Anytime you compete in an event with Nationwide and PGA Tour players, it's a great experience. In both the practice round and the tournament, I played with players who have status on the Nationwide Tour. Although I missed qualifying by a couple shots, there are definitely some positives to take away from the experience.

Up next on my schedule is a Nationwide Qualifier for the Melwood Count Open in Clarksburg, MD on Tuesday, June 1st. I will be heading down there on Monday to play a practice round, and the qualifier will be 18-holes of stroke play on Tuesday with a total of 14 spots available. Looking forward to the opportunity and it should be a lot of fun!

Those of you who played this past Monday know how tough the conditions were. It wasn't the strength of the wind that made it such a tough day to play, but the fact that it swirled so badly. My coach, Chuck Lasher, who followed me on Monday, said it was one of the toughest windy days he had ever seen. That can be attested by the fact that 72 was the medalist and 73 was in a playoff, on a course where 69 has been the cut in years past.

Despite getting off to a bad start, I was grinding out the round great and was 2-over with four to go. However, an errant tee shot on the 15th followed by an unlucky break resulted in me missing the cut by a few shots. It was very frustrating to be on the cut knowing I needed to play the last four at even-par or 1-under, yet I struggled to finish the round. It was the first tournament I had played in a few months and the first real pressure test with my new swing and grip, so it was definitely a good experience. Looking forward, I definitely need to work on my driver as I still hit a few bad tee shots. But my short game is definitely in place and where it needs to be.

Next up is my first CT PGA Assistants' Event on Thursday at CC of Waterbury.

My first tournament of 2010 in New England will be on May 10th at Twin Hills CC in Longmeadow, Mass. for the 1st stage of US Open Qualifying. I have been very close to making it through (missing twice by 1 shot and once in a playoff), so hopefully this will be the year that I can make it through. The site for second stage depends on availability, but I would most likely play in either New Jersey or Maryland. Following the US Open Qualifying, I will be playing in the first CT PGA Assistants Event at CC of Waterbury.

Looking forward to getting the season underway and keeping all of my followers informed! Be sure to post your questions/comments by clicking the comment box next to each post.

As the 2010 season gets underway in a warm way, I look forward to keeping everyone updated on my results as I continue my quest for the PGA Tour. For those of you that don't know, I will be working part-time as an Assistant Professional at Timberlin. My duties include running tournaments, lessons, and of course a few hours in the shop. Although I would love to play tournaments all year, my current financial situation does not warrant that. However, I don't feel that this will impact my playing and practice schedule at all and Timberlin is a great environment to be involved in.

Below is a look at my 2010 tentative tournament schedule:

May 10- US Open Qualifier- Twin Hills
May 13- Assistants Event #1
June 1-2- Cape Cod Open
June 8- Assistants Event #2
June 9-10- Providence Open
June 13-16- Vermont Open (Defending Champion)
June 28-30- Portland Open
July 16- Western Mass Open
July 21-24- Bangor Open
July 26-28- Connecticut Open
August 2nd- Manchester Open
August 19th- Assistants Event #4
Sepetember 7th-8th- Assustants Championship

Q-School (Pending Proper Funding)
Pre-Qualifying- September 15-19
1st Stage- October 19-22
2nd Stage- November 11-14
Final Stage- December 1-6