Web.Com Finals (Fort Wayne, IN) - Round One

Well, it's here...The Web.Com Finals. The details about how it all works are a little confusing. All I know is Kevin finished the regular season 13th on the money list and has earned a PGA Tour card for the 2013-14 season. But now, that is all thrown out the window and everyone starts the Finals with $0.00. At the end of the four tournaments, an additional 25 cards will be handed out (the top 25 finishers that do not already have a card) and then the ranking order of all 50 cards will be determined by the total money earned over the four events. This is important because there are tournaments where all the players from this category will not get into the field. So, obviously, the higher the ranking, the more playing opportunities.

After missing the cut in Omaha, I drove the ten hours over to Fort Wayne on Saturday. Kevin and I met around noon on Sunday and began our preparations for this week. We played nine hole practice rounds by ourselves on Sunday and Monday, working extremely hard on the short game. We spent lots of time around the greens chipping and putting. On Tuesday, we played a full 18 hole practice round and then the pro am on Wednesday. We had a good, solid four days of practice to start the week.

Thursday's first round was solid. Kevin continues to hit the ball well and shot a nice four under par round (68). Like most rounds, we left a few scoring opportunities out there but one was caused by faulty equipment. After hitting a perfect tee shot on the par five 4th, Kevin made a great swing with a hybrid and the ball flew 40 yards off line to the right. He still managed to make par but he knew he made a good swing and something had to be wrong with the club. After the round, we took it over to the equipment trailer and found out that the face was caved in. They were able to get him a new head and we headed out to the range for a little practice.

Today we tee off at 12:42.

Cox Classic (Omaha, NE) - First Round

The first round was sloppy. Kevin drove the ball great and hit it fine but for whatever reason, there was a lose of focus throughout the day. After a nice par on one and then a perfect drive on the hardest hole on the course (#2), we blocked a five iron right into a hazard. Kevin was able to chop it out onto the green but then three putted from about 60 feet. I think that start combined with a golf course in poor shape and an extremely slow pace of play (three hours to play the back nine), put Kevin in a frame of mind where he just was not focused. We gave away too many shots around the greens with "basic" chip shots and then never made a putt to pick up any momentum. The final result was a three over par round (74). After the round, we spent all of our practice time chipping and putting.

Today, we tee off number ten at 1:20. Scores are low so it will take something special to have any chance of hanging around for the weekend. But whatever happens, we will use today as preparation for the final four playoff events. Unlike most guys here, we have that luxury to relax this week knowing we have a PGA Tour card. Now it's time to go get ready for the playoffs. 

Knoxville Open - Final Round

It rained heavy through the night but it was not raining when we arrived at the course. We were able to get through our warm up and made it to the first tee before it started raining again. Kevin was able to make a great par save on the first after his opening tee shot found the bunker and all we could go was advance it down the fairway. A nice wedge to 8 feet and made putt settled him down and we were able to get right into the round. He pared the first three holes and then after the tee shot on four, the rain can down in buckets. By the time we reached our drive, the fairway and greens had standing water and play was suspended.

The delay lasted about two hours and we headed back out. The course was already soaked from the overnight rain but now it was under water. We had to move almost 20 yards to find a spot without standing water in the fourth fairway. Kevin continued hitting solid shots and we made the turn at even par with nine straight pars. On the par five, 10th, Kevin hit two great shots and got the ball just short of the green in two. His eagle chipped 180'ed out of the hole and tapped it in for his first birdie for the day. He followed that birdie up with two more on number 12 and 14 which pulled us into a tie for the lead with four to play. 

Solid swings and great looks at birdie on 15, 16 and 17 but not able to convert the birdies left us tied for the lead standing on the 18th tee. Kevin split the fairway and left us with 241 to the pin on the par five. By the time we reached our tee shot, Peter Malnati birdied the final hole to take a one shot lead. With a perfect yardage for the three wood, we aimed at the left edge of the green took a go at the green. Kevin hit it solid but just blocked it. The ball landed just right of the green and bounced off the slope into the water hazard. With the pin cut to the right, only 4 yards from the right edge, Kevin's ball was actually only about 6 yards right of the pin when it landed. Even though we were aiming left, one of the hardest things to do it commit to aiming it so far away from the pin. I've always said, "some of my best cut shots where blocks straight at the pin". 

Finishing with a bogey dropped us down to a tie for sixth. I've had a lot of phone calls, voice mails and text messages over the last few days saying sorry about the finish and how disappointed I must be. The truth is, I'm not disappointed at all. We had a great week and it was FUN. Kevin is hitting it great, he is working on the correct things and we are working well together. I would be disappointed if I didn't think we would have another opportunity but we are going to have plenty of more opportunities to win golf tournaments. We don't live and die with one golf shot. One of the coolest things Kevin has ever said to me over the last four years that I have worked for him happened on the final green. Just after missing his final putt that dropped us down to sixth, Kevin walked over to me and said, "man, I wanted to make that for you". Knowing the monetary difference of what just happened on the final hole, he wasn't thinking about himself. He was thinking about me. We don't play and do our jobs thinking about money, but this shows how we have each others back. 

Because of the rain delay, it was fairly late when we finished, I decided to spend one to spend one more night in Knoxville with the family. I am driving the 14 hour trip to Omaha and Kevin is flying in about noon on Tuesday. Since I'm in no rush, I left Knoxville yesterday and drove 12 hours before stopping. I have about another two hours this morning and will meet Kevin after lunch some some practice. This is the last event before the final four playoff events. 

Knoxville Open - Third Round

When Kevin showed up this morning at the golf course, he had a headache and wasn't feeling good. We went through the warm up but he still had the headache. Fortunately, as we got into the round, he started to feel better. After four solid pars, Kevin birdied the 5th, 8th and 10th to get it to three under for the day. After another string of pars, he finished the day with two birdies on 17 and 18 for a final five under par round (66). 

Kevin played solid all day. He only missed one green and managed the game perfectly. His 12 under total leaves him in a tie for second with one round to play. It has already started raining so the Tour has split the tees (going off number 1 and 10) and moved the tee time up for the final round because of the threat of rain and afternoon thunderstorms. We will be in the final group teeing off at 10:20 with Aron Price and Blayne Barber. 

Knoxville Open - Thursday and Friday

After finishing 21st and locking up his PGA Tour card for the 2013-14 season at the Mylan Classic in Pittsburgh, Kevin decided to take the next week off and get ready for the final six events on the Web.Com. We all arrived here in Knoxville on Tuesday afternoon and played a late day practice round. I'm happy to say the Geraldine and the kids are with me again this week. With school starting next week, it will be the last time they will be able to come out. It has been a great summer break for them as they have been able to travel a total of four weeks this summer. Kevin did not play in the Wednesday pro am this week so he took me off site and we played 18 at Wind River. It was a nice relaxing day, getting away from the tournament course and playing some golf.

We teed off on Thursday at 12:30. Kevin played ok but we didn't get much out of the round. Three birdies and two bogeys had us shooting a one under par round (70). It was just one of those days when we were hitting it to 25-30 feet all day. It was nothing to be concerned about so we just hit a few balls after the round, worked on some bunker shots and called it a day.

Today we were the first group off at 7:30. With perfect greens for nine holes, Kevin took advantage starting the day with five straight birdies and had only 11 putts through nine holes. Making the turn, he added three more birdies and got it to eight under par through 14. Things slowed after making his first bogey  on his 15th hole (#6) after a three putt. Then, on our 17th (#8), Kevin's only bad swing of the day came off the tee as he hooked a three wood out of bounds. Having to re-tee, he then hit a perfect three and nine iron to 15 feet and made the putt to save the bogey. He finished the day with a six under par (65). His seven under total puts us in a tie for third heading into the weekend.

We tee off tomorrow at 12:35 with Tim Wilkerson.

Jackson, MS (Week) / Boise, ID (First Round)

I arrived into Jackson on Tuesday about midnight and checked into an airport hotel for the night. Kevin arrived about noon on Wednesday and we headed out to the club for an afternoon practice session with his coach. On Thursday, we had an afternoon tee time and got off to a great start. Kevin was four under par through six holes when play was suspended for a thunderstorm. A small storm cell just continued to build and hung around for the rest of the day. Play was officially cancelled for the day about 6:30pm and we were sent home for the night. Play was scheduled to resume at 7:00am friday morning but fog pushed it back until 7:30. Kevin continued right were we left off the day before and finished the first round with a nice 7 under par round (65). After the round, we only had 20 minutes until we had to start our second round. Kevin grabbed a quick bite to eat and we headed right back out for the second round. With the heat index close to 100 degrees, the 30 hole day was setting up to be a marathon. It all caught up to us late in the day. A three putt bogey (15th) was backed with a poor swing on the next hole (16th) leading to a penalty stroke and a double bogey. We ended up finishing the round at one over (73).

The weekend was much like our second round. We hit some really good shots but the bad shots were all big misses. Kevin putted great all week but we just could not give ourselves enough opportunities to keep pace with the leaders. We finished the weekend with rounds of 71 and 74 for a four round total of five under par (283) tied for 65th place. 

Monday was a travel day to Boise, ID. Since our plans last week changed last minute and I had to fly to Jackson, it was going to be a long day for me getting to Boise. I left Jackson, MS at 5:30am and headed back to Kansas City (via Charlotte, NC) so I could catch my original fights (via Phoenix) to Boise. I finally arrived here in Boise after 17 hours of travel. Tuesday was our normal practice day with a full 18 hole practice round and then the pro-am Wednesday morning. Wednesday's pro-am was a tough one. We were paired with one player that had NEVER played golf before. We understand the importance of the pro-ams and Kevin did a great job making the guys feel comfortable but it really did take a lot out of him. It was just a difficult day to stay focused.

Today, we teed off at 8:25. Kevin played well on the front nine, missing only one fairway and green on the front nine. Struggling a bit with the putter, Kevin made the turn with a solid two under par. Things took a turn toward the worse when a pulled 4 iron off the the short par four 10th found the water hazard. After the drop, a blocked nine iron right of the green put us is a bad spot and we could not get it up and down, making double bogey. The rest of the back nine was a struggle. We didn't hit it good, chip it good, or putt it good. The final result was a back nine score of three over par for a one over par total (72). With perfect scoring conditions, the scores were super low today with 72 guys shooting 3 under or better today. We will have do some work tomorrow to have any chance to hang around for the weekend. We tee off number 10 tomorrow at 1:25.

Leaving Kansas City heading to Jackson, MS

We spent Sunday afternoon in Salt Lake City practicing and getting ready for this week. We both flew out Monday to Kansas City but I did not arrive until 8:00pm. Kevin got in early and went out to the golf course for some practice. He ended up wanting to play nine holes, so thanks to my roommate, Benji Thompson, he had a caddy for the nine holes. When I arrived Monday evening into Kansas City, Kevin text me saying we were 9th alternate for the PGA Tour event in Jackson, MS.
He said to plan on going if we got into the event.

I met Kevin at the golf course this morning at 7:00am for an early nine hole practice round. By the time we finished our nine holes, we moved up to the third alternate for Jackson. Since Kevin had an off site commitment this afternoon, we hit a few balls before he had to leave. It wasn't long after Kevin left the course when the call came in to tell him we were in the field for Jackson. So I headed back to the hotel, bought a flight, packed, and headed back to the airport.

I'll get into Jackson tonight about midnight and will met Kevin sometime tomorrow. I'm excited to have this opportunity and I'm looking forward to a great week.