9 birdies & 2nd Win!

Today was a very memorable day at Continental GC! After paring the drivable par 4 1st hole, I made 6 birdies in a row, and misread a short one on 9 to shoot -6 on the front. I birdied ten to get it to -7 the bogeyed the 11th when my flushed 7 iron flew the green. A thirty footer dropped for a birdie 2 on th 165yrd 14th hole and I holed out an 8 footer on 18 to shoot -8!! I won the front nine and the overall, defending last weeks victory, 2 shots off the course record! Unfortunately, a lot of the usual pros were playing in the Parker Open out of town so the purse wasn't as big but I won $300!

On Tuesday at Mountain Shadows I had 5 birdies and 2 doubles to shoot -1. I was the closest to winning a skin on the 185 yrd 9th. There were 2 other 2's out of 80 guys, would have been $3200. All skins carried over and this Tuesday the pot will be $6000!

Updated Swings!

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Last week I was able to visit Talking Stick to practice and catch up with former coach Robert Gray of the Gonzaga Bulldogs. It was great to see and chat with him as I hadn't seen him since leaving Spokane. It was also interesting to watch the new team compete and too observe the differences between pros and college kids; demeanor, short game, and course management separate the pros, ball striking is very similar at that level. I wish Coach Gray the best of luck with a great program at a great school. GO ZAGS!

Hole in One and 1st W!

Yesterday I played in the weekly Continental Tourney and started hot with 3 birdies, 3 lip outs, and a hole in one to go -5 through 8 holes! I hit a PW, 142 yards with a tail wind, landed 15 ft behind the pin on a bank and spun it back into the hole! It was the best shot I've ever hit! I struggled to get completely settled and shot 1 over on the back, but good enough to win my first event and $400!

Mountain Shadows

Yesterday I competed in the Mountain Shadows skins/low gross game with Kent, Mike, and Julien. I shot -1 and came 3rd in the gross, winning $180. All skins carried over and will be worth $3000 next Tuesday.

A new friend, Chuck from Calgary, has been kind enough to take me as a guest to Grayhawk Golf Club, home of the PGA Tour's Fry's Open. We have played 3 times together and I have shot 70, 69, and 73 in extreme wind. Grayhawk has world class practice facilities and an amazing staff. It has been a pleasure to practice there.

Continental Skins Game & Schedule

Today I shot -3 and won the low gross and 1 of 4 skins to cash out $325! I really enjoy these skins games because I get to play with Gateway Tour players for only $50 and I have been making a lot of great friends along the way. Tomorrow I will look to add to this weeks winnings at the Desert Shadows Skins Game, and then again Friday at Continental GC.

April 19-20 I plan on playing in the Desert Golf Tour at Lone Tree Golf Club.

April 24-26 I plan on playing a 3 Day Pro-AM just outside Phoenix, the 13th Annual Parker Open at Emerald Canyon GC. Buy in is $300 and first place is $4000, with the top 30 getting paid out.

April 29-30th I will play in Southwest Pro Tour at Palm Valley, with $10,000 up for grabs.

Then I plan on making my Vancouver Golf Tour Debut at either Point Roberts on May 4th or Squamish Valley May 11th!

Gateway Tour & Tendonitus

I the last few weeks I played a 1 day Southwest pro-tour event in preparation for The Gateway Tour in Gilbert, AZ last week. The 1 day event was great as my mom and dad were there and I was playing alongside fellow Canadians, 25 year old Mitch Gillis and 15 year Canadian Tour veteran Kent Fukushima. Kent and Mitch played very well to 67 and 65 respectively, while I struggled to a 72 highlighted with many missed putts. The week after I felt very good about playing in The Gateway Tour event after shooting a 67 in my practice round with Gateway Tour money leader Brady Stockton. My first round started well with 2 birdies in my first 3 holes. I missed short birdie putts on 4, 5, 7, & 9. I turned in 1-under then drove it just short of the green on a short downwind par 4. With a large crowd watching my chip for eagle lipped out, then a pure return putt never broke and lipped out, and finally I yanked a 3 footer and walked off the green with a bogey. While not physically rattled, I think the exchange crushed my mental confidence, and I started steering the ball. My putter went cold and 2 penalty strokes later I finished with a 76 and went on to miss the cut of -1.
Last week I played the Monday, Tuesday skins/ low gross games at Continental and Mountain Shadows with Kent and 2 very good young local golfers, Julien Trudeau and Mike Derminio out of ASU. While matching them tee to green, it was clear my putter was not at their level. After Tuesday, Kent kindly took me to the putting green and gave me a much needed putting lesson. With the aid of his putting tools, we revealed my eyes were on the inside of my line, the ball was too far forward in my stance, and my head was rocking too much. I have been working out in the gym daily and my bicep tendon gave out last week but is feeling much better after a cortisone shot and ice. I had to WD from the tourney this week but I have been putting/chipping 3-6 hours a day. I look forward to taking my new stroke to competition next week.

Desert Golf Tour Event #2

My 2nd Desert Golf Tour event came Monday and Tuesday at Tatum Ranch Golf Club. I had the pleasure of my mom and dad here to watch and caddy respectively. The first round started smoothly but a few unforced errors in the middle led to penalty strokes and a birdieless round of +5. I bounced back well on a tough golf course to shoot a -1 71 on day 2 to finish T11th. A new friend and fellow Canadian Julien Trudeau shot a 66 to come from behind and beat red-hot Brady Stockton on the 2nd hole of a playoff. I am beginning to feel much more comfortable in the tourneys and I plan to dedicate 90% of my practice time on the short game, as my ball striking is solid. Thanks again Mom and Dad!

Southwest Pro Tour Debut

The Southwest Pro Tour is a mini tour in Phoenix whose past champions include the likes of J.B. Holmes, Charley Hoffman, Charles Howell III, and more. The event was at Palm Valley and I enjoyed playing with my friend Mitch Gillis form Williams Lake BC. I birdies the first, but a cold putter and a ball OB on #13 led to a +3 75. Mitch and our fellow competitor Colby shot 68's and Mitch went on to lose on the 4th playoff hole. It was great learning experience playing with the leaders and learning what it takes, especially when it comes to getting the ball in the hole. I look forward to the next event next Thursday at Coldwater Golf Course.

6 iron

Feb 28 2009

Feb 17 2009 4 iron

New Swing!

More hip turn, less slide = better swing plane, more power, more consistency.

Tiger Hunting!

On Wednesday, I drove to Dove Mountain to watch Tiger Woods' debut at The WGC. It was an amazing day which I will never forget. The buzz and crowds around Tiger were massive, and he did not disappoint, opening with a birdie and an eagle, and making another eagle on the 13th for an easy victory. His focus and intensity from the moment he stepped on the practice tee was unwavering and something I have been trying to do on every shot. I studied his warm up routine and his pre-shot routine. Watching Tiger was like those watching Jordan, Ali, or Gretzky must have felt, he is clearly a level above everyone else. I spent most of my day on the driving range where I watched, Weir working with Dr Rotella, Woods, Goosen, Singh, Mcilroy, Els, Harrington, Mickelson, Donald, Cink, Weekley, Ames, Poulter, Garcia, Ryo, and more! The highlight of the day came at the very end, when I was the only person watching 19 year old Irish sensation Rory Mcilroy and he came over and we chatted for a bit about his win in Dubai and my pro golf before signing my cap. I absorbed a lot and have been filled with inspiration and motivation after watching the world's best at work.

Golf Fitness and Swing Changes

I have been working hard on my flexibility, fitness, strength, short game, and golf swing. With the help of TPI Certified golf instructor Mindi Boysen, I have identified balance, hip flexibility, and core strength as areas I need to improve. I have been jogging every morning, going to yoga classes 3 days a week, and lifting weights/ core 3-4 days a week at Mountainside Fitness.

My practice sessions usually begin with 1-2 hours of putting, working on routine, picking a spot on my line to roll the boll over, neutralizing my grip, pure contact, body/head still, and keeping the blade square. Then I'll chip for an hour working on spin control and landing the ball on a spot. Then I'll hit balls for 2-3 hours, working on setup, hip rotation, grip, trajectory, and swing plane. Sessions close with 1-2 hours on the putting green and chipping green. Progress is good, as proven by matching my Career Low round with a 63 on Tuesday at Firerock!

The Desert Golf Tour Debut

Today I made my professional debut on The Desert Golf Tour, hosted by Wigwam Golf Club, a true Championship golf course playing over 7400 yards. I opened with a birdie and a narrow birdie miss on #2 and was still a little unsettled going bogey after being bunkered on a long par 3, par, bogey after my tee shot found a fairway divot and I hit it over the green, bogey; +2 through 6. I settled down and hit every green from there on, giving myself a lot of looks at birdie, making 3 in a row on 14,15, and 16. I finished par, par on 2 tough holes for a 1 under 71, good for 7th place and in the money, just 1 shot back of T3rd and a much better paycheck, the eventual winner was a seasoned pro-golfer with an impressive 65.

My goals before teeing off were to have fun and to play 1 shot at a time, disconnected from my score or the results. I had a lot of fun playing with my fellow competitors and I had no idea what I shot until the scorers tent- it was a successful day! My course management was excellent as I stuck to my game-plan of hitting irons and woods off some tees, and setting myself up in the fairway for the best angles to pins.

The Winter Gateway Tour comes to Wigwam this week, I may buy in to the event, otherwise my next event will be The Desert Golf Tour, a two day event early March at Tatum Ranch.

The FBR Open

This past weekend was The FBR Open (formerly The Phoenix Open) at The TPC Scottsdale. I went early on Friday to watch Anthony Kim, Kenny Perry, and Stewart Cink. Watching on TV on Thursday, I was so impressed with Kim's ability to laugh off his +4 start and grind out a 73. Unfortunately, I watched the opposite first hand on Friday. After lipping out an eagle on 15, his 6th hole to go -2, he 3 putted 16 in front of the infamously rowdy crowd. Kim them stomped his ball deep into the turf and marched on to 17 without acknowledging the crowd. 17 he blocked it right and missed a 10 ft putt, then on 18 he snap hoked a driver into the lake, double bogey, and a smashed driver against the desert rocks. As he made the turn he hit it into the rough on1 and topped it into the desert and his hopes of making the cut were gone. I have no doubt frustration was the catalyst to this bad stretch and it reaffirmed the importance of detaching myself from the result and focusing on the process of 1 shot at a time. Meanwhile Kenny Perry shot a 63 highlighted by an eagle on the 3rd and a chip in birdie on the first.

I went out again Saturday and Sunday, following the leaders around on Sunday. I studies their pre-shot routines, their tendencies when reading greens, and their course strategies. I learned that that don't fire at many flags, those are just the shot we see on TV. They spend a lot of time playing to the safe part of the fairway or green and making excellent up and downs and long lag putts. Kenny Perry especially stayed very calm and managed his game flawlessly, never putting himself in an unmanageable position.

The 16th holes is even rowdier in person! College students heckling and chanting in players back swings, and booing even mediocre shots. The FBR is more of a fair than a golf tournament, I was pleased though as with the distraction of The Cardinals in The Superbowl, I was able to follow the last 3 groups on Sunday with ease and get within feet of the pros!

Puttter Fitting

I had a tendency to pull my putts off line in tournament play, so I paid a visit to a local club fitting guru at Cool Clubs in Scottsdale. They were kind enough to spend 45 minutes with me on a state-of-the-art fitting system with 8 cameras on the stroke. I was happy to see that the path of my stroke was solid, but my setup was skew. My feet were 10 degrees open, and thus my shoulders were open, to compensate for this, I was lining the ball up off the toe. My right hand was also in a strong position and I had 2 degrees too much loft on the ball at impact. The guru had me set up square, line the ball in the center off the club, weaken my right hand, and apply more forward press with my hands. He also bent the toe of the putter down a 1/2 degree. I was thrilled and went out yesterday and putted fantastic, I'm glad I didn't wait another day to do it!

2 Tourneys in the Bag

I started my pro career last Sunday with a small 1 day event on The Pepsi Tour at The Starfire at Scottsdale Country Club. My first hole went well, pumping a drive down the middle and then hitting a 3 wood to 20 ft for a tap-in birdie. I was a little nervous and it showed as I later hit 2 balls in the water and 1 OB, matched with 4 birdies for a 2 over par score. Very frustrating after shooting a 63 in the practice round 2 days earlier. The winning score was a -4 66.

This past week I played my first Gateway Tour event, a new qualifier event with 1 full and 1 half Spring Series exemption up for grabs, with 90 guys in the field. The course, Vista Verde in Scottsdale, was long at 7300 yards but fairly wide open. First round included 2 doubles, 4 birdies, and 4 bogeys on route to a 76. The second round I was +2 when I began feeling ill and ended up vomiting at the turn, and again on the 11th tee before withdrawing from the event. The winning score was -8 and runner-up was -7.

Reflecting on these events I can draw upon the following positives as well as points in my game that need improvement. I am hitting my driver very well, averaging over 300 yards and hitting most fairways, and my irons are being struck very well with a tendency to block them 5-10 yards which will be easy to straighten out. I have played with really great guys in both events, who shot 68 and 67 and my ball striking is right with them. My touch around the greens as been surprisingly good given I'm coming from snow but I plan on spending the most time on wedges inside 100 yards, chipping, and putting. I need to spend more time on course management, figuring out where not to hit it whether off the tee or on my approach to the green. Lastly, the position of the sun, the grain off the grass, relativity to local mountains and valleys, and the wind can greatly affect chips and putts in Phoenix, something I will need to pay attention to.

The experience thus far has been amazing. The players here are the best in North America and the level of play is exhilarating, right there with The Nationwide Tour. I am pleased with my progress thus far, I look forward to the tournaments ahead, and am motivated to practice harder than ever!

Preparing for Competition

Before leaving Vancouver, the pro's at Capilano were kind enough to let me use the training room to tweak my swing with video and mirror assisitance. The range was 2 ft deep in snow but it was great way to fix my swing lane and get used to my new equipment.

Since arriving in Phoenix 5 days ago, my host Dr Eric Honing has kindly set me up with the pros at his home course, Tatum Ranch in North Scottsdale, and I have been playing and practicing there everyday. At 6800 yards, with very fast greens it is a good test and perfect preparation for the tournaments I'll be playing in. There is also a gym and a pool to work out at and cool down after practicing.


Yesterday I had a surreal day practicing at The TPC Scottsdale where The FBR Open will be hosted next week. I practiced for 6 hours on the biggest putting green I've ever seen, deep bunkers, and a massive chipping area. I hit buckets of balls on the range a few stalls down from South African Rory Sabbatini and Charles Howell III, who is coming off a near win at The Sony Open in Hawaii.



My game feels very good. My short game has been surprisingly sharp given the change in conditions and time away from putting and chipping and my ball striking is close to top form.

Thank you again to everyone who has made my journey to Phoenix possible- it is a dream come true.

Tournament Schedule

My first Tournament will be the Gateway Tour Spring Qualifier in Rio Verde, Arizona on Jan 28-29.WIth full exemptions onto the Gateway Tour up for grabs, I'm looking to play well and get my feet wet.

From there my schedule will consist of The Pepsi Tour, The Gateway Tour, and The Golden State Tour. These tours are located in the Southern California, Arizona region and comlete schedules, stories, and results can be found at there respective home pages: www.pepsitour.com, www.thegatewaytour.com, and www.gstour.com.

New Equipment for 2009

2009 marks the start of a new adventure for me: Professional Golf. It has long been a dream for me to play pro golf and I can't imagine a better time to test my game against some of the best than now.

I have armed myself with all new equipment. Taylor made has supported me with the new Tour Burner Irons and the Tour Burner Driver.

I will be playing Titleist Vokey Wedges and The Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Putter.

I will be using the Tour Burner Rescue 18 Degree, a new club I'm excited to put in the bag.

My bag and clothing have been provided by Ogio.

Stormtech has supported me with rain gear and clothing.

Thank You so much to my family, sponsors, and supporters. I am so very grateful for your interest and support and am thrilled to begin training, practicing, and competing at my highest level.