End of 2011 Golf Season

Today was my last tournament round for the year.
So far I have enjoyed the last couple of months down in Florida for the Winter. I am still adjusting to playing on bermuda grass, which has been a work in progress.

Since my time in Florida I have played in 10 events. I made a check in most, although none too big it was still nice to make the cut and play the final round and gain more experience.

Below are my results since I have been in Florida.

NGA Winter Series #1 75 78 71 = T20
FPGTour #1 69 75 = T26
NGA Winter Series #2 70 72 = MC (by 1)
NGA Winter Series #3 70 72 75 = T35
FPGTour #2 70 69 = T40
NGA Winter Series #4 69 71 74 = T38
Invitational Golf Tour Event 75 75 = T6
NGA Winter Series #5 70 72 73 = T38
FPGTour #3 70 75 = T17
NGA Winter Series #6 73 70 73 = T23

I am currently writing this blog while waiting to board a flight back to Minneapolis for Christmas break.
I am excited to have a break but I cannot wait to start up my 2012 season.
I will be in Minneapolis from the 22nd till 2nd of Jan and I will play in my first event in 2012 on the 4th of Jan

I hope all is well with everyone and I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Thomas

Last Couple of Events

Over the past week I played in two events.

The first event was a NGA Winter Series Event. I had 11 penalty shots. (4 out of bounds / 3 in the water). But still managed to make the cut on the number. I don't know if I have had 11 penalty shots combined for the whole year it was a bad event of ball striking. Luckily my Putter kept me alive and I was able to move up a few positions in the last round to finish 20th.

The second event was a FPGTOUR two day event. The first day I played solid for 3 under even though I only managed to hit 4 fairways. The second round was not very good I got off to a bad start and managed to salvage a respectable round but the damage was done after six holes. I finished 26th in this event.

Yesterday I played a practice round for my next NGA Winter Series Event at Haromny. The course is longer and wider off the tee which I like. I am excited to play today.

Florida Golf November Schedule

During my four months in Florida I will be playing in events on three golf tours.
These are the Bridgestone NGA Winter Series, The Florida Professional Golf Tour (FPGT) and some one day moonlight golf tours.

Below are the events I will be playing in during November


10/31-11/2 NGA Winter @ Orange Tree
11/3-11/4 FPGT @ Rio Pinar
11/7 Moonlight @ Falcons Fire
11/8-11/10 NGA Winter @ Harmony
11/14-11/16 NGA Winter @ Forest Lake
11/28 Moonlight @ West Orange
11/29-12/1 NGA Winter @ Metro West

I will do my best to update my blog during these events

Thomas

PGA Tour Q-School First Stage

It is going to be another year playing mini tour golf. I had my worst performance of the year at the time I needed a performance the most. The event is gone from my memory and it is time to focus on my time in Florida this winter.
I begin my first event on the Bridgestone NGA Winter Series today.
Yesterday I played a practice round at Orange Tree. I like the course it is quite a tough driving course, but all I need to do is play smart and I will do just fine. I was very impressed with my driving during the practice round which has given me a lot of confidence for the event.

As I am writing this there is a weather delay for the first round, so it looks likely that I will not complete my first round today as I have an afternoon tee time.

Results for the event can be followed on this link

http://ngawinter.tourgolfscores.com/gscode/tlist.cfm

Next Stage of Q-School

Next stage of PGA Tour Q-School begins tomorrow at Pinewild GC, Pinehurst, NC
I have a 10:45 Tee Time (last off)
Have had two quality practice days at the course. I'm ready to go. Excited for tomorrow.

You can follow my progress on this link

http://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq11/event/pgatq1117/index.htm

Update on my Progress / Summer Results

It has been a while since I have updated you on my golf progress this year. This summer has been challenging on my mental game. I have been playing well and I am very happy with my ball striking. However I have not been getting anything out of my rounds. I feel like I could count on one hand the amount of rounds I have had less than 30 putts. Also in most cases I have been in contention after the first or second rounds and have dropped back in my final round. You can see this with my final round scores below. I am very confident with where my game is heading and believe even more in my potential to make it to The PGA Tour. I have a very good feeling about the rest of the year.

On another positive side yesterday I advanced through the first step of PGA Tour Q-School finishing 7th in my first stage. Once again my ball striking was really good and I managed to hole a couple of putts in the final round to make this stage stress free. I ended up making it through to the next stage by 8 shots. In comparison last year at the same stage I had to shoot 31 on my back 9 of the final round to make the cut on the number. This provides me with a lot of confidence, knowing I have a great chance to make it all the way through Q-School this year. In what has been a weird year competing I know if I stay patient the Putts I have been waiting to drop for so long, will hopefully drop at the right time for me in these next stages of Q-School.

Here is a list of the results from this Summer where I have made the cut

T7 – PGA Tour Pre-Qualifier, Nebraska City, Nebraska 74, 71, 68 = 213
T17 - The Dakotas Tour Championship, Sioux Center, Iowa 72, 69, 70 = 211
T5 – The Dakotas Tour, Millbank, South Dakota 68
21st – The Dakotas Tour, Fargo, North Dakota 69, 71, 73 = 213
35th – The Dakotas Tour, Rapid City, South Dakota 66, 72, 73 = 211
T5 – The Dakotas Tour, Mitchell, South Dakota 72
T27 – The Dakotas Tour, Yankton, South Dakota 67,69,74 = 210
T3 – Minnesota State Open, Minneapolis, Minnesota 70, 68, 72 = 210
T18 – The Dakotas Tour, Vermillion, South Dakota 68, 69, 74 = 211
T38 – The Dakotas Tour, Westward Ho, South Dakota 75
T26 – The Dakotas Tour, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 66, 76 = 142
T18 – The Dakotas Tour, Arnolds Park, Iowa 71
9th – Tapemark Pro-Am, Minneapolis, Minnesota 72,71,66 = 209
10th – Minnesota Golf Champions, Minneapolis, Minnesota 72,76,71 = 219

In each of my other events this summer I missed the cut by one shot each time. These events were: The Dakotas Tour, Marshall, Minnesota, The Dakotas Tour Yankton-Hillcrest, and The Brokers Iowa Open.

These were very frustrating times but I did learn from my mistakes and now realize the importance of patience and each single shot I play in each event. On a positive side it is nice to know my hard work has improved my game to a point where if I am not playing well I am still in contention to at least make a check.

I do not find out my next stage for PGA Tour Q-School until Tuesday, however based on my high finish yesterday I will most likely be playing in Pinehurst, North Carolina at Pinewild Country Club of Pinehurst-Magnolia October 25-28 as I selected this site as my first choice.

I plan on playing in one event in Phoenix, Arizona in preparation for this stage. I will be playing in an All-American Tour Event October 12-14 to keep the game sharp.

Over the next three weeks I will be based at home in Minneapolis, where I will be working hard practicing at The University of Minnesota Golf Teams awesome facility and playing courses around the Twin Cities.

Last Winter I went down to Phoenix, Arizona from November-April, however this year I have a change of plan and will be heading down to Orlando, Florida from November-March. I will be primarily playing on the Bridgestone Winter Series (Formerly know as the Hooters Winter Series). I will also play in smaller one and two day events in between each event. I will keep you updated on my Winter plans closer to the time.
“Great putters believe they are great putters”.

Thomas Campbell

Last Week of Events

My last week of events have been pretty busy.
I finished up at The SD Open at The Bluffs with 68 -67- 74. I struggled in my final round to finish T19.
This past weekend I played in the Minnesota State Open. I hit the ball great but didn't get the job done with my putting or on the Par 5s. I played the Par 5's even for the event. Par 4's -8 and Par 3's +2. I finished T3 and Tied 1st low pro with two others. Although I was happy to be in contention. I am getting really frustrated with my putting leaving so many shots out there.

Above is a photo of myself and the other two low pro's in the event.

Results can be found at this link.

http://mnpga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/mnpga11/event/mnpga1151/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

This frustration continued on to the last couple of days in Marshall for a Dakotas Tour Event. I had 32 and 36 Putts in each round shooting 70 - 73. Today really hurt me but is a really good learning experience. I only missed the cut by one shot which really hurt considering I know that I could not had putted any worse and shot any higher. However it is good to know that my game has progressed to a point where I can contend more consistently. I know I should had been contending again with my ball striking and I am very upset but I am looking for the positives. I need a good practice day to work on my putting tomorrow. I have a lot of events coming up in the next few weeks and I need to work out my putting to break out of my putting slump. It is going to hurt knowing I should be out playing contending to win but a day off to work on my progress and focus on the long term development of my game will be very beneficial for the upcoming events and well into the future. Marshall needs to be erased from my memory. It is only one event so it is time to focus on the future. I am lucky enough to play such a great game that lets me play in the next event from a fresh start.

Below is a List of the Events I will be playing in over the next month.

7/29-7/31 Dakotas Tour - Fox Run
8/1 Dakotas Tour - Mitchell
8/4-8/7 Dakotas Tour - Hillcrest
8/11-8/13 Dakotas Tour - Arrowhead
8/19-8/21 Iowa State Open
8/24 Dakotas Tour - Oxbow
8/26-8/28 Dakotas Tour - ND Open
8/29 Dakotas Tour - Milbank
8/31-9/2 Dakotas Tour - Tour Championship

Round Two - The Bluffs South Dakota Open

Another hot day. Luckily I had a 8AM tee time before It got really hot today. I hit the ball great. Shot 67 and feel like I got lapped by other players going really low. I gave myself chances to shoot low but the ball just wouldn't drop on the greens today. Tomorrow hopefully. I feel I am due plenty. However after making a terrible bogy on the first hole to play the next 17 holes 6 under I will take any day. I only missed one green (the first) and had 31 putts. If I can lower the amount of putts I have next round I will have a good chance to challenge the leaders.
Currently I am tied 5th at 9 under par (68-67). The leader is 14 under so I have plenty of work to do to catch him but If I keep giving myself chances I know I have got a shot at it.

Scores can be found at this link


http://dakotastour.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/dakotastour11/event/dakotastour113/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

Round One The Bluffs South Dakota Open

Another hot day in Vermillion, South Dakota. Todays round was a bit up and down. I played solid and didn't get anything out of my first 9 holes. I turned one under after missing a short putt on hole 8 and then 3 putting hole 9. I was getting frustrated and had to remind myself to stay patient. Without patience you may as well not bother to play golf. It took me till the last 4 holes to get something out of my round. I birdied 3 of the last four holes to shoot 68 turn an average round into a solid first round score and stay in contention. Currently I am Tied 9th 3 shots behind the leader. Still two rounds to go. I have an early tee time tomorrow and I am excited to go out stay patient and make lots of birdies.

Results can be found at this link.

http://dakotastour.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/dakotastour11/event/dakotastour113/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

Westward Ho and Preparation for The South Dakota Open

In the past couple of days I managed to get back to Minneapolis to take time and reflect on what went wrong last weekend. I was very disappointed with my result at Bakker Crossing which carried onto my bad play at Westward Ho. I played well but just made a couple of bad mental errors. However it is all in the past. This weekend is a new event and after a couple of good practice days I am ready to get back into real competition mode, stay patient and enjoy my time on the golf course regardless of the results. You can't let the results define your attitude, rather let your attitude define your results. More than likely if you have a good attitude the results you want will come.

Today I drove to Vermillion, SD and played in a practice round. I like the course and I'm really excited to compete tomorrow.

Results for this event can be found at this link.

http://dakotastour.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/dakotastour11/event/dakotastour113/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

Thomas

Bakker Crossing Pro-Am

Words cannot express how mad I am at myself after this event.
Yesterday in my first round I shot a stress free 66 which is 5 under at Bakker Crossing.
My game has been feeling really good and I was excited to finally get some results for all the hard work I have been doing. 66 after the first round put me in T2 and a good round the next day would put me on contention. All that was needed to do the next day was two under and I would finally win my first pro event. Today would not be the day. I finished up shooting 76 to finish tied 26th. In my second round I hit two out of bounds on two par 4s with my second shots. I also had 36 putts to shoot 76 and not be in contention at all.
It's tough to take the positives from today however I know it is close and if I continue to stay patient the results I want will come.
Tomorrow I play in a one day event at Westward Ho in Sioux Falls tomorrow before heading back to Minnesota to Practice for a couple of days before my next event.
My goal for tomorrow is to go out and play with no fear and stop trying and let the results happens. My swing is feeling great and know my game is close.
Results from tomorrow's event can be found at this link.

http://dakotastour.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/dakotastour11/event/dakotastour1117/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

Emerald Hills Pro-Am

My Dakota Tour Golf season has begun. My first event was yesterday at Emerald Hills Golf Club in Okaboji, Iowa. Athlough I did not score as low as I would like I feel if I stay patient the putts will drop as I am hitting the ball great. In the event I shot 71 (1 under) with three birdies and two bogies. I finished Tied 18th in this one day event. Results can be found at this link

http://dakotastour.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/dakotastour11/event/dakotastour112/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

My next event begins tomorrow at Bakker Crossing Golf Club in Sioux Falls, IA. I am really excited to begin. I had a good practice round today and have the speed of the greens down all I need to do is stay patient and this weekend will be a lot of fun. This event is over two days. This was my first event as a pro last year and I really enjoy the course. You can follow my results at this link

http://dakotastour.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/dakotastour11/event/dakotastour111/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

Following this event I will be playing in a one day event on Monday at Westward Ho Country Club before heading back to Minneapolis for a couple of practice days.
I will keep you updates over the next few days.

Thomas

Update 2011 Progress and Practice

Hello All

Firstly I apologize for not regularly updating my blog. I can promise that I will be regularly updating my blog on the road while I compete on The Dakotas Tour, in State Opens, and Monday Qualifiers for The Nationwide Tour. My first Dakota Tour event is on the 7^th of July.

Since spending time in New Zealand with my family during the Christmas period I was located in Scottsdale, Arizona until the end of April. In Arizona I mainly played on the All-American Tour, and Pepsi Tour. I had intentions to play on the Gateway Tour, however with each event costing $1400 to enter and not many players competing I wisely decided to avoid the tour as the payout was not worth it. Unfortunately being in the Arizona area I did not have any other options to play in once the All-American Tour finished at the beginning of March. I did play in a few 1-2 day Pepsi Tour events to keep the game sharp by competing, but I realized that Arizona is a very expensive area to play on the limited amount of mini-tours available. If I do not have status on the Nationwide Tour, or PGA Tour after Q-School I will most likely head to Florida next winter, as there are a lot more options.

I was luckily enough to be looked after by Vista Verde and Tonto Verde Golf Courses allowing me to play and practice as much as I needed. I greatly appreciate the use of the golf courses to practice and keep my game sharp. When I was not playing in small events I took the opportunity to spend plenty of time at these courses to work on my game during my time in Arizona.

Since being back in Minneapolis I have played in The Minnesota Golf Champions, and The Tapemark Pro-Am. It has been nice being back in the Midwest playing golf in all weather conditions as in Arizona I found Desert golf to become boring as every day was the same sunny, warm, and no wind with perfect lies all the time.

It has also been great to be back in Minneapolis and continue to use the University of Minnesota Golf Programs practice facility. I greatly appreciate the use of this practice facility.

Over the next couple of weeks I will continue to fine tune my game, by spending more and more time playing golf, rather than just hitting balls. I know I need to practice and maintain my technique off the golf course, but I play so much better when I am playing a lot of rounds, and I am really excited to get on the road in a couple of weeks playing lots of golf. My game feels good and I know I will do well this summer if I stay patient and focus on one day at a time.

I have also posted my results during my first year and schedule for the next three months on the previous two blogs posted today.

I hope all is well with everyone and from now on I will do my best to keep everyone updated on my progress regularly.

You can also follow my results on The Dakota Tour website, follow this link

http://dakotastour.com/Home_Page.php

Professional Golf Results Year One

Thank you all for following my progress over the last year. I have had a mixed success in my first year as a professional golfer. Below you will find all my results in my first year.

My career scoring average as a professional is 71.38 (over 61 rounds). I hope you all continue to follow my progress, as the second year is about to begin.

Date	Event	Scores	Finish
2010
July 10-11	Bakker Crossing	69-70	T14
July 17	Waterloo Open	73	MC
July 20	Britton	65	T6
July 23-25	Minnesota State Open	71-72-68	T6
July 26-28	Marshall	69-72-69	T5
August 12-14	Arrowhead	71-65-75	T26
August 19-22	Minot	79-68-70	MC
August 27-29	North Dakota Open	68-66-76	4th
August 30	Milbank	76	T15
September 1-2	Dakota Tour Championship	74-68-70	T10
September 14-17	PGA Tour Pre Qualifying Q-School	74-72-72-69	T38
October 26-29	PGA Tour 1st Stage Qualifying Q-School	73-70-75-74	T52
November 10-11	All American Tour #5	71-72	T4
November 16-17	All American Tour #6	68-72	2nd
November 30-31	All American Tour #7	70-70-67	2nd
December 7-8	All American Tour #8	76-72	MC
December 14-16	Nevada Open	74-73	MC
		71.14
2011
January 27	PGA Tour Phoenix Open Qualifier	78	MC
February 12-13	All American Tour #9	72-72	T9
February 18-19	All American Tour #10	70-76	21st
February 28-2	All American Tour Championship	Match Play	T9
March 6	Pepsi Tour @ Wigwam	73	T9
March 27	Pepsi Tour @ ASU	70	6th
March 30	Gateway Tour Sponsorship Event	74	T44
April 1	Pepsi Tour Pre-Event @ Las Vegas National	69	1st
April 2-3	Pepsi Tour @ Las Vegas National	72-68	T3
April 11	Pepsi Tour @ Camelback	69	2nd
April 17	Pepsi Tour @ Dove Valley	75	T8
May 6-8	Minnesota Golf Champions	72-76-71	10th
June 10-12	Tapemark Pro-Am	72-71-66	T9
		71.89
		71.38 Career

Golf Schedule - Next 3 Months

I am about to begin my busier part of the year playing in many events over the next three months in preparation for Q-School. My schedule mainly consists of The Dakotas Tour, State Opens, and monday Qualifying for Nationwide Tour Events.

This is my current schedule till the middle of September.

Date	Event	Location
7 July	Dakotas Tour - Emerald Hills	Arnolds Park, IA
9-10 July	Dakotas Tour - Bakker Crossing	Sioux Falls, SD
11 July	Dakotas Tour - Westward Ho	Sioux Falls, SD
15-17 July	Dakotas Tour - The Bluffs	Vermillion, SD
22-24 July	Minnesota State Open	Minneapolis, MN
25-27 July	Dakotas Tour - Marshall	Marshall, MN
29-31 July	Dakotas Tour - Fox Run	Yankton, SD
1 August	Dakotas Tour - Mitchell	Mitchell, SD
4-7 August	Dakotas Tour - Hillcrest	Yankton, SD
11-13 August	Dakotas Tour - Arrowhead	Rapid City, SD
15 August	Nationwide Tour - Monday Qualifier	Overland Park, KS
18-21 August	Nationwide Tour - Midwest Classic	Overland Park, KS
18-21 August	Dakotas Tour - Minot	Minot, ND
24 August	Dakotas Tour - Oxbow	Fargo, ND
26-28 August	Dakotas Tour – North Dakota Open	Fargo, ND
29 August	Dakotas Tour - Milbank	Milbank, SD
31 August-2 September	Dakotas Tour - Tour Championship	Sioux Center, IA
9-11 September	Nebraska State Open	Columbus, NE

2011 Season Begins

Tomorrow my golf season for 2011 begins. It has been nice to talk a break from golf and just relax. I was lucky enough to have my girlfriend come with me to New Zealand for the christmas period and relax catching up with family, friends, and show Josie some sights in New Zealand.

The highlight of my trip was spending a couple of days in Mt Aspiring National Park camping and hiking, it is one of my most favorite places in the world, and I had not been back there since high school. Here is a couple of photos.

However the break is over and it has been back to business over the last 10 days. I have been working hard technically, mentally, and playing and feel that my game is on track for a great year.

Tomorrow is my first competitive round since early December and I am so excited to get out there and compete again.

My first event is a Pre-Qualifier for the PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open. I am competing in one of three sites tomorrow where 104 players at each site need to finish in the top 9 and ties to advance to the Monday Qualifier for the PGA Tour Event. Tomorrows goal is to stay positive, play agressive but smart, and ultimately finish in the Top 9. I know I can do it as long as I stay positive and patient.

I will keep you posted on how I do. Results can also be found on this website:

http://southwest.pga.com/index.cfm?menu=1638

Below is a rough schedule of what I will be competing in over the next 3 months until I head back to Minneapolis in the end of April.

Jan 27 Pre Qualifying Phoenix Open PGA Tour Event – McCormick Ranch Palm

Jan 31 Monday Qualifier Phoenix Open PGA Tour Event - McCormick Ranch Pine

Feb 2 – 3 All American Tour #11 – Ocotillo Golf Resort

Feb 3 – 6 PGA Tour Phoenix Open

Feb 8 – 10 Gateway Tour #4 – Ironwood @ Anthem

Feb 10 PGA Tour Northern Trust Pre-Qualifier - Los Angeles

Feb 12 – 13 All American Tour # 12 - Vista Verde

Feb 14 PGA Tour Northern Trust Qualifier - Los Angeles

Feb 15 – 17 Gateway Tour #5 – Trilogy @ Power Ranch

Feb 17 – 20 PGA Tour Northern Trust Open

Feb 19 – 20 All American #9 Wigwam Red

Feb 22 – 24 Gateway Tour #6 – Palms @ Goodyear

March 1 – 4 All American Tour Championship

Mar 8 – 10 Gateway Tour #7 – Wigwam Red

Mar 23 – 25 Gateway Tour #9 – Papago

Apr 6 – 8 Gateway Tour #10 – Corte Bella

April 11 Nationwide Fresh Express Classic, San Fransisco Qualifier

Apr 13 -15 Gateway Tour # 11 – Lone Tree

April 14 – 17 Nationwide Tour Fresh Express Classic, San Fransisco

Apr 20 – 22 Gateway Tour #12 – Vista Verde

Hope all is well with everyone

Thomas