Nebraska State Open: Round 2

Today was a very solid round of golf for me. I started on 10 today and made some great up and downs on the first 3 holes to make par. I played 13-16 so well yesterday I figured it was a good spot to pick up some birds. I birdied 13 and 15 which are the 2 par 5's. I had a near make on 16 and 18 but failed to make. I turned at -2 34 and felt pretty good. So far no bogeys! I knew there were plenty of birdies to be made on the front but told myself to be patient. I had a great look on 2, birdied 3, another great look on 4, another on 5, birdied 6, and a great look on 9. All said and done I fired another -2 33 for a bogey free 67. Even though I'm not hitting it well I'm somehow finding a way to score. The afternoon wave is playing now so I guess we'll see. As of now I'm near the top of the leaderboard at -9 133. (which is the lowest 2 round total of my career!) I feel like progress is being made, but we'll see what tomorrow brings. Stay tuned,

Go Low!!

Drew

Round 1: Nebraska Open

Well going into the round I really had no idea how I was going to play. At the end of the day I carded a solid 5 under par 66. Its my best round as a professional so I'm pretty excited. I played a solid 2 birdie 1 bogey front for 34. I stayed positive and with 2 par 5's on the back I knew I could pick up ground. I parred 10-12 with near makes. Holes 13-16 i went bird, bird, eag, bird to get to -6. I lipped out on 17 for bird and missed the 4 foot comebacker. Finished with a solid par even though I drew a brutal lie in the rough but grinded it out. I tee it early tomorrow so hopefully I come back with another solid round. As of now, I'm a few back. Here's where you can see the leaderboard.

http://nebraskapga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/nebraskapga10/event/nebraskapga105/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

Go Low!!

Drew

Nebraska State Open

Im sitting here in Columubus, Nebraska from the wonderful Super 8. I just got back from a little early morning practice session. I don't tee it up until 1:10 so I figured it would be a good way to be productive with my time. All in all i'm not sure what this week will bring. I'm not hitting the ball particularily well. Luckily the golf course is a shorter track (6600 yards) and as long as I'm tough and can minimize mistakes I should be just fine. I'm excited for the first 2 rounds as I'm playing will a fellow dakotas tour player Tyler Obermueller. Well I'm off. Hopefully I've got good news in about 7 or so hours.

Drew

Tour Chip: I'm a Chop

Well, not much to say here other than a bulky golf swing/putter/brain led me to a blistering 81. Yep, 81. Wind blew at 25-30, it rained, and on top of that, I hit it so bad i'm unable to characterize my play as anything other than utterly brutal. The greens were extremely fast and with the wind as it was I had zero confidence. I had multiple putts that looked great but were blown off line. The weather beat me up mentally and i just couldn't fight back hard enough to register a respectable score. I still cashed a check for $600 putting my season earnings somewhere around $4,500. I'll probably fall somewhere in the top 30 on the money list which gives me hope for next year. I believe I can win out here, its just a matter putting it together. I've got one more event. I'll be heading to Columbus, Nebraska on Monday to visit some friends and prepare for the Nebraska State Open. In the next few days you might find me putting and chipping.

Go Low!!

Drew

Tour Chip: Day 1 (36 holes)

Well, I survived day 1 at the Tour Championship. It wasn't stellar golf, but wasn't poor either. We played a fairly quick 18 in the morning with all pros. I put together a solid 1 under par 70 to get underway. There wasn't much to talk about. Other than one shorty and a 3 putt I played pretty well. We took a lunch break and got ready for the pro-am. Unfortuanately, we played much slower! It was pretty bad, but anyway I managed to fire a 2 under par 69. I had it to -4 early but couldn't keep it going. All said an done Im pleased with my play and made the cut. Final round is tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have good news!

Go Low!!

Drew

Dakotas Tour Championship: Sioux Center, Iowa

Well its been a while since I've posted so i apologize for not keeping up. I've been very busy with work and what not while I've been off tour for the last 2 weeks. Although its been 2 weeks I'm extremely excited to be back and playing. I've been in Sioux Center for 2 days now preparing for the event. The golf course is called "The Ridge" and is set up much like many of the courses we've played. Its a modern day links style track with large undulated greens and whispy fescue lining many fairways. All in all I expect the event to be a great challenge and hopefully i'm up for it. We play 36 tomorrow, cut, and play the final 18 on Thursday. I'll hopefully have a bunch of good news tomorrow. Stay tuned,

go low!!

Drew

The 3 P's.....

Poise, perserverance, and PATIENCE!!!!!!!!!! I exhibited ZERO of these qualities in my last 6 rounds of tournament golf and its netted me me zero dollars. I did nothing right at Hillcrest for 2 days. At least on day 1 I gutted it out and put up a respectable number but I put so much pressure (the wrong P) on myself that I forced shots. The greens at Hillcrest are by far the smallest greens I will probably ever play on which calls for confident and well placed shots. The golf course is very simple and easily manageable, but I simply played like a giant rook. I've got a 2 week break to relax and think about my errors and hopefully close out my dakotas tour season on a good note. Crazy to think I've been gone for 6 weeks. Stay tuned,

Drew

Well...

well...dakotas tour worst score of the year...76 for me and not much to report. i'm extremely frustrated with the amount of opportnities i've had this week and here I sit at 3 over. i've hit roughly 65% of my greens which is pretty good considering how tiny these are here at Hillcrest. No putts have fallen coupled with a bulky short game. 1 more day then a cut. I need some magic, or I'll be going home early.

Drew

Day 1 at Hillcrest

Well not much to report here. I fired a 1 under par 71 to start off round one. I made 2 birdies and 1 bogey along with 15 pars. pretty boring day. Greens got pretty bumpy late today so giving putts a run was a bit dicey. I tee it up at 7:47 am tomorrow so hopefully tomorrow afternoon I've got good news to report. I'm 5 back. Stay tuned.

Go Low!!

Drew

Day 3 at Marshall...Fox Run Pro-Am

I'll do the best I can here. Marshall was an interesting day for me. I started the day at -4 and 3 back of the leader. Its a course I know and one I felt I could give the leaders a run on. I birdied 3 of my first 5 to get to -7. Turned at 33 and was one back of the lead. For some reason my brain shut off and shot 39 on the back for a +1 72. Pretty disappointing to say the least. I ended up T5 which actually exempted me into the event at Hillcrest which was nice. Now, I just finished my final round at Fox Run in Yankton SD. I played solid golf for 2 days hitting 31/36 greens. Now most people hitting that number of greens would go LOW. Unfortunately a bulky putter only allowed me a 69-73 finish. Currently at 2 under I probably won't cash a check unless the afternoon boys fall way back. Stay tuned. I've got a few days off and then to Hillcrest in Yankton. Its a big event so hopefully I can work the putter back in my favor and hopefully you'll see me near the top of the leaderboard.

Gow low!!

Drew

Day 2 at Marshall

Well not much to report here. I finished the day at Even par 71 and -4 for the event. Made one stupid bogey on 9 and an even worse double on 14. Not to mention I couldn't find the hole for any birds. I made birdied my last 2 to get to even for the day so I left the golf course in good spirits. My friend Neil Johnson put up a nice 69 to be one back. Hopefully I can conjur up some birdie magic and push those guys a bit. I'm 3 back of the leader so I'm hoping for a solid day tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Go low!!

Drew

Ok...2 for 1

So I was in the final group sunday at the Western Printing Pro am. my god i was nervous!! Long story short I didn't give myself enough credit. Clearly I belonged there due to my scores, but it was my first go around in contention for a pro event. I hung in there well and nerves cost me a few shots. I hit a lot of edges but managed a 74. I ended up solo 7th and made my largest pro check of $1,800.00. I was very pleased that I gutted it out. Now, today was day 1 at the Marshall Pro-Am and was paired with a good friend of mine Josh Persons. Josh has been playing professional golf for a few years now and he's good to talk to because he's been around the block. We were teamed up with 3 ams. I ended up -4 67 for the day and am currently t2 behind Ryan Conn who fired a very solid 65. I tee it at 9:40 tomorrow so hopefully I have some good news to report tomorrow. Stay tuned,

Go Low!!

Drew

Roller Coaster ride!!

Well, today was just about as polar opposite from yesterday as possible other than the fact that i managed to scroe fairly well. Started off the front quite nervous but was -1 after 3. Made a poor bogey on 4, hit it ob on 6, and doubled 8. After teeing off on 9 I told my self (at +3) I figured with 3 par 5's I could easily get back to even and maybe get a few more if I could keep it in play. I lipped out eagle on 9 to shoot 38. Ok, 1 down, 2 to go. So i manage to birdie 11 and 13 to get back to even with 2 par 5's left. BONUS! I birdied 14 to get to -1 for the day. I was excstatic considering a few hours prior I was +3 and struggling. I hit good putts on 15 and 16 but failed to convert. Still feeling good I hit a mediocre shot on 17 a par 3. Missed the green but hit a perfect chip for a birdie 2. With a par 5 to finish I was lookin at a round in the 60's. I hit 3 wood off the tee and with hybrid in hand from 245 i left it 30 feet from the pin. I 2 putted for a 5 under par 31 on the back. I was very proud of how i gutted it out today. I'm T3 and in the final group. This is a situation I've never been in and truth be told I have no idea what's going to happen. I'm going to tee it up tomorrow and do the best I can to make as many birdies as possible. I hope it will be enough. From Aberdeen,

Gow Low,

Drew

Western Printing Pro

Day 1 is complete for me at the Dakotas event in Aberdeen, SD. Round 1 went really well for me. 14 pars and 4 birdies for a bogey free 68. I'm tied for the lead after the morning wave so we'll see what happens. I've been hitting it relatively poorly for a week and just found a little swing fix and most of my shots today were very good. I left a few out there but also made some good saves. I'm optimistic for the weekend. Stay tuned,

Go Low!!

Drew

SD Open

71-73 144 leaves me T-28 right now. I'm fighting a bulky putter as we speak. its not that i'm putting poorly, my speed has just been off. The even par score no way reflects my play. I've had a few poorly managed holes over the last 2 days but I've got one more day to play. If I can put up a number tomorrow I'll probably leave with a little money in my pocket. Stay tuned!

Go Low!!

Drew

Good News!!

I just returned to good old Litchfield from my first Dakotas tour event of the summer. I was in Sioux Falls, SD for the weekend at Bakker Crossing Golf Club for their charity pro am. There were about 90 pros, top 30 receiving money. I started out saturday playing pretty well going out in -2 34. Feeling good walking to the back 9 something went awry in my brain causing me to make a costly double at 10. Back to even I failed to convert twice greenside for birdie on the par 5's and 1 more poor swing on 18 led to my 2nd double of the day! Needless to say i was livid!! But I told myself that although i should 74 (40 on the back) I played good golf. 3 bad swings away from being on the leaderboard. (-4 led afer Day one) I got some good sleep that night and went into day 2 knowing I had to put up a good number to even think of cashing a check. I started on 10 and hit the exact same shot as day 1. I made bogey and did the same on 11. At +5 for the tourney I had a small talk with myself and decided I needed to get back to even to even think of making any money. On the par 5 12th, I holed a 55 yard pitch to a nearly impossible pin to get back to even. I made a bogey and 2 more birdies en route to a -1 34 on the back. I felt the front was playing easier and knew that if I kept it in play I could easily pick up between 2 and 4 shots. I left my birdie putt on 1 and inch short, birdied 2, lipped out on 3, lipped out on 4. At this point I felt great! I made birdie on the 230 yd 5th which was a steal. I parred out for a -2 34 putting me at even par for the tourney. 68 felt great considering my start. I cashed my first Dakotas tour check for $604. Its not much, but its a small confidence booster considering how hard I worked on day 2. In 3 days I'm off to the SD Open in Vermillion SD. Stay tuned.

Go Low!!

Drew

Here we go!!

So sorry I haven't posted in a while but between work and golf I've kinda forgotten. Most importantly, I just mailed off 7 checks for my upcoming dakotas schedule. There is one more I have to mail but the entry isn't available yet. That makes 8 dakotas events and the state open. So 9 tournaments for the summer. If I play well, we'll play in more. On another note, I played a marathon of golf yesterday. 54 holes in one day which was a ton of fun. The game is alright right now. A little more practice and tournament prep and I'll be ready to go. Hope you're all well. till then,

Go Low!

Drew

US Open qualifying

So today didn't go as swimingly as planned. I ended the day with a 39-40 for 79 at Hazeltine National. Overall I would give my play a C on the day and a B for effort. I tried as hard as I could but I gave it a B because I wasn't committed to every single shot out there which led to a few costly mistakes. I hit a lot of great putts that didn't go in. My iron game hurt me the most simply becuase I didn't commit to a few shots. 79 sounds pretty bad, but after the morning wave I was actually tied for 8th or 9th. The rough was grown up to about 4 inches all over the course, the greens were a little slick, and the pins were cut in very intricate spots. I was very upset with my score, but it was without a doubt the hardest golf course I've teed it up on. Overall I didn't create the opportunities I needed and could have done 4 or 5 better. 74 was low after 80 or so guys. With the states top amateurs and a bunch of mini tour players scoring that high is a small indication of how difficult the course was. BUT, no matter what, I needed to play better. I'm optimistic for my next event which will be the Tapemark Charity Classic if I get in. Can't wait!

Drew

Some new stuff....

So I've switched into some new sticks over the last couple weeks. I played with them for the last week and a half and love them, but my shot dispersion was all over the map. NO GOOD! Lucky for me the gentlemen running the Litchfield Golf Course this year are extremely good with fitting and what not. Chad from golf source took care of everything for me today and I have to give a big thanks! Chad is part of the team working on bring LGC back to life. He also spent a few years with Cleveland Golf working on the tour vans fitting tour players so it's nice to know that I've got the best around working with my clubs. We spent 2 plus hours getting all the lofts/lies fixed on my irons. When we got done we moved most 4-5 degrees. No wonder i was all over. He also got me into a different driver which is great. Unfortunately its the one from his bag, but its a great fit. On another note, my US open qualifier is on Monday and I'm really excited. We're playing Hazeltine National which is where I had my best State Am finish. The weather looks great this weekend so hopefully work, golf, and more golf! Can't wait for Monday! Till then,

Drew

M-I-N-N-E-S-0-T-A

Well I'm back in the great state of Minnesota! I've been back since Thursday night and it's been great so far. I've only worked once, but the weather has been so bad I'm lucky to have worked at all. Spring Hill looks great for the first week of May! I've caught up with some old friends and look forward to catching up with a few more! The next thing I'm looking forward to is my US Open qualifier next Monday. Hazeltine National! 150 players for probably 5-6 spots. It's going to be a great challenge but I welcome the task. I fully expect to get through but we'll see. Other than that, life is as usual. Golf, work, sleep, repeat. (I eat once and a while) Till then,

Go Low!

Drew

Arvada, Colorado!

So here I am sitting on my good friend Derek's couch. I'm currently located in Arvada, Colorado which is part of the greater Denver area. I left La Quinta yesterday morning at 4:30am and arrived here at 8:30 pm. When mapquest said it would take 16 hrs, they were right! It's great to be here. I graduated with Derek in 2004 and haven't seen him for a few. I'll be here for a day and a half and we plan on having a good time. On another note, one very gracious Quarry member made a phone call for me and got me connected with a member at Cherry Hills Country Club here in Denver. If you wanna talk tradition, Cherry Hills would be a huge player in the converstaion. Anyway, this gentleman and myself are teeing it up tomorrow morning at 7:36. I'm super excited. The drive was long, exhausting, but i'm glad I took care of that on day 1. The last leg is easy. I'll be off to Omaha after my round tomorrow to visit some other friends then back to beautiful Minnesota. Till then,

stay tuned

Drew

The Remington

Well folks, we just finished our final event of the season. The Remington is our Mens member/guest event for the season. I caddied for 2 teams over 3 days. I worked from the crack of dawn until evening the last 2 days and finished up at noon today. We caddied 36 holes the first couple days and finished our last matches this morning. It may not sound so bad, but spending 10+ hours in the desert sun 2 straight days isn't the most enjoyable thing in the world. But, the money is good so i've got no complaints. I was lucky enough to have 2 great teams. 1 team was in the first flight and the competition was great. Each match was tough. We ended up 2nd place in our flight. My other team didn't fare as well, but they were great guys and we had a lot of fun out there. That being said, looks like i've got about 11 days left in the desert putting me in Minnesota sometime in the near future. I can't believe the season is nearly over, but I'm also excited to be heading back to the land of 10,000 lakes. (although its actually 11,842...stupid info..don't forget it Minnesotans!) My schedule is looking more and more like a possibilty and my game is fairly sharp. I'm excited to get back to Spring Hill and see some old faces and start playing golf at a place with TREES!! Till then, enjoy the spring!


Drew

The End is Near.....

Well, its April 10th as we speak and the season is getting near an end. Our final tournament out here is the 15th-17th which should be a nice payday plus another two weeks work. I can't believe I've been here for 6 months but I have to say it's been great. My game is still getting better. I was fortunate enough to be invited by a member of ours to play golf with him today. 16 greens and 30 putts led me to a 4 under par 68 which was pretty good. I holed out on 7 for an eagle 2 which created a bit of excitement in our round! Of the greens I hit, I had several 12-15 foot putts which burned a lot of edges. Needless to say, when it comes together it will be LOW! So needless to say, I'm very optimistic for the summer. My financial grand total should be good enough to take care of a large chunk of tournaments. As long as I play well, I can keep it rollin all summer long and hopefully into Q School. Well, see you all soon. 3 weeks and counting!!!

Drew

New Ball in the Bag!!

I just found a new ball that will go in the bag for 2010. I'll be switching from my trusty callaway tour ix to the new Bridgestone B330. A rep for Bridgestone (Josh Arndt) has been kind enough to set me up with their new ball. I've been testing for the last 2 weeks and needless to say i'm extremely happy. I just got a new shipment in today and couldn't be happier. I've picked up 5-10 with the driver and maybe a few extra with everything else. Its very responsive around the greens which I love and feels better than anything off the putter. Thanks to Josh at Bridgestone!! It's greatly appreciated!! Stay tuned folks. I'll be back in about 5 weeks and then its game time. Till then

Go Low!

Drew

Winding Down

Well folks, the end of the season is near. I can see Minnesota in my sights and its a great feeling! Don't get me wrong, I love it out here, but i'm ready for a change. I'm saving up a decent amount of money that should get me into some events this summer and the rest is up to my game. My game is as good as its ever been and my confidence is extremely high. I wish I was back playing now! We've got 2 major events here at The Quarry in the next month so hopefully they go well and help pay for a few more events. Also the weather is peaking right now. We're sitting in the low to mid 80's everyday which is great! Thats about all I have now so stay tuned and I hope you're all well back home. Can't wait to see all of you.

Go Low!!

Drew