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. 

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. 

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. 

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:

Ryan

Another great article was published in the Grand Island Independent on June 23 by Terry Douglas.  Read it via the following link: 

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

I am very excited to be playing in Omaha in front of my friends and family.  I have a lot of preparation to do and am looking forward to the challenge. 

I just have arrived back in the States from the Trump Million Dollar Invitational Tournament held on Canouan Island, in the Grenadines.  This 54 hole event was made for TV and will air on ESPN Sunday July 2, from 12:00 to 2:00 CDT on Wednesday July 12, from 1:30 - 3:30 CDT. 

The tournament consisted of a 54 hole qualifier with the top 10 finishers competing for a chance to win $1 million dollars. 

I did not make it to the top 10 due to some lacklaster play, but the island was beautiful and I had the opportunity to meet Donald Trump, Dennis Quaid, as well as play the final round with Adrian Young (drummer for No Doubt).  Please check out the pictures from this tournament under the Pictures tab. 

You can read more about the event and the island at www.trumpmilliondollar.com. 

After a week break, and some much needed time home, I am playing the second of two events sheduled in Late April- Early May.  Last week I played in Baton Rouge, LA on the Tight Lies Tour.  This week I am in Bradenton, Florida, playing the first event of the new US pro Golf Tour. 

Since, I have taken a break from writing on the website, I'll just start with how I played last week in Baton Rouge.  I played pretty good in Baton Rouge and ended up tied for 30th.  The last round was cancelled due to rain and thunderstorms.  Overall, I was happy with my play and was looking forward to this week. 

Sorry, to not update this sooner, but I was staying at some private housing that didn't allow me to access my laptop. 

I was tied for 4th going into the weekend rounds.  The course was playing very tough and it was windy.  I played pretty good on Saturday but didn't make too many putts for birdie. 

Today was my final warm-up for Q-School.  I played the Nationwide Qualifier for the Midland/Odessa Permian Basin Classic.  The course I played was pretty good with fast greens.  The conditions were similiar to Nebraska....flat, windy, and seventy degrees. 

I started off really slow with two bogeys and one birdie on the front nine.  I was a little upset with my both of the bogeys.  One was due to a three-putt from 20 feet and the other was from a horrible drive into a hazard.  I struggled with momentum but stayed positive.

Let me see....I guess round four was sort of blah.  I played ok but didn't do anything spectacular.  The most exciting hole of the day was the par five 14th hole.  I had 260 to the green after my drive.  I decided to go for it from a dicey lie.  I was barely standing outside of a bunker and the ball was on an upslope.  I had to draw the shot 15 yards around a tree.  I hit it awesome into the front greenside bunker....which should have been an easy up and down for a birdie.  However, the ball plugged under the lip and I had to take and unplayable lie in the bunker, which always gives you a plugged lie.  I hit out and made an easy bogey. 

The rest of the round was ok.  I made some putts and shot even par 72.  I wasn't too happy with my weekend finish but I was pretty happy with my attitude.  I ended up 7-under and tied for 27th. 

I've got a lot of good golfing to report since my last update.  After playing six straight weeks I took a week off before starting what I am going to call the "Nebraska swing".   The "Nebraska Swing" is a string of five tournaments over a two week period in the Cornhusker state.  It encompasses four cities and over 1000 miles of travel.  It all starts with the Scottsbluff Pro-Am and ends with a one-day Pro-Am to benefit the Community Colleges in Hastings.   Here we go....

I'm home from Rapid City after a long tournament.  My second round started on Friday at 11:30 and ended on Saturday at 9:00.  We had many rain delays.  However, I ended up shooting a second round 68 that put me in the top ten going into the final round. 

The weather on Saturday for the final round was kind of odd.  It was raining with a high of 55 degrees.  I put on my rain coat and went out and shot another 68 to finish 7 under for the tournament and tied for 7th place.  My putting was pretty solid again and if I could have been able to play the second round in the morning when it was perfect, I might have been able to get closer to winner.  Nevertheless, I finished 5 shots back from fellow Nebraskan winner Mike Plate. 

Overall, I'm happy with the way I played and am looking forward for my next tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma on the Tight Lies Tour (www.tightliestour.net). 

Don't have much else to say about today.  Take care!

Ryan

Hello from Rapid City, South Dakota...just a 20 minute drive from Sturgis.  

I shot a one under 70 in the first round of the Arrowhead Invitational today.  This should end up being a good round due to the windy weather and tough course conditions.  The fairways were very soft and the ball constantly picked up mud, making it very hard to hit shots close to the tucked-pins.  The pins were constantly 3-4 yards from the edges of the greens.   This is a good tournament and I am looking forward to tomorrow.  

If you missed the first sentence, Sturgis is 20 minutes away and this golf tournament just happens to coincide with the Sturgis biker rally.  If you've never experienced Sturgis, I would definitely recommend coming at least once.  It is very hard to describe.  There are Harleys everywhere and the crowd is quite diverse.  Diverse in the sense that you have the classic bikers intertwined with the new age bikers.  A fun fact is that the average age of a Harley-Davidson rider is 49 and the median household income is $80,000.    This makes sense as these bikes can run from $20,000 to $40,000 depending on what modifications are made.   I would get one but I don't think there is a place for my clubs and shoes.  

Nevertheless, Rapid City is a fun time this time of year and I'm looking forward to two more days of good golf and having some fun.  

Hit them straight and long!! - Ryan

Well it's August 8th, 2005 and this website has been up for at least 6 months and I'm finally going to start using it a little. 

First, I guess I'll update how golf has been going this year.   Let's see...January through June....was pretty bad.  I struggled with every aspect of my game and was not very happy with my performance.  The putter let me down and I just couldn't put it all together.  However, during the last two months, I've been putting in overtime and working hard on all aspects of my game.  I'm finally starting to play like I'm capable.  I put a new putter in the bag this week and it seemed like magic.  The putss started going in and my short game became a strength again...golf was fun.    I finished 6th this week in Yankton, SD and made my biggest check so far this year.  I'm looking forward to next week in Rapid City. 

Now, I've been told that this website can be pretty awesome if used properly.  If you're reading this please sign up as a registered user.  This will allow me to send out updates and articles.  After you register, please use the forums and post some items.  Lets get some discussion going and I'll be sure to pipe in a bit too. I'm going to start adding content to make it better and I need your suggestions. 

Finally, thanks for your support.

Ryan