour, Pepsi tour, and the Califonia Players tour all around southern California. Now I am getting ready for the start of the new year on the Hooters tour. I am now down in Orlando, Florida getting ready for the Hooters Tour Ranking school, which goes from the 16th-19th. I will be home on the 20th practicing hard getting ready for the first tourney of the year, which is in Guatemala in late Feb. I will keep you updated this week on the ranking school.

Joe

1st Stage Dayton Nevada here I come

So I drove up to Dayton Nevada today from Newbury park this morning, just about a 7 and 1/2 hour drive. Not to bad though, it could have been a lot worse. I am really excited for the tournament to get underway, I have practice rounds for the next two days and then on Tuesday is when the tourney starts. I have been working hard in the past couple of weeks to really get my game kicking on all cylinders. Things are looking good with the game, just at that point where I want it to get underway.

I just realized that I never posted anything from the Hooters Tour "Tour Championship", I guess that's because I didn't make the cut (booo). Very frustrating tournament, I shoot 71 (-1) in the first round which puts me tied for 30th ( or something around that), whatever in real good shape to make the cut, the top 60 and ties. Then on Friday day two I get of to a good start making pars on the first 4 holes and then making an eagle on the par 5 5th hole, two under on the day, three under on the tourney. Don't know what happened, but I know it was a mental slip, I finished the front nine double, par, bogey, bogey to shoot 2 over after being 2 under through 5. Even still I am very much in this tourney to make the cut, I just have to keep my head in the game and stay away from the big numbers. That is exactly what I didn't do. I go par, par, eight, eight. Not really what I was looking for. THREE balls out of bounds in two hole, how ridiculous is that, I was about to shoot myself after that happened. Needless to say I finished the round shooting 83 to really make sure that I missed the cut.

Things are much better now, both on the mental side and in the swing. All I had the chance to do today was a little chipping and putting, but I feel good and confident that all the hard work and practice that I put in is going to pay off in the end. I am very fortunate to be staying on the golf course with some family friends that live here. I know how great is that, thank you Lord. Not only is it nice to be in a house for the week but it also saves me about two hundred dollars. I will do my best to keep you posted, I know I have been totally slacking in the past couple of weeks, but I, I have no excuse, but I will post a couple of times this week to keep you updated. You can also find the scores on the internet at www.pgatour.com/qschool Please pray for me that I would trust in the Lord and lean fully on him all the time, especially in the hard times. Also that I would be a light in this dark world, sharing the gospel with the people that God puts in my path. Take care and God Bless.

Joe

PGA Tour First Stage Qualifier Info

I found out today that I will be playing at Dayton Valley Golf Club in Dayton Valley, Nevada. The tournament will be held October 24th-27th. I am excited about what is coming up, the Tour Championship for the Hooters Tour Starts in two days. So I have a couple of big tournaments coming up and I feel that I am playing the best golf of my life. I have been talking a lot with my dad about how important it is to be mentally strong and not only that but be mentally positive. I have been working hard to get in a good frame of mind out there on the course, not getting mad at myself, not talking down on myself when I hit a bad shot, but more trying to be my own caddie mentally. I am really excited about where my golf game is going in all areas. My swing has improved so much in the past year since I have been working with Jerome (My swing coach), also my mental game is continueing to improve with the help of my dad (My Mental coach). The Lord has been so faithful to me, I thank Him for everything that has happened this year and give him all the glory, for without Him I could not have done any of this. Please keep me in your prayers and keep checking my blog for updates and results for the upcoming tournaments.

PGA Tour Prequalifing Results

Hello everyone, I don't think that I could be in a better mood right now. I am sitting in the airport and my flight just got delayed, but you know what, it doesn't bother me because yesterday I made it through the Pre-Qualifier for the PGA Tour. I shot (-5) in my last two rounds to make it by one shot. I finished the four round tournament at (-2) 286 in 36th place, 42 players from the field made it through to the next round. Had it not been for my putter I would not have made it through. I was doing my stats this morning and realized how good I really did putt. I had 29 putts the first round, 27 putts the second round, 25 putts the third round, and 25 putts the fourth round. That is an average of 26.5 putts per round, that is awesome-my best putting performance ever and to do it here at the qualifier was incredible. My four rounds were 74, 73, 68, 71. Another amazing stat that shows both the good and the bad is that I made 22 birdies for the four rounds, that's more than 5 birdies a round. The reason why that shows the bad is you realize how many mistakes I made by only shooting (-2) with 22 birdies. I mad 4 double bogies and 1 triple bogey, those I need to get rid of if I want to make it through the next stage. I am just about to get on the plane and head to Atlanta to play in the tour championship for the Hooters Tour. Please be praying for me and checking my blog for updates. Thank you for your interest.

At Home Working on the Game

I finally made it home from a long year traveling out on the Hooters Tour. I have decided to skip the last three tournaments on the Tour to come home and prepare for Q-School. That's right I am going to Q-School this year for the first time. I am really excited about what is happening for the rest of the year. I am working hard on my swing with my coach, playing and practicing every day, working out getting my fitness level up to the standard that it needs to be. I have scheduled a Golden State Tour event on the 14th and 15th of Sept. At the Norman Course at PGA West. Then the Pre-qualifying for Q-School is near Houston, Texas on the 26th-29th. I also have the Tour Championship for the Hooters Tour in Atlanta, GA during the first week of October. That is what I have on the schedule for right now, but I am planning on getting more tournaments for the rest of the year. I will continue to keep this blog updated on results and scheduled tournaments. Thank you for your continued support and prayer. I have a lot of decisions on what to do for the next year so please pray for me.

The Final Stretch

These last two weeks have been a little bit of a struggle for me. It has been very frustrating because it feels that my game is close to putting up some great scores, but I am just making too many mistakes each round. I missed both cuts in the last two tournaments a number of great holes, but then making bogies and doubles on the other holes. I am excited to come home take a little break from golf, I have played the last 7 weeks in a row with no break. That sounds great to a lot of you (which it did to me at the beginning of the year), but I didn't realize how hard it is and how much it takes out of you. I am tired and ready for a break, but as soon as that break is over it is time to work hard on my game and prepare for Q-school. Josh and kevin are going to be driving home with me, flying out to Nashville where I will be meeting them to start our adventure home. We are planning on taking about 6 days to drive home, turning it into a road trip instead of a burden on my shoulders. They will be coming out on Wednesday the 30th and we should be home by Tuesday the 5th. Thank you so much for your support and your prayer this year. During the off season of the Hooters tour I will be playing golf at home in Newbury Park and in tournaments in Southern California. I will continue to post and keep people updated on results and future tournaments to come. Please pray for a safe trip home for the three of us. Thank you.

Thought I did this over a week ago

I am very sorry I really thought that I had posted this message that I am about to write about a week ago, but I guess it didn't make it. Going back two weeks ago I finally made the cut at the Pearle River Resort Classic. The second round had been delayed to Saturday so as soon as I finished I had about an hour until I had to tee it up again for the third round. With all the confidence that I had from a good finish in the second round I got off to a hot start making birdie on the first hole followed by 4 pars and another birdie. Back to five under for the tournament, I was feeling really good about my game and my mental approach. I finished the front nine making two bogies to shot even par on the front nine. Then I started out the back nine bogey, par, bogey, so now I am 2 over with 6 holes to go. I finished the nine with three birdies in a row, two pars and a bogey to finish at even par for the round. The fourth round did not go very well. It seemed as if all parts of my game were down a level. My driver was poor, my irons were not accurate, my chipping was bad, and I struggled with my putter. I ended up shooting 77 to finish the tournament at (+2) 290, which put my in a tie for 45th place. Even though I struggled on the weekend I am still happy with my overall performance and I am thrilled to say that I made my first cut in a professional tournament.

Finally, I Did It!!!

Finally, at last I made a cut. I am so excited right now I can't really contain myself. I feel so relieved to get that heavy burdon on not making a cut off my chest. I started out this tournament with a bang, the first round I came out firing shooting a 67 (-5) which put me in third place at the end of day one. The round went a little something like this, I started out on the par 5 10th hole where I hit a great first drive of the day right down the middle of the fairway. I hit my three wood for my second shot and hit it right on the green giving me a putt for eagle. I barely missed my eagle putt giving me a tap in Birdie on the first hole. What a good way to start. I made a par on the next three holes and then made birdie on the 14th hole (my 5th hole) to go two under for the day. I made par on the next two holes and then on the par 5 17th I got the break of the day. I pull hooked my drive heading into trouble, but it hit a tree and bounced back into the rough. I felt so relieved when I saw my ball bouncing back into play. I layed up with a 7 iron leaving myself 90 yards to the hole, I hit a little lob wedge in there to 5 feet behind the hole. I made that putt to go 3 under for the round. I made an easy par on the next hole to finish the nine at 3 under. On the first hole (which is my 10th hole) my tee shot landed in the fairway and rolled into the rough by 2 inches. I get up to my ball and there is a huge glob of mud right on the back of the ball, right were the club makes contact with the ball. I tried not to make it bother me and I hit my shot, missing the green long and right of the pin made it for a difficult up and down. I hit a good chip shot that left me with a 15 footer for par, which I barely missed making my first bogie of the day, back to 2 under on the day. Now after that I had to do some pep talking to myself to get me motivated not to be satisfied with 2 under par. I teed it up on the next hole and ripped a drive right down the middle. It was a par five leaving me with 240 yards for my second shot, I hit my two iron just short of the green then chipped it up and made the putt for birdie. I then birdied the next hole and the next hole for three in a row to get to 5 under for the day. I finished the round with 5 straight pars nearly missing birdie on every one. The second round was just as exciting coming down the stretch. I will just tell you about the end. Anyway I was really struggling for the first part of the round, feeling very nervous, trying to do everything I did in the first round and it felt like nothing was going right. I was 5 over par through 11 holes, all the way back to even par for the tournament with 7 holes to play when they blow the horn for inclement weather, and thank the Lord that they did because things were not going well. They ended up not starting play until this morning, Saturday, at 8:30. So I had time to recoop, regain my focus and come back out the next day determined to play well. So I came out this morning playing the 12th hole, pared 12 and 13, then I birdied 14, 15, pared 16, birdied 17 and pared 18 to shoot 1 under on the back and 74 (+2) for the second round. Three under par for the tournament, not only did I make the cut, but I was tied for 21st place with two rounds to play.

A good week off

Last week after the tournament in Miami, Oklahoma (Pronounced Miama) we had a week off that I decided to go down to Birmingham, Alabama where my friend Holt lives. I didn't play very well in Miama, missing the cut by a number of shots, I was eager to have a good week off from tournament golf to work on the game. It was a really good week, my friend Holt is a member at a great course named Greystone. This place has two great golf courses and a great practice facility and the course was generous enough to only charge me a cart fee to play out there with him. Needless to say it was a great week of practicing and playing, I was able to really hone in on my swing and work on my short game. All this practice gave me a tone of confidence to go into this week in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

Time to catch up

I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while, but my internet reception was poor in Blythville, Arkansas. Things have been frustrating lately, both with golf and then not being able to find someone to stay in the motor home. I would much rather have someone staying with me to offset the costs, but also to help with the loneliness. I played really well of the tee in both rounds, but I struggled with my irons making it very difficult for me to score well. I shot 74 the first round and then shot 76 my second round for a total of 150 to miss the cut again!!! Well aside from golf this last weekend I was able to visit a EVFree church in Springfield, Missouri which was much needed. It has been difficult for me to get to church out here, not knowing were to go or if I would be able to park the R.V. close by. Please keep in your prayers that I would grow closer to God being out here and that I would put my trust in Him in every part of my life.

Down by the Bayou in Louisiana

Sunrise, thursday morning in Shreveport Louisiana, the day was looking bright for some good golf. I started with a great morning to go with the awesome sunrise. I just started to have a stirct pregame routine that includes half an hour set aside to prepare spiritually; reading the bible, praying and meditating. After my pregame routine I felt great, ready to go out and conqure the course. I got off to a good start, 1 under through the first 3 holes, but then really lost it making 5 bogies in the next 6 holes to shoot 40(+4) on the front nine. Pretty discouraged, but keeping my head up and trying to keep my concentration sharp I started the back nine attempting to get myself back in the tournament. Again like the front nine I was 1 under through the first three holes of the back nine to put me 3 over total for the first round. As the same as the front nine I finished the back nine very poorly, with two double bogies and a three putt bogie to shoot 40 on the back nine. Oh yeah I forgot to mention that the heat index was about 105, a very high humitidy rate, I was so exausted and dissapointed and frustrated by the end of the round that I sat in the club house for about an hour and a half doing nothing but watching TV. After getting some energy back I went out to the practice tee and worked on my game. The next day I didn't tee off until 1:21 PM, where the heat felt even worse because there was very little breeze. Since I wrote so much already I will give you the highlights of the second round. I shot 73 which I am very happy about coming back after shooting 80 the first round, but it wasn't a round that had 17 pars and 1 bogie. I start off the round with a double bogie, but finished that nine with 5 birdies and a bogie to shoot 2 under par. Then birdied the first hole on the back to get to three under, then for the last 7 holes I had 4 straight bogies between 2 pars on each side of the bogies. Even though looking at it as a whole I am happy to shot 1 over par, but you can understand why I was very frustrated by the end of the round. To make 6 birdies on your round and finish at 1 over par is not very fun, but again I keep proving to myself that I have the talent to play at this level. I played six straight holes in the middle of my round at 5 under par going birdie, birdie, par, birdie, birdie, birdie. Next we head up to Byltheville, Arkansas ( In the middle of nowhere) for the next tourney. Please keep praying for me, for that is one thing I am always in need of.

The Latest results from Greenville

The years second major for the NGA Hooters tour was hosted at Brook Valley Country Club in Greenville, North Carolina. The course was interesting to say the least, greens were not as good as the last couple tournaments we have played, but to truly presented a challenge. Scores were higher this week because of the difficult and bumpy greens. For the first round I hit the ball solid all the way around the course hitting 13 greens in regulation and hitting 11 of 14 fairways, but I only got up and down 1 out of 5 times and three putted twice. To upset all of those bogies I had four birdies that brought my total score to 74(+2), which puts my one shot above the cut line after the first day. So I figured I go out there the second round and shoot an even par round and I will be there for the weekend. My second round started out steady by making pars on the first 4 holes missing a 6-foot birdie putt on the 4th hole. I then made bogey on the next hole because of a poor tee shot, and double on the next hole because of another poor tee shot. I was frustrated, but I know that I can come back from this. I made par on the next hole, then preceded to hit the ball to the front fringe in two shots on the par 5. When I failed to get up and down there I started to feel the heat, time is running out, there are only ten holes left with only two par 5's left. The ninth hole is a 225 yard par three over water, I hit my tee shot pin high on the right fringe when the pin is on the left side of the green. Again I failed to get up and down from the fringe to make bogey to shot 4 over par on my front nine. I made a bogey on my tenth hole, things were not looking to good, but I never gave up. The next hole is a par 5, I hit driver then 6 iron to the middle of the green 25 feet away from the pin. I two putted for a birdie to get back to four over for the round. I made par on the next three holes and then birdied the par 5 15th hole to get to 3 over on the day. Then I made a bogey on the next hole to go back to 4 over and finished par, par to shot 76(+4) on the day. For the two day total I shot 150(+6) to miss the cut by 4 shots. One of these tournaments coming up I am going to break through this funk and make a cut. I am very close, but I just can't seem to finish it off in the second round. I feel that once I figure it out the flood gates will open and I will start making a bunch of cuts. Keep praying for me as it is tough out here for me spiritually, but with God's help anything is possible. I will be flying home on Monday night so please pray for safe travels as I drive the motor home by myself to Nashville, TN and then fly home from there. I will see some of you soon.

Greenville, North Carolina

This week we are in Greenville, North Carolina playing at Brook Valley Country club. I have had the chance to play two practice rounds at this course and feel I am ready to take it on tomorrow. I am really starting to hit my irons and driver good to go along with my steady putting. We have a two week break after this tournament, which I would like to go into having made my first cut of the year. I feel that I can play well at this course and really contend here. After this tournament I will drive to Nashville, TN where I will fly home for the two week break. Nashville is just about the half way point from this tournament and the first tournament after the break so that is how I came up with that. For any of you who want to see me or hang out with me while I am home, please contact me either by email or commenting on here or by calling my cell phone. I would love to see a lot of friends while I am home, I will be home from June 27th through July 7th.

Finally, a town big enough

I am truly sorry to all of you who follow my blog, I have been trying to post for the past week and a half but have not been able to get any Internet reception. I am finally in a town where I can use the internet. Well the past two weeks have been up and down. Two weeks ago in Statesville, NC I played the best tournament of the year, but still missing the cut shooting 144 even par for the two rounds. The first round I shot 70(-2), my best single round score of the year, with 5 birdies and an eagle to follow that up with a 74 in the second round to miss the cut by 3 shots. Much closer though, it feels nice to get a round under par and to also have a two round score at even par. Things definatly seem to be improving. This last week was not so good though, I was feeling really good about the week, excited to play and see how I could improve on the week before. I was going along nicely just one over par through my first eight holes and then I made a 9 on a par four, (+5) on one hole, not very good. Needless to say I then tried to get a little more aggressive on the back nine to make up for the loss and bogied the next hole and then made a triple bogie on the hole after that. At the end of the first round I finished at 10 over par 82 being 9 over par on three straight holes. The next round I just tried to relax and see what I could do, again I was playing pretty good, 1 over through 13 holes but then finished the last 5 holes double bogie, double bogie, par, par, double bogie to shoot 79 (+7). Not anywhere close to what I was hoping for after the good performance the week before. I am working hard on my game, practicing everyday trying to get closer to the ultimate goal.

U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier Results

Well you won't be watching me on T.V. playing in the U.S. Open. I failed to qualify in the sectional qualifier today at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville Maryland. Although I didn't make it was a very valuable experience. I learned a lot about my game and about what it takes to make it to the next level. I ended up shooting 73, 77 for a total of 150. I left before all the scores came in, but when I left the leader was at 136 (-8) and there was a group of guys at 140 (-4), so it looks like it will take 4 to 5 under to have made it. I was fortunate enough to be paired with Omar Uresti, who is on the PGA Tour right now, so I got to see up close how he plays and what he does different so I can learn from him. I will be leaving early tomorrow morning to drive to Statesville, North Carolina for my next Hooters tour event. I am excited about the steps that I am taking in improving my game. I will post after the next event to let you know how I did. Oh and Kiki thanks for hint, I didn't really know who I was until you let me know.

The Great City of New York

After spending the week just outside of Pittsburgh Steve, Mike (steve's brother), Jan (pronounced Yan, he is from Germany), and myself decided that for the break that we had in the tour that we should take the motor home to New York City. So we packed up our things after we all missed the cut and headed out for New York. It took us about 7 hours to drive from Pittsburgh to NY in our gas guzzling beast, going at our slow but steady pace of 68 miles per hour. We never actually drove the motor home into NY, we thought it wouldn't be such a great idea, so we found a RV park just across the Hudson river in Jersey City, NJ. We had so much fun traveling around the city going to all the tourist hot spots, doing everything that you are supposed to do for you first trip to NY. Everyday we would hop on the PATH train in Jersey City and take it into Manhattan were we would take the subway where ever we wanted to go. We went all over the city to Central Park, Time Square, Union Square, 5th Ave., WTC ground zero, Financial district, Wall street, Broadway, went to see a musical on Broadway, went to the top of the Empire State Building, all this great stuff. One thing that I am disappointed that we didn't go do is go see the statue of liberty, but I really like the city, and hope to go back there many times. I just wanted to also show you guys a couple of the pictures I took and one that my friend Jan took of me while we were having fun changing the settings on our camera in Time Square. We are down in Maryland, just north of D.C., waiting and preparing for my Sectional Qualifier that is in this area this coming Monday. The tournament is in Rockville, MD at Woodmont Country Club. I am really excited because my dad is flying out here to caddy for me during the tournament. This is a tough qualifier for one it is 36 holes in one day, and secondly out of 51 players close to ten of them are PGA Tour players and they are only taking 4 guys to the U.S. Open from here. It is going to be tough, but I think that I can do it. I know that I have the ability to compete with these guys up at this level and I am going to start showing it. Please be praying for me that I would trust in the Lord and not try to do this on my own strength, but that I would rely on him and glorify him with my golf. Thank you for your prayer and support.

The second round of the Quicksilver Classic A week later

I am sorry for the delay on my blog. The second round at Quicksilver golf club was an interseting couple of days. On friday the assigned second round of the tournament ended up getting rained out. I started my round and finished 5 holes when the siren went off to warn us of Lightning in the area. We then proceeded to get off the golf course and wait in the club house for almost 3 hours with the rules officals only giving us updates every 30 minuets. When the rained stoped they sent us back out to play around 5:30 in the evening, we finally arived at our hole that we left off on. We all hit our drives for the next hole and are walking down the fairway when we hear the siren blow again. One more time we have to get off the golf course becasuse of dangerous weather. Once we get to the clubhouse the rain really starts to come down, it is flooding the greens, there are rivers going down the fairways and finally by this time the suspended play until the following morning. With all that going on I got off to a horrible start for my second round, I was 4 over par through 5 holes. (not good) But I was still optomistic because scores were high so far in the second round so it looked like the cut line was going to be around 2 over par. So I came out the next morning with confidence ready to go out and play some good golf and make the cut. Needless to say that didn't happen as I was hoping for. I finished the front nine par, boggie, par, boggie to shoot 6 over on my front nine. Again I was still optomistic because I know I have the ability to play at a level that could get me to where I needed to be to make the cut. By the end of the second round, that finished on Saturday I made no birdies. I finished the back nine of my round with 9 straight pars to shoot 78, a two day total of 150. I missed the cut by only 3 strokes. I am keeping my chin up though, I am excited to see what is going to happen the rest of the year, I still continue to see improvement in my game and I see my self breaking though at one of these tournaments real soon.

1st Round of the Quicksilver Golf Classic

The first round of the tourney is all over and right now I am tied for 39th place after shooting a even par 72. The round started off under a steady rain that stayed with me until the 5th hole. I was going really well playing at 1 under par through 11 holes, when I ran into some problems at the 12th hole. After my tee shot I had about 50 yards into the green in a fairway bunker, which is not the shot that I was looking for. For my second shot I proceded to hit the ball about 80 yards instead of 50 and almost hit it out of bounds. When I finally found my ball I was in a world of trouble, I was short sided with a limited back swing and a bad lie. I tried to do the best that I could with what I had to work with, I hit the ball about half way between the green and where I was still leaving myself a difficult up and down for a boggie. I hit a so-so flop shot up on the green to about 12 feet, but missed the putt and made double boggie. I had a good bounce back making a birdie on the next hole and then finished off the round with 5 straight pars to shoot even par for the day. Now I just have to go out there tommorow and play the way I know I can play and make the cut, not only that but put myself in contention. To answer your question Jeff I play the next qualifier on monday June 5th In Rockville, Maryland. I will update tomorrow when the round is over, which should be around 8:00 eastern. My tee time is at 1:42 so be praying for me. Thank you