Leading the Pack to Colorado Springs

With a total of 3 under after playing 88 holes for the first tournaments qualifier, I have the privilege of being the number one guy for UVU. Getting back into the swing of things in Utah has been a great experience so far! The second half of the qualifying tournament allowed me to see how I will play under certain pressure situations. My main goal after the first three rounds was to come out of this leading the team to Colorado. I was able to accomplish this feat and will carry the same consistency to the first tournament of the year.

On Monday of this week we played Soldier Hollow which in on the way to Park City, Utah, where the Olympics where held back in 2002. I started out as a normal Utah afternoon, sunny with a little breeze. After the 14th hole the wind picked up and the rain came down like bullets!! Coach cut the 18 holes to 16 because of the rain and the possibility of lighting. I started the day with a birdie on the second hole and shot 35 on the front nine. I struggled on a few holes on the back and had two bogeys. I was striking the ball great and just missed two up and downs all day. I finished the day with a 4 shot lead.

Tuesday's round was held at Spanish Oaks back nine. The round started off great and I eagled #10 a medium length par 5. I then finished up the round with two birdies and two bogies to shot 34. I gained one more shot on the field leading by 5.

The final round of qualifying was a a course down south on the way to Price. Gladstan is somewhat of a very hilly course and has some tricky blind shot and narrow holes. I started the round great again and birdied my first hole. I had another birdie on the fourth hole and then I over drew my tee shot on 5 and put it in the water. I shot 1 under on the front-side. I was hitting the ball great and had many birdie chances the entire day but the putting was just a tad off. One birdie and one bogey on the backside to shot 71 and gain a final lead of 7 strokes over Jeff Holmes.

The big thing that Nick Nelson told me today, by text on our drive to Colorado, it does not matter what you shot in the qualifying now you have to use your great game playing to establish a leadership position on the team. In other words, use the momentum to play well in the tournament and help the other guys out when ever possible. Golf is an individual game but I will play so much better if I have a great team backing me up with good play as well.

Here are my overall stats for the qualifying:

71.25 scoring average and 32.25 putts per round. I played the par 5s at 11 under, par 4s at 8 over and the par 3s at even par.

I am very pleased with where my game is and where it is headed. I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks