RyanNietfeldt.com

11.14.06- US Pro Golf Tour Championship - Las Vegas

Well after a bad showing at Q-school, I went to the US Pro Golf Tour Championship wanting to 1) finish the year off with a good showing and 2) finish in the top 60 on the money list to ensure that I would have playing privliges on the tour in 2007.

The Tour Championship was on a really good golf course called the Badlands, in NW Las Vegas, Nevada. The course features a lot of lay-up holes surrounded by desert and rocks ready to capture any less than well struck shot. I went into the tournament knowing that making the cut would most likely secure my position in the Top 60 on the money list. So basically my goal was to make the cut and then will as much $$ as possible. The Tournament had a $1 million dollar purse which is by far the biggest purse I've ever played for. For comparision, the Cox Classic's purse was $650,000. There was money to be made this week, which was plenty of motivation to try to shoot low.

The results of the tournament can be seen via http://tlt.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/tl6/event/tl624/contest/5/leaderboard.htm. You can also read more about the tournament at http://www.usprogolftour.com/index2.php. Let me continue.....

Q-School??? What happened???

First of all, I guess the big question is what happened at Q-School? Here's my assessment.....I really played better at Q-school than what my scores show. I hit 70% of greens in regulation and 75% of fairways during the tournament....percentages that any pro golfer would love to have at Q-school. I guess it comes down to putting. I putted absolutely horrible the first two rounds. I guess if I wanted to blame it on the fact that the putter I've been using for the last two years was stolen from my golf bag on my last American Airlines flight two weeks before Q-school, I could...but I'd just be making excuses. As a sidenote American Airlines could quite possibly be the worst airlines in the business....no snacks, no help to get my putter, bad service....thank god they pay for at least a pilot to fly the plane. No wonder there's not making any money. Ok, my side-rant is over. After putting miserably, which has been the story of my whole year, I decided to scrap the method I changed to the year and just go with my own goofy-looking method that I perfected as a kid for the last two rounds.

Q-School - 2 days and counting....

A few of my friends have asked me where they can find out scores for Q-School. Here is the link:

http://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq6/event/pgatq612/index.htm

This should be the website for the Hollister, California site. Wish me luck!

Ryan

The Last Harrah!

Well, the year is winding down and I have two tournaments left until I have some big decisions to make. First stage of PGA Tour Qualifying starts on Nov. 1st. I'm going to Hollister, California again this year. I've been playing really good golf over the past 5 months and am really looking forward to Q-School this year. The last tournament I have is the US Pro Golf Tour Championship. This is a $1 million dollar Tour championship and is the biggest purse I have ever played for. I guess I have two options left this year:

1) make it through Q-school and get some status on the Nationwide or PGA Tour or

2) finish in the Top-60 on the US Pro Golf Tour money list for 2006 to acquire full status in 2007.

So basically I have two tournaments left to try to gain status on the Nationwide or PGA Tour or to earn enough money in the Tour Championship to be able to afford to continue in 2007.

As for the last two months, I've played three tournaments the US Pro Golf Tour. The Tour has taken me to Albuquerque, NM, Colorado Springs, CO and Naples, Florida. I finished T-37th, 46th, and 39th in the tournaments. I've been so close to breaking through into the top 10 and contending in these tournaments and hopefully I can finally put it together in the last two. Please check the US Pro Golf Tour website at www.usprogolftour.com for more information on the Tour and to follow my progress at the tour championship.

9.16.06 - Nebraska Swing

I am currently playing the third and last leg of what I like to call the Nebraska Swing. The "Swing" starts with a 7 hour drive to Scottsbluff for the Scottsbluff Pro-Am, then takes me 4 hours to Cambridge for the Cambridge Pro-Am, and ends with a 3.5 hour drive to Columbus for the Nebraska Open.

The Scottsbluff Pro-Am ended last Sunday and I ended up shooting a three round total of 212 or 4-under par to finish 15th. I struggled with my golf swing but was proud of how I grinded on every shot. I shot 39 on the front nine of my second round, but hung in an shot a 32 on the back to keep myself in the tournament.

The Cambridge Pro-Am was on Tuesday and Cross Creek Golf Links. It you ever are around Cambridge you simply must play Cross Creek. It is one of the best courses in the state and is the longest 18 hole course in Nebraska. Also, if you are around Cambridge you also have to play Heritage Hills in McCook and Wild Horse Golf Club in Gotherburg. These 3 courses are as good as any three courses in Omaha. I shot a 3 under 69 in the one-day tournament to finish Tied for 3rd.

Update 9.5.06

Well, I've been slacking with the updates lately. I've been playing quite a bit since the Cox Classic and I guess I need to get caught up. Here's the update per tournament:

US Pro Golf Tour, Valleybrook Golf Club, Chatanooga, Tennessee

This was my first tournament after the Cox Classic. I played pretty well during the first two rounds shooting a 68-71 to get ready for the last round. I finished the tournament with a final round 70. I ended up playing decent during the week and finished tied for 40th.

Oak Hills Pro-Am, Omaha, NE

This was a two day event in Omaha at the newly re-designed Oak Hills Country Club. I struggled and shot two rounds of 72 to finish tied for 7th place

Cox Classic - Round 2

I new that I was going to have to do something special in round 2 to try to make the cut after my lackluster first round. As I walked to the 10th tee to get ready to start the round I made sure to look around and say hello to some of my friends and family....I was so happy and felt very special to have such great people around to watch me play. My drive found the fairway on #10 and left me only 200 yards to the 560 yard par 5. I hit it on the green and made a solid birdie to start the round. I parred 11 and then hit a great approach to 12 feet on the par 3 12th hole. However, I three putted the green for bogey and I seemed to loose some steam. To me, 3 putts are the worst thing in golf....nothing makes you more upset and takes away momentum after a 3 putt.

Cox Classic - Round 1

First of all, what an awesome event. When I stepped up on the first tee and saw a bunch of family and friends, I was more excited than I have ever imagined. The first round was kind of a blurr. I started the round with more nerves than I had ever felt before. I was very happy when my first drive found the fairway. I believe that holes #1-3 is the toughest stretch at Champions. However, when I arrived at my drive and tried to hit the next shot on the green, I was so excited and nervous that I don't think I even picked out a target. It showed as I pulled my iron left into the thick rough. I played a great shot to 12 feet but was unable to make the putt. The second hole was much of the same. I hit my drive into the rough and then had to punch out and try to make par. My 12 foot par putt slid by the hole and I made another bogey.

Update - 7.24.06 - South Dakota Open - 2nd Place

Well I just played my first event since the end of May in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The Moccasin Creek Invitational was a three day event on the Dakotas Tour. The course was very good and I felt that it was great preparation for the Cox Classic.

My tournament started very well with a 3 -under 69 in the first round. I played very steady and was in good spririts, mostly due to thoughts of our family's new addition...Tyler Ryan Nietfeldt. Ty was born last week and is quite the little peanut. He gave me good motivation to do well.

COX CLASSIC - ARTICLE - GRAND ISLAND INDEPENDENT

COX CLASSIC UPDATE - 6.24.06

Another great article was published in the Grand Island Independent on June 23rd about the Cox Classic exemption:

Please click on the following link to read Terry Douglass' wonderful article about the Cox Classic:

http://www.theindependent.com/stories/062306/spo_nietfeldt23.shtml

Ryan