Sort of Close...

I hit the ball well in the qualifier, but my putter balked.  I didn''t get anything going, and ended up with a 75.  There were four scores of 70, and they got the four spots into the tournament. 

I think it was a good experience for me.  It was new to me to be playing in front of and behind tour players.  Lee Janzen and Darron Stiles were in the group in front of me.  I played with Deane Pappas in the practice round.  For missing a shot at the big show, I think it was a good thing to go through.

I want it more than ever right now, and I have my chance in a couple weeks to make it happen.

Luke

Back in New York

I played a very small event this last week in Utah.  I didn't play great, but I finished ok and ended up losing in a playoff.  Pretty fun, until the losing part.

Right now I'm in Rome.  Rome, NY.  The PGA Tour stops here this week, and the Monday Qualifier is, yep, tomorrow.  This is the last chance at a full week event before tour school, and I can't think of a better way to go into qualifying than getting a taste of the real thing.  Could be more than a taste, as a great week could open everything up. 

So that's the plan.  The course is phenomenal for a qualifier, so that is a bonus.  The area I'm in is beautiful too, especially this time of year.  I feel good. 

Luke

Oregon Finale 08

It didn't go well in the qualifier.  I got off to a good start, but stagnated during the middle part of the round.  Birdies are big in a qualifier, and I was -1 after 12.  13 was a reachable par 5.  I hit a good drive, got a good break on my second shot which left me 80 yards to the pin.  I had to hit a super high shot over a tree to get it anywhere near the hole.  It wasn't all that tough a shot, but I over-did it a bit and landed it in the right fringe.  It took a hard right bounce into the hazard.  I tried to get it out, without luck, and ended up with a 7.  Bad.

That was pretty much that, and things snowballed coming in.  I kept trying, but the fire wasn't there.  I missed by a ways.

There has been a little tour following the Nationwide qualifiers the last couple weeks (Cleveland Pro Golf Tour), so I entered that this week.  It hasn't quite caught on yet, but it's a nice place to get some confidence back.  Qualifiers are known as confidence killers, because one day makes or breaks your week.  So it was nice to have a place to play for a few days.

I played really good yesterday, hitting some great irons and making some putts.  I was one shot back of the lead heading into today.

I played fairly well again today, giving myself a chance to win coming in.  It was nice to feel the pressure of being in contention again.  Really nice.  The juices were flowing in a positive way for the first time in a while.  I was positive I was going to win, but ended up 3rd, 3 back.

Anyhow, the confidence killer failed to kill my confidence.  It may end up being a break, as I was able to get into contention for a win.  My long game has come around, and my putting work the last few weeks is really paying off. 

Moving in the right direction.  BIG test in 5 weeks.

Luke

Qualifiers, Qualifiers, Qualifiers

Back in the states.  I struggled on Saturday last week, played good on Sunday.  A pretty mediocre finish to the year.  I've come away from Canada with a lot of positives in my game.  I'm hitting it better than ever before, and I've diagnosed the problems with my short game.  They should be easy enough to fix...

I kept my Canadian Tour card fairly easily, but I'm hoping to not be playing up there next year.  It's a great tour, but hopefully I'll be on to bigger and better.  It's definitely a nice fall back, but I have other plans.

I'm in Oregon right now.  The Monday qualifier for the Nationwide event is, well, Monday.  Looking forward to getting in, and getting a taste.  Then two weeks from now I'm back in New York for the PGA Tour Monday qualifier at Turning Stone Resort. 

I'm really looking forward to the next month or so heading into tour school.  I have the opportunity to get into some big events, and I have the time to fine tune some things before the biggest tournament of the year.  Hopefully I'll be posting more updates than I have been.

Go Utes

Luke

Tour Championship Day 2

I got off to a decent start this week, but some poor short shots left me in a rough position heading into today.  74 yesterday left me a couple back of the cut.

I wasn't too worried, because the course is pretty tough, and the weather was supposed to get bad.  I was looking forward to the opportunity to make up some ground.

Well, I got the chance today.  It was windy, with periods of rain.  It made the course get that much harder, and I knew a par or better round would have me playing the weekend.

I was off to another good start, but the short game let me down in the middle of the round.  I've been hitting the ball better than ever, just not converting anything.  My putts were tentative all day, so I decided to have my caddy, a 20 year member of the British armed forces, give me a second eye.  We never differed on our reads, but I was more confident with some confirmation.  I made some very good putts coming in, and ended up with a -2 70, making the cut pretty easily.

I hit some really good shots from every area of the game coming in.  Drives, irons, chips, putts.  My decisions were good as well.  I feel like everything is coming together right now, and I can't wait to get back to the course.  I'm a ways back this week, but nothing some great golf can't take care of.  The way I've been playing has me more excited for the "fall classic" than I've ever been.  Nothing can cap off the year better than a good finish at tour school.  That's my main goal, and I think I'm working on the right things.

Low tomorrow

Luke

Still Here

Sorry no updates of late, just haven't been able to get in the groove.  I've been working hard on my game the last couple weeks.  Results are showing, in spurts.  My confidence is on the rise for sure, and I need that heading into the major job interview I have scheduled for the end of October: Tour School.

My scores have been a bit odd the last two events.  I finally got of to a good start in Mississauga two weeks ago, but I didn't keep it up for long.  A disappointing weekend left me around 60th.  Last week I just didn't make any birdies, when everyone in the field was blitzing the course.  I had no bogies in the second round, but had only one birdie.  That wasn't enough when we were hitting wedges into every hole.

It might have been a blessing in disguise.  I was able to make use of the great short game facilities at the course the entire weekend.  I fixed some flaws in my technique, and came away from the all day short game sessions with a lot of confidence.  My long game has been coming around, so getting sharp around the greens will make my scores come down.  Way down.

So, this is the last week on the 2008 Canadian Tour Schedule.  The Canadian Tour Championship is the biggest event of the year, and the course it's played on is top notch.  It may be the best course we play all year, and you have to hit every shot in your bag.  I'm really looking forward to it, as a good score carries more weight.  This is the type of course I tend to do well on, so I'm planning on going out on a very high note.

After that, a couple of qualifiers, some work, get married (Oct. 11), then tear it up at PGA Tour Qualifying. 

Luke Swilor