Metropolitan Open Final

It was a gorgeous day in Farmingdale, New York at the famed Bethpage Black Golf Course. My score was unfortunately as high as the temperature. I shot 76 and finished in a tie for 20th. It was good enough to earn an exemption into the tournament for next year but not how I wanted to end the 2010 Metropolitan Open.

Bob Rittberger of the Garden City Golf Club ended up as the champion just edging out Danny Balin of the  Burning Tree Country Club at even par for the tournament. Danny kept up his solid play this year. He was the other club professional in Metropolitan Section (me being the other) to earn a trip to this years PGA Championship. Congrats to Bob on a great tourney!!

I have our Metropolitan PGA Section Championship coming up at the Piping Rock Club next month. This will be another great tournament to get me ready for the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying starting in the third week of November.

Things are still really crazy from my finish at the PGA Championship and I am loving every minute of it. Remember........fairways and greens and I will be chatting again soon.

Rob

Metropolitan Open

There have been 2 days on Bethpage Black so far playing the Met Open and there is one round left. I shot scores of 74-70 and am in a tie for 10th place heading into todays final round. The weather on the first day was rainy and windy. It was calm yesterday but still on the misty side. The weather this summer has taken a toll on the condition of the golf course. The rough is not as high and the greens are not as fast as in past years but it is still one of the best tests in golf.


An amateur is leading the field at 71-66. His name is Evan Beirnie and Bethpage is his home course. He is the reigning Metropolitan Amateur Champion.


I play at 10:51 today with a friend of mine named Keith Dicciani. He is the reigning New York State Open Champion which is played every year at Bethpage Black. It will be a good round today as I truly love playing Bethpage. Until tomorrow....think Bridies!


Rob

PGA Championship Final

It was a long and grueling week! Martin Kaymer came out as the PGA Champion and I made my first cut in a major championship. The support that I received through out the week has been tremendous and beyond my wildest expectations. A heart felt 'THANK YOU' goes out to all of my friends and family. Truly cool!

I scored poorly on Sunday. I was trying to make up ground by firing at flags and unfortunately found out that is very difficult to do in a major championship. Final total was 77 shots on Sunday and a tie for 68th place.

It was really cool playing golf with Retif Goosen. He is a cool guy and a class act! I plan on working on my game harder than ever now and want to hoist up that Wannamaker Trophy one day. I must now return my Mercedes courtesy car and get back to New York. What a week! Be on the look out for more!!! Until then......fairways and greens!

Rob

Whistling Straits Rd 3

It was a long day out at the Straits. In my return back I made one birdie and 8 pars to make the cut at even par. Tons of things going on after that. Reporters and interviews to name a few. I was the only club professional to make the cut. A true accomplishment but I wanted more. I had my sights set on a top 15 finish!

I was paired in the afternoon with Rickie Fowler and Martin Laird. Both of whom I have respect for. I made 3 birdies on the front nine holes to get it to 3 under and that much closer to obtaining my goal. I was standing on the 18 hole (the 9th hole on the course) at 2 under and took an unfortunate 8 to shoot 74. Ouch!

I am paired today with Retif Goosen (a 2 time US Open champion) at 8:26am central time. Look for a low one today.  As the low club professional I will be standing on the podium with the eventual winner of the PGA Championship (unless I go out there and shoot 62 myself).

What a week so far! I am looking forward to todays round and getting back into red numbers!! Thanks for all of the texts, facebook notes and emails through out the week! I am trying to keep up with them! It means the world to me! Look for lots of birdies today!!!

Rob

Check out the 12th hole shot that was on TV

http://davedonelsonteetogreen.blogspot.com/2010/08/sweet-swing-at-whistling-straits.html

Rob

PGA Championship Round 1

It was a solid round at the Straits on Thursday. I opened up with a nice birdie on #1. It was a 40 foot putt down the hill that rolled smack in the middle of the cup! Let me tell you, there is no better feeling in the world when a huge crowd roars as a birdie falls in the cup.....no better!!! I got chills up and down my body and as I saw my name pop up on the leader board I had to keep my emotions in check as I felt my eyes fill up with tears! Years and years of practice for that moment!! It is something that I will never forget for the rest of my life. The best part about it was that my entire family was there to experience it with me. My son Matthias, who is 7 cheered as loud as a volcano erupting!

Another solid birdie on 3 and I was off and running. I made a bad swing on 4 after a perfect drive which cost me a double bogey but I bounced back with birdies on #5 and #6 to get back on top of the leader board.

I made a ton of solid pars until #18 when I made another bad swing which cost me my second double of the day. The score was 73 (+1) and in a tie for 78th. I am currently 5 shots off the lead but am brimming with confidence!  Look for a low one today! There is another fog delay and my tee time was already pushed back to 2pm central time. Thanks for sending me all the texts and emails of support! It really keeps me pumped up!  Talk soon and remember.....fairways and greens!

Rob

Wednesday at the Straits

It was a weird day at the Straits! Rain in the morning and then beautiful in the afternoon. Steve Marino and I were playing against Danny Balin and Ben Curtis in a little match. Steve and I just went birdie-birdie to go one up on the match when the skies opened up and the down pour started!!  It rained so hard that I felt like I was in the African rain forest!

After a few hours of eating I went to practice and got a great session in. I was hitting balls next to Tiger and Geoff Olgivy. I am ready to tackle the Straits! 7:20 am central time. Thanks for all of your well wishes throughout the week. All of your support is so huge! Thanks so much.

Think birdies! Until tomorrow..........fairways and greens!!

Rob

Tuesday at Whistling Straits

Hey All - What a great golf course! Whistling Straits is a great test of golf and the scores will be low if the wind is not 'whistling'!

I have played the golf course a few times now with Danny Balin and it is a truly special place! The greens are starting to firm up a bit and the wind is still down. The rough is long and gnarly and it grows in all sorts of different directions! Bottom line is do not hit it in there!

Be sure to read my column in the New York Post and watch my site for updates. More to come from Whistling! Talk to all of you soon.

Rob

Whistling Straits Practice Round

So Danny Balin (another friend who qualified for the PGA Championship) and I went to Whistling Straits on Monday to get a feel for the golf course before the crowds get to massive. What an unbelieveable place! The feeling that I got when I walked on the course was just fantastic. My 3rd major championship.......holy crap!

It was quite intimidating off the tee box as you cannot see many of the fairways but when you get out into the fairway, the space is very ample. The cool thing was that the course suited my eye very well and I felt extermely comfortable out there.

We shared the course that day with Paul Casey, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Hunter Mahan. Paul Casey and I played together at Hazeltine National Golf Club in 2002 at the PGA Championship. It was the first major championship for both of us.

I will head out to Whistling Straits on Sunday to start my week and I am looking forward to playing well and enjoying every second. I will be doing a special column for the New York Post starting on Wednesday so be sure to check it out. I will be talking about the entire experience from the Mercedes courtesy car to the golf course and fellow competitors.

Talk soon and stay tuned for some cool stuff the next couple of weeks. Until then...fairways and greens!!

Rob