With fiance by his side, Streb notches career-best finish

After signing his scorecard and signing autographs for youngsters, Robert Streb's fiance Maggie approached him for a hug.

The two embraced, and the crowd roared.

With Maggie and her family cheering him on every step of the way, Streb shot a Sunday 68 at Thornblade to finish T3 in the BMW Charity Pro-Am. Streb may have fallen one shot short of a playoff, in a bid for his first career Nationwide Tour victory, but the Kansas State graduate will happily take the performance.

"I can't complain," Streb said. "I've been playing well. A win would've been nice, but I had a chance, so that's good."

Playing on conditional status so far this year, Streb has shot up the money list with a string of solid finishes. This is his first full season on the Nationwide Tour after finishing T100 at PGA Tour Q-School to gain conditional status, and his finish this week should assure him of eligibility the rest of the season.

Considering that he played the Hooters Tour mini-tour last year, the opportunity provided by a full season on the Nationwide Tour is not lost on Streb.

"It's fantastic," Streb said. "I didn't know where I was going to be playing, or if I was going to be playing. I'm pretty excited with how it's gone."

After hitting his tee shot on the par-3 17th to the center of the green, Streb gave Maggie a high-five. The family was roaring on the sideline, and enjoying every minute of it.

Streb's finish did not disappoint. He executed a long two-putt for par, almost holing the birdie bid, and parred 18 after a well-struck approach to the center of the green.

Although he came up a shot short, Streb enjoyed the experience of being in contention on Sunday.

"It's nice," Streb said. "Something a little different. You've got to deal with your nerves a little bit, but it was a good test today."

And no matter how Streb performs the rest of the year, in his quest to finish in the top 25 and gain a PGA Tour card, he can take comfort knowing that Maggie is by his side.

Flanagan comes back from abyss to notch first win in 5 years

Four years ago, Nick Flanagan wasn't sure if he would ever be back in the victory circle again.

Heck, earlier this week his main concern was getting a top-25 finish so he could play in the next event.

But after a whirlwind four days, Flanagan got up-and-down from the greenside bunker on the 18th - on the third playoff hole - to win the BMW Charity Pro-Am over Cameron Percy. Flanagan and Percy both completed 72 holes at 15-under par.

"I'm very glad that bunker shot went to a foot," Flanagan said. "So that I wouldn't have to think too much about the next one."

Percy struggled at the 18th in regulation to open the door for Flanagan. Playing in the group ahead, Percy pushed his approach on the long par-4 into the greenside bunker and missed a 10-foot downhill par attempt. Ten minutes later, Flanagan sunk a 10-foot putt of his own - this one for birdie - to force the playoff.

Flanagan will admit that he got lucky on his approach, as his shot from 206 yards out flew the green - but bounced off the grandstand and back within 10 feet.

"I got super, super lucky," Flanagan said. "It took a long time to come back onto the green. I didn't realize it was 10 feet, but I'll take it."

The win does a lot for Flanagan's career. Playing on conditional status, this was only his second event of the year. Now he has full Nationwide Tour status for this year and next, and he no longer has to worry about eligibility on a week-to-week basis.

Not only is he surprised to be holding a trophy, he is rather surprised that he is still playing competitively at all.

"It's been so long since I've been playing golf tournaments," Flanagan said. "Three or four years ago when I started struggling, I didn't know if I'd be playing tournament golf at all. I'm pretty happy to win."

That's because in 2007, after winning three Nationwide events to earn a mid-season promotion to the PGA Tour, Flanagan's game began to fade. After striving for years toward gaining eligibility on the PGA Tour, he couldn't get comfortable when he finally got to the big stage.

He found that the Tour was more professional than social. Golf was the sole focus, and Flanagan found it difficult to push forward whenever his game stalled.

"I hadn't grown into it yet," Flanagan said. "Week to week, I felt like I was battling the whole time. It's hard to get motivated when you're playing terrible, and I didn't feel like I was part of the Tour."

The culture change led Flanagan into a downward spiral with his golf game, where he went five years without a win. That is, until things came together this week in Greenville. After years of struggle, it looks like Flanagan is finally finding his way back.

It's a good thing, too, because he doesn't really know what he would do otherwise.

"I don't really know how to do anything else," Flanagan said.

For at least the next year and a half, he won't need to.

______________

Percy looked to be in control of the tournament down the stretch, but a few miscues did him in. After a long backup on the 16th tee box, he managed to reach the par-5 in two strokes. However, he left his eagle putt 8 feet short and missed the birdie bid, failing to take advantage of the short par-5.

To Percy's credit, he responded with a 18-footer for birdie on the par-3 17th, but the untimely bogey on 18 allowed Flanagan to take advantage.

Flanagan did take advantage of the back-to-back short par 5's, 15 and 16, with birdies on both. Flanagan had seven birdies in total on the day, and he needed them all to force the playoff.

Percy had a chance to win on the first playoff hole with a 10-footer for par, but was unable to will it in. Percy remains winless on the Nationwide Tour, while Flanagan notches his fourth career win.

Still, Percy will take positives from the week. After leading by two strokes going into Saturday, he went 6-over par over his first 11 holes and found himself back in the pack.

But Percy knew there was still a long way to go, and he was able to fight his way back into contention over the last 25 holes of the tournament. He may not have closed the deal this time, but he is confident at his prospects moving forward.

"I still felt like I could shoot anything here," Percy said. "I saw the leaders hadn't gotten too far ahead. I'm looking forward to playing Raleigh next week, and I'll try to get a win there."

Darron Stiles looked to be in good shape to contend for the title, at 15-under with four holes to play. But Stiles failed to take advantage of the short par-5's, and he bogeyed 18 to share third place with Robert Streb.

Third-round co-leaders Brad Fritsch and Steve LeBrun failed to make noise down the stretch. Fritsch shot a 70 that left him tied for 5th, and LeBrun struggled to 74 and a T22.

The Tour returns to action in two weeks, for The Rex Hospital Open in Raleigh.

Sunday recap: Uresti and Heintz

Not a good day for the gang. One respectable score, and one awful performance over a span of just two holes.

Omar Uresti competed reasonably, posting a 69 that left him with a T41 finish. Not the best result, but at least uresti was able to snap a string of two consecutive missed cuts. Uresti fired at a few pins en route to six birdies on the round, but was done in by errant approaches and short misses that led to four bogeys.

Uresti did finish with a flourish, birdieing the par-3 ninth, his last hole of the day.

The same certainly cannot be said for Bob Heintz. Needing a top-25 finish to assure himself of eligibility in the next Nationwide event, it turns out that Heintz would have needed a 66. Instead, the Clearwater resident fired a 74 that left him in a tie for 62nd, 8 shots back of the top 25.

Heintz was doomed by holes 13 and 14, his fourth and fifth holes of the day. After a promising start with birdies on 11 and 12, Heintz went double-quadruple to dash his top-25 hopes in a matter of minutes.

On 13, Heintz drove the ball perfectly but chunked his pitching wedge approach shot and the ensuing chip. He skulled his next chip shot 20 feet past the hole, and failed to convert the bogey bid.

The 14th was an even bigger mess for Heintz. He hooked his tee shot out of bounds, and hit his third shot into the left trees as well. After pitching out, he tugged his fifth shot into a greenside bunker and failed to get up and down.

Just like that, it was clear that there would be no top-25 in the cards for Heintz. He did finish strong, going 3-under par over his final 7 holes.

This may have been the swan song of Heintz' career. If so, he finished things up with a traditional two-putt par on the par-3 ninth.

Uresti will likely return to action in two weeks, at The Rex Hospital Open in Raleigh.

Uresti loses bet, uses Aggie headcover

A few weeks ago, Nationwide Tour peer Martin Piller approached Omar Uresti with a proposition.

Piller wanted to bet on the Big 12 conference golf tournament. Piller went to college at Texas A&M, and Uresti at Texas. The player whose team finished worse had to use the rival school's driver headcover in tournament competition.

Uresti had all the confidence in making the bet.

"Texas being No. 1, I didn't think it would be a big deal," Uresti said.

Sure enough, A&M won the tournament, by three strokes over Texas. So Uresti is using a Texas A&M headcover this week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am, in sharp contrast to his golf bag that prominently represents the Longhorns.

"It hurts," Uresti said. "But it's just for the week. I'm pushing the Longhorns all the way."

So next event, Uresti can go back to fully demonstrating his Longhorns pride, just as he always has.

And he scored a little bit of redemption on the course, as well. Uresti finished 4-under after three rounds and made the cut on the number, and Piller missed the cut by a stroke despite two eagles today at Chanticleer.

And of course, the college football season is still a few months away.

Update on our guys, other notes

For two of our three guys, there will be tournament golf on Sunday. For one, the fortune is not the same.

Omar Uresti and Bob Heintz managed to play just well enough to make the Saturday cut of 4-under par at the BMW Charity Pro-Am. Uresti's up-and-down 70 at Thornblade left him at 4-under, despite a sloppy 3-putt bogey at the long 18th. Uresti's finish snaps a streak of two consecutive missed cuts on the Tour. Uresti finished the day in a tie for 53rd after starting in a share of 49th.

For Heintz, the challenge of making the cut came at Chanticleer - the toughest course in the BMW rotation. Heintz did not get off to an encouraging start, and an early binge of bogeys left him 3-over on the round thru 11 holes. At this point Heintz was 3-under for the tournament, and one shot back of the cut line.

But Heintz quickly responded. He birdied the par-4 12th to move back inside the cut line, and six consecutive pars to close the round kept him in. This was Heintz' first and possibly only event of the year, as the journeyman pro said he is contemplating retirement from professional golf to pursue other careers.

If Heintz finishes inside the top-25, he will qualify for The Rex Hospital Open in Raleigh in two weeks, but he is currently three strokes back of that position. 7-under is currently tied for 22nd place, and Heintz is at 4-under. Heintz said he will probably play in Raleigh if he qualifies.

Jeff Gove was not as fortunate this week. Gove shot even-par in all three of his rounds this week, to finish four strokes back of the cut line. Gove has now missed three consecutive cuts on the Nationwide Tour, and is still without a top-25 finish on the season in 9 starts.

Other Notes

-Heintz has his dad, Bob, on the bag this week as caddie.

-Uresti said he will play occasional PGA Tour events this summer if he gets in, which he said he probably will. Uresti has the opportunity due to his status as a veteran member on the PGA Tour, as he has made over 150 PGA Tour cuts in his career (Uresti has 173).

-Heintz and Uresti both made double-bogey 6 on the eighth hole at Carolina Club this week. Heintz played Carolina Club on Thursday, and Uresti played it on Friday.

-Playing in the group ahead of Uresti on Saturday, Robert Damron rolled in a 30-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to make the cut on the number. Damron had stumbled to double-bogey 7 on the 15th hole, after his second shot hit a tree and shot out of bounds.

-Gove convinced a friend from Puerto Rico make the trip to South Carolina and play as his partner in the pro-am. Gove met Carlos Lopez-Lay at a fundraiser in Puerto Rico a few years ago, and the two became fast friends. Lopez-Lay's wife tagged along on the trip to the United States.

68 good enough to give Fritsch share of lead

With Cameron Percy at 13-under after 2 rounds, it was reasonable to think that anyone more than a couple shots back would need to produce fireworks over the weekend to have a chance to win.

But let Saturday's results serve as a lesson. When a tournament involves a 3-course rotation, it's best to not judge the field until everyone has played every course.

Sure enough, Percy stumbled to a 75 at Chanticleer, the toughest course in the rotation all week long. Percy's mediocre round allowed the rest of the field back into the tournament, setting up a Sunday shootout with 18 players within 3 strokes of the lead.

And when the dust cleared, Brad Fritsch found that his 68 at Carolina Club was enough - somehow - to grab a share the 54-hole lead at the BMW Charity Pro-Am.

Fritsch knew going into his round that Carolina Club is the course where you need to score the best. Although a 68 is not going to take anyone by storm, Fritsch was encouraged by solid ball-striking throughout his round. And of course, he can't complain about his position.

"I was really pleased with how I struck the ball all day today," Fritsch said. "I finished bogey-birdie which is not great, but someone told me that I am tied for the lead so that's great."

Fritsch started on hole 10, and he birdied 15 and 16 to make the turn at 2-under. Birdies at 1 and 6 put him at 4-under on the round, and the bogey-birdie finish gave him the 68.

Fritsch was happy with his ability to bounce back from his miscue on 8 with the birdie on 9. He had only an 8-iron on his approach into the short par-5, and his main concern was clearing the water short of the green.

Mission accomplished. Fritsch's approach landed dry about 90 feet from the pin, and two strokes later he was in with a birdie 4.

"That was pretty big," Fritsch said. "I just made sure to get it over the water and go from there."

A par on the short par-5 would have left a bitter taste in Fritsch's mouth, especially with the way he bogeyed the par-3 8th. Fritsch landed his tee shot 30 feet from the hole, but he left himself with a tricky putt. His first putt ran five feet past the hole, and he missed the one coming back.

But according to Fritsch, the tee shot led to the bogey, rather than the putter.

"It was a putt that was up and over a ridge and it probably broke about five feet, left to right," Fritsch said. "I didn't hit a great shot to set up a putt, so I wasn't too upset about it. My first putt was pretty good. I just missed the next one."

Despite the late bogey, Fritsch is happy to be in contention going into Sunday. The native Canadian already has two top-10 finishes on the season, and another high finish would move him closer to a spot on the PGA Tour next season. The top 25 money winners at the end of the season will receive PGA Tour cards for 2013, and Fritsch currently stands 35th on the money list.

Still, Fritsch knows he needs to go low Sunday if he wants to notch his first Nationwide Tour victory.

"I would not be surprised if someone shot a seven or eight under from well back," Fritsch said. "There's a chance for some low rounds out there tomorrow."

Uresti salvages 70 at Thornblade to make cut on number

Staring down a 25-foot downhill birdie putt on hole 17 at Thornblade, Omar Uresti didn't know where he stood. He figured he needed maybe one birdie in the last 2 holes to make the cut.

Uresti promptly rolled in the putt to move to 5-under on the tournament.

"I knew it was going to be kind of fast," Uresti said. "I actually read a putt properly. I hit it perfect speed and it went right in the center, so that was a nice relief."

What he didn't know for sure was that the cut was actually 4-under, so he had a shot to spare.

And he would need that shot, after proceeding to 3-putt the 18th from 30 feet. No worries, though. Uresti's 70 left him at 4-under after three rounds of play at the BMW Charity Pro-Am, good enough to make the cut on the number and snap a streak of 2 consecutive missed cuts.

Even though his missed 5-footer for par on the 18th left him thinking he was doomed.

"Bogeying 18 was a little bit of a drag," Uresti said. "I actually thought I needed a par there to make the cut."

Luckily for Uresti, the bogey sufficed, and he moves on to Sunday.

At the turn, it didn't look like missing the cut was any concern for Uresti. The Austin, TX native hit 8 of his first 9 greens en route to a 2-under par 33. At that point, the cut was only 3-under and Uresti had two shots to spare. The way he was striking the ball, it didn't look like bogeys were in the equation.

"I hit the ball real well the first nine holes," Uresti said. "But I missed a few short putts that I should have made."

Those misses were almost costly, because then came the back nine, and Uresti's form went south in a hurry. His tee shot on the par-3 11th sailed right of the green en route to a bogey, and hooked tee shots on 12 and 14 both led to bogeys.

Suddenly, Uresti was back to 2-under par, and 2 shots back of the cut. A late rally would be in order if Uresti wanted the chance to play Sunday.

"I took a few bad swings and missed a couple putts," Uresti said. "I missed my shots in the wrong place, so it was hard to get up and down."

So rally he did. Uresti took advantage of the short back-to-back par 5 15th and 16th, two-putting from 50 feet on 15 and draining a 8-footer on 16.

Uresti's group had a 10-minute wait on the 15th tee box. The Texan was able to use the break to relax and calm his nerves, he said. Settled down, he was able to bounce back and birdie the par-5's.

Then came the tough 17th, and Uresti was up to the task. A smart 3-iron tee shot left him in the center of the green, and the putt was true.

Uresti ends the day in a tie for 53rd and will need a big day tomorrow to earn a sizable paycheck. Uresti currently stands 52nd on the Nationwide Tour money list, and the top 25 at the end of the year earn PGA Tour eligibility for next season.

Missing the cut would have sent Uresti even further behind in the chase for the top 25. But he was up to the task, and he looks to use the strong finish as a spark moving forward.

"It's a bit of a confidence boost," Uresti said. "It's always important to make the cut."

Chance Meeting

Walking through my hotel lobby, on my way to the car to grab a book, who do I run into?

Omar Uresti. Of course.

My player focus was Jeff Gove yesterday, and Bob Heintz today. Heintz made a great comeback today to post 3-under 68, and Gove struggled in route to a even-par 71 yesterday. Now tomorrow my player focus will be Uresti, as he tries to move into contention.

He is 9 strokes back of the lead at the moment, so it will not be easy. But Uresti has the capability to go low, as evidenced by a 8-under 64 he fired in the final round at Turning Stone in 2006, in the first pro golf tournament I ever saw live.

Who knows. If I wasn't so impressed by Uresti's 64 back then, maybe I wouldn't be sitting here writing this today, covering the Nationwide Tour from a hotel room in Greenville. Good stuff.

Anyway, when I ran into Uresti in the lobby, he seemed to recognize me, which was pretty cool. He asked me point-blank what I was doing in Greenville, and I told him about my project. I told him I have already followed Gove and Heintz this week.

He asked who I was following tomorrow. I said, "you." Of course.

We arranged for the post-round interview that I was able to set up with both Gove and Heintz. Perfect. He said he has a good story about losing a bet with Martin Piller, which should be interesting.

Uresti tees off tomorrow at Thornblade at 10:15 a.m. Currently at 3-under par, he sits right on the cut line. The cut is made to the low 60 and ties, and Uresti currently sits in a tie for 49th.

62 propels Percy into solo lead

Cameron Percy lined up a 10-foot birdie putt at the 4th hole at Thornblade with the intent of getting under par on his round. The putt missed, and Percy remained 4-under for the tournament, on the periphery of contention.

From there, Percy caught fire, to say the least. Nine birdies later, he walked off the 18th green with a bogey-free 62.

"Very, very slow start and then made a birdie on the fifth hole, and then just rolled the back nine," Percy said. "It was about as good as I can hit it, I think."

Percy's 62 gave him a two-round total of 13-under 130, good enough for a 2-shot lead over the trio of Darron Stiles, Reid Edstrom, and Aaron Watkins. He finished with a flourish to surge into the lead, birdieing holes 14 thru 17 and finishing with a solid par on the long uphill par-4 18th.

Percy saved the best for almost last, in his personal opinion. On the par-3 17th, he hit his 5-iron approach to 10 feet and rolled in the birdie effort.

"On 17 I hit the best shot of the day," Percy said. "That's a tough green there and making two felt like I gained one for sure."

Percy attributed his stellar play to a bit of good fortune. Time and time again, he found that he had good yardages to the hole for his approach shots.

As a result, he kept from having to choose between clubs or hit three-quarter shots that involve more feel and guesswork.

"It was just one of those days where I seemed to have the perfect yardage all day," Percy said. "Every number was perfect. That's how you shoot 9-under."

Although Percy has a 2-shot lead after two rounds, it is not the same as having the 36-hole lead at a typical tournament. With a 3-course rotation, it is risky to judge the leaderboard at face value until all players have made it through all three courses. Tomorrow Percy plays Chanticleer, which has played the most difficult all week so far.

Percy is aware of this, and he knows that he must remain on his game tomorrow if he wants to maintain his lead.

"I've got to play the hard course tomorrow," Percy said. "There's a lot of water and out of bounds, so you've got to keep your head."

Percy begins his third round at Chanticleer at 8:55 a.m. Saturday, off the 10th tee.

Determination helps Heintz shoot 68 despite early triple

Walking off the 12th green Friday, Bob Heintz looked ashen. He had just chunked a short approach shot, chunked the ensuing two chips, and missed a 3-foot putt to take a triple-bogey 7 on the hole. Heintz had free-fallen outside the top 100 on the leaderboard, after starting the day tied for 31st.

Heck, he even questioned why he decided to play the event in the first place.

"Complete disaster," Heintz said. "I actually felt like I had completely blown myself out of the tournament. I was like, 'What am I doing here? Why did I leave home this week?'"

All he did from there on out was play the next 15 holes in 7-under par to salvage a 68. Heintz enters the weekend at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in a tie for 17th place at 6-under total, although Saturday he will play Greenville Country Club's Chanticleer Course, the most difficult in the 3-course rotation.

Still, considering his position after the 12th hole Friday, he could be doing a lot worse.

Heintz was the epitome of not giving up Friday, persevering through early disaster to shoot 3-under par and stay relevant in the tournament. After starting the day on hole 10 and going 4-over through his first 3 holes, he had a decision to make.

Throw in the towel, or keep plugging away?

"What are you going to do from there?" Heintz said. "You either quit, or you just keep working. I had three downwind holes in a row, and I took advantage."

And take advantage he did. He quickly proceeded to birdie the next four holes to get back to even-par on the round.

No harm, no foul.

The birdie on 13 came by way of an approach that danced all over the flagstick. Once Heintz made his swing, he was staring the ball down all the way.

"What's cool about that was it was a wedge and it was right at it," Heintz said. "I thought it could've gone in if it got lucky and hit the right bounce."

After the birdie run, Heintz cooled down and rolled off a string of pars. Some were routine, and some required a bit of touch around the greens. Heintz left his approach shots short on holes 17, 18 and 1, but was able to get up and down for par each time.

On hole 18, a long and uphill par 4, Heintz had a dangerous second shot. His drive ended up in the left rough, where he was faced with an approach that he wanted to shape from right to left. The problem? His lie suited a left-to-right shot, creating the possibility for the ball to end up anywhere.

Heintz made do, however. He adjusted appropriately, and his approach ended up in the fairway just short of the green, from where he salvaged his par.

The par streak continued until the par-5 5th. Short left of the green, Heintz was faced with a tricky chip over a bunker.

No worries. Heintz executed a deft chip shot to inside 5 feet, and he rolled in the birdie putt.

The momentum continued on the very next hole, the par-3 6th, after a superb shot to inside 6 feet. Past experience came in handy on club selection for Heintz, helping him hit it close.

"That's an interesting hole," Heintz said. "It always plays short. With the greens releasing, i felt if I hit a 7-iron all the way to the hole it would probably go off. So I rared back and pumped an 8-iron pretty hard, and it worked out."

Heintz nailed the putt to move 2-under on the round.

If holes 5 and 6 served as a spark, hole 8 provided the legitimate fireworks. After a nice tee shot, Heintz found a bit of trouble when a pulled approach left him with a tricky 30-yard chip shot.

Lining up the shot, Heintz' main concern was keeping from making a big mess, akin to the trouble back on hole 12. He had worked too hard to fight his way back from the abyss.

Naturally, he holed the shot.

"I had made such a great comeback, and I know this is bad golf psychology, but I didn't want to screw it up," Heintz said. "I was telling myself, 'Look, do the best you can from here. Give yourself a chance for par. It's okay if you make a bogey'."

"I forgave myself ahead of time, and the shot came out so perfect."

This is Heintz' first Nationwide Tour start of the year. Playing on a conditional exemption, the surest way of gaining eligibility for the next event is to place in the top 25. Currently tied for 17th, Heintz is right on that bubble.

Still, Heintz isn't sure how much professional golf he has left in him. He has floated between the PGA and Nationwide Tours for over a decade, and he hates to leave his family's well-being up to his golf game, especially when his tournament results have been rather inconsistent lately.

So Heintz has been searching for job possibilities. He graduated from Yale with a degree in economics, and he has been exploring his options.

He thinks that maybe his time to call it a career has come.

"We're in a situation where I think I need something more stable," Heintz said. "I just haven't had the results for a couple years, and I'm just looking elsewhere. I've got to support my kids."

Still, if Heintz can keep up his torrid play from the last 15 holes Friday, he should be in a position to finish in the top 25. In that case, he would gain entry into the next Nationwide stop, in two weeks at The Rex Hospital Open.

In that case, would he play?

"Sure, what the heck," Heintz said.

And if he wins?

Alright, we won't get too far ahead of ourselves here.

In any event, Heintz' Friday effort provided an example of determination and refusal to quit under adversity. Traits that fathers strive to instill in their kids.

"That round is something, if my kids did it, I would be pretty proud," Heintz said. "I'm happy I was able to do it."

Adventures at Crosswinds

The Nationwide Tour media official, Joe, recommended that I check out CrossWinds, a little par-3 course about 10 minutes from my hotel. Best part is, it had lights. Bob-o-Link all over again. So I get there around 8:30, and the guy tells me they will be closing soon because there aren't that many people left on the course. He says I can play as many holes as I want for the 9-hole rate ($11), but I have to get off the course when the last group finishes. The last group, a group of 3, is currently teeing off on hole 12.

By myself, I can finish, right? So I race onto the first tee, an 100-yard hole, and promptly shank the shot into the right rough. I am also using a nice TaylorMade golf ball, because I figure my brother will use it - and lose it - if the ball makes it back to Buffalo.

Full steam ahead, even though I suck and fail to make any pars through the first six holes. Oh, well. I'm racing, trying to catch up to the last group.

On hole 7, I hit a beautiful tee shot, but the ball bounds over the green and into the thick rough. As I race off the tee box, the sprinklers start to drench the green. Perfect, a little water park thrown in. I sure am getting my 11 bucks worth.

I chip up to a few feet and stand over my par putt. Now the sprinklers turn directly toward me, and I am getting super soaked (pun intended) while getting ready to putt. I knock it in.

Two holes later, I lose the TaylorMade. Better me than Nick.

Now I hit my tee shot on the 10th, or so I think. Good shot to about 12 feet, but as I stand over my putt, the only kids left on the course start screaming at me. I guess I confused the 10th and 15th greens. Perrrrfect. But at least I played 10 holes in the time it took them to play 3. At this pace, I can catch up.

And catch up I do, on the 18th tee. I tell the kids I'm in town for just a few days, and they ask who I'm with. I tell them I'm working with the Nationwide Tour, and they respond appreciatively.

I promptly hit my tee shot within 3 feet of the hole. They look at me and say, "you mean you play ON the Nationwide Tour." Awesome. I should have gone along with it.

Might not have worked though. I promptly ran the birdie bid past the hole. It didn't even lip out. Straight-up terrible putt. At least I parred it.

I give the guy in the pro shop a thumbs up as I leave. He says he appreciates me playing fast.

He's lucky I didn't complain about the sprinklers and demand a free round. Probably would have worked.

Oh, well. Media buffet tomorrow morning, here I come.

Renner sets early pace at Thornblade with 6-under 65

Sometimes, fancy isn't necessary.

That was the case Thursday for Jim Renner. Playing at Thornblade to open the tournament, Renner fired a 6-under par 65 that left him two back of leader Darron Stiles. Renner was error-free, with six birdies and no bogeys on his card.

His round was topped only at Carolina Club, yet he doesn't feel that he did anything special out on the course.

"Nothing crazy today," Renner said. "No bogeys obviously helps. I hit the ball really well and rolled it really well, and those are two things you have to do in order to shoot a round like that."

Renner teed off on the 10th hole Thursday, and he got off to the quick start with a birdie on that hole. He continued his steady play with birdies on the 13th and 16th, and he completed his first nine in 3-under.

He birdied 3 holes in a 4-hole stretch on the front nine - holes 2, 4, and 5 - to shoot up the leaderboard and into the top 5 to end the day.

The round was much needed for Renner, considering that he has missed his last two cuts at the South Georgia Classic and Stadion Classic. It has been an interesting year for Renner. He has missed 6 of 8 cuts, but he earned top-11 finishes both times he made the cut.

That's just the crazy nature of golf, Renner said.

"Golf's funny," Renner said. "One day you hit it good but you don't putt good, and the next day it's just the opposite. Today I did everything pretty well."

The erratic play falls in line with Renner's play as a PGA Tour rookie last year. In 22 starts on the PGA Tour, he had only 2 top-20 finishes. Yet two of those were top 5's, with a T4 at the Viking Classic and a 5th-place showing at the Reno-Tahoe Open.

What do these statistics say? When Renner plays well, he's a force to be reckoned with.

If that's any indication, we could be seeing a lot of Renner on the leaderboard this weekend.

Renner tees off tomorrow at Chanticleer at 8:25 a.m., and finishes the rotation Saturday at Carolina Club.

Gove can't generate momentum, shoots even-par 71

Faced with a 30-yard uphill eagle chip on the par-5 15th, Jeff Gove had a good chance for birdie to get back to even-par on the day.

Gove left the chip about 20 feet short, and he had to settle for par.

It was that type of day for Gove. With little wind and soft scoring conditions, Gove couldn't maintain enough consistently to string together birdies or avoid bogies. As a result, he had to settle for an even-par 71 that left him eight shots back of leader Darron Stiles.

"Just make a birdie, a bogey, no momentum," Gove said. "Miss an up and down, miss one tee shot, instead of keeping it going."

It is important to note that this tournament, the BMW Charity Pro-Am, is unique in that it uses a three-course rotation. All golfers play all three courses over the first 3 days of tournament play, and the field of 168 players is cut to 60 and ties before Sunday's final round. All who make the cut play Sunday at Thornblade Club, the host course for the event. Without official statistics to report, it looks like Greenville Country Club's Chanticleer Course is playing the hardest, with the Carolina Club playing the easiest.

Gove played Thornblade, the "middle-difficulty" course. He opened with a solid up-and-down for par at the first, and a nice 10-footer for birdie on the par-5 second. At that point, it looked like a low round could be in the cards.

The third hole would set the tone for Gove's round, however. After a decent drive that ended up in the left rough, he hit his second shot just over the green, leaving a 40-foot birdie putt from the fringe. He could not get up and down, however, and the sloppy bogey sent him back to even par.

Other miscues were incurred by Gove on the 6th, 10th, and 14th holes. On the 6th, it was again due to putting, as he missed a short par putt after running a 30-footer for birdie 4 feet past the hole.

Gove just never really had the feel for the greens today, he said.

"I hit it through the break on (hole 6)," Gove said. "I hit the first putt hard, and then the second putt too hard. Then the rest of the day I was short. I got tentative."

On the 10th and 14th, it was errant driving that doomed Gove. The 10th is a 388-yard par 4 with an open fairway but a tree line down the right side. Gove drove his ball right into the trees, and he had no direct look at the green. All he could do was hit a low punch shot that bounced left of the green, and he failed to get the ball up and down.

The 14th has tree lines down both the left and right sides, and this time Gove drove his drive into the left trees. Just like on hole 10, he was forced to hit a low punch shot to avoid clipping a tree, and this one ended up short right of the green. His chip shot rolled 12 feet by the hole, and he couldn't convert the par save.

Thornblade has many birdie opportunities though, and Gove took advantage of a few to keep his final score from going over par. A big part of this was his ability to birdie the par 5's, as he went 3-under on Thornbade's four par-5's. He two-putted from 30 feet for birdie on the par-5 5th, and he got up and down from just short of the green for birdie on the par-5 16th. He could have went 4-for-4 if not for the chipping miscue on 15.

The only non-par 5 that Gove was able to birdie was the par-4 12th, and it was a good one. He spun his short approach shot back to 12 feet, and he was able to slide in the left-to-right breaker for his birdie.

On the tough uphill par-4 18th, Gove finished up strong to preserve the even-par round. He muscled up an approach to about 20 feet short of the hole, and he two-putted for his par.

Still, the 18th green left Gove something to be desired.

"On 18, I was trying to make that putt," Gove said. "I left it right in the heart."

Tomorrow Gove heads to the toughest course on the rotation, the Chanticleer Course at Greenville Country Club. He tees off with Brian Vranesh at 8:45 a.m. If Gove can make it through Chanticleer with anything under par, he should have a shot to make the cut by going low Saturday. The cut is currently 2-under par, and it seems that the final cut will be around 4 or 5 under by Saturday.

Tomorrow's player focus will be Bob Heintz, who posted a 3-under 69 today at the Carolina Club. This is Heintz's first event of the season, as he hadn't made it into a field up to this point. Heintz said that his starts will be few and far between this season, so he needs to play well when he gets in. A top-25 finish gives you entry into the next week's field on the Nationwide Tour, and Heintz is currently in a tie for 31st, one shot back of the top 25.

Heintz tees off tomorrow from the 10th tee at Thornblade at 9:55 a.m., with Steve Allan as his playing partner.

Par is 71 at Thornblade, and 72 at both Carolina Club and Chanticleer.

Welcome to Greenville

Made the nice country drive up from Charleston to Greenville in about 3 hours or so. Almost ran out of gas along the way...I was on empty for almost 30 miles, because there were no gas stations. The joys of rural South Carolina; gotta love it though.

I checked in at the hotel before heading to the course, and it was a beaut: 10-minute walk from the course, or a 2-minute drive. Good freaking stuff. I drove today but will walk tomorrow. Hotel room was only 44 bucks a night and includes microwave and fridge. Better value than the $130 hotel that brother Nick made me purchase on the way to SC (even though that hotel did have a fridge, Nick made me throw away the sandwich that we kept in it...so net usage of zero).

Tried to get to the course and had a true journey. Circled around the course a few times, with no idea where the clubhouse could be. Media parking signs were nowhere to be found. Ended up parking by the website programming trailer, where the guy gave me a mean look for disturbing his work. I was intimidated already.

Things went up from there though. I meandered my way to the clubhouse, and somehow found the media center after 3 or 4 wrong turns and inaccurate directions (everyone was really nice though, I should say). Everyone with the Nationwide Tour media team (Joe, Jeff, and Royce) was super nice, and the media coordinator for the event (Brett) had no trouble starting and continuing a conversation.

Before I knew it, I had my media pass, and Jeff was taking me down to the range. He introduced me to a bunch of Tour-related people such as the tournament director and a rules official. I even got to meet Stephanie Sparks, a Golf Channel reporter. What a surreal experience, standing on that range next to all these golfers I have followed for years. For me, I can't top that.

I also met Jeff Gove, the player who I will be following as one of my main focuses throughout the summer. He couldn't have been nicer, and he seemed genuinely excited about meeting with me. Freakin' surreal.

I found myself asking Jeff Adams all kinds of random questions about the Tour. After following the tour for so many years, I kept thinking of all kinds of random questions about random things, and it was crazy to be able to ask a legitimate source. He didn't have all the answers, but he told me I will be meeting people along the way who will know. Wait, what? I'm going to meet more people with the Tour? Who? It seems like these guys are rolling out the red carpet for me - a kid from Syracuse, doing a school project. Again, crazy.

So tomorrow I will be getting up nice and early to follow Jeff Gove, who tees off at 9:35. After the round, we are going to sit down and talk for a while. I'm kind of nervous, but really excited. I've been tracking this guy's golf for years, and now I get to have a discussion with him about his golf and career. Might not be a Cogan-esque hour-long discussion, but it sounds like it will be plenty long enough.

As for tonight, I'll be venuring out into downtown Greenville to see wherever the winds take me. By myself for four nights, I need to figure out some entertainment. I will probably never see most of these Greenvillites again, so I might as well try to have some fun. I might also dabble in a par-3 course that has lights, for some Bob-o-Link nostalgia.

Good stuff, good day, hopefully a good night ahead, and a good day tomorrow.

If all else fails, I know I'll have the media breakfast and lunch buffet. At this point, you can't really beat that.

Let the golf begin

When I was a little kid, I would watch professional golf for hours on end.

I would watch Tiger, Phil, and all the rest, but I would also watch the lesser-knows, the journeymen. I always wondered what life was like for these guys, without all the celebrity. I always wanted to learn about their lives as pro golfers, without the glamour and fame.

Now, somehow, I'm going to find out. I still can't believe it, really.

Thanks to the generosity of Golf World managing editor Tim Murphy, and the Nationwide Tour (especially Jeff Adams), I will be traveling to Nationwide Tour events this summer with media access and credentials. As a journalism major at Syracuse, I have been lucky to cover a variety of different events, but this endeavor is far and away the most special to me. It's the fulfillment of a life dream.

Anyway, what exactly am I doing? The best part is, I still don't know really. I am working on a capstone project for my Honors distinction at Syracuse, and I am going to use the Nationwide Tour as my focus. I will be specifically focusing on veteran Jeff Gove (the namesake of this blog) and rookie Paul Haley, to explore the differences in the golfing life between rookies and veterans. Along the way, I hope to develop a sense of what life is like on the Tour, and everything that may entail.

Ultimately, it would be cool if I could write some sort of book from the material that I learn and gather, but at this point I don't even know what the book would be like. Heck, I wouldn't even know where to begin, but that's all part of the learning process.

I am also excited to meet golf journalists that I have read for years, and to talk to them about the lifestyle of covering golf tournaments. I hope to someday be a professional golf writer myself, and anything I can learn can only help me. Through this experience, I hope to learn what covering a golf tournament is really like, aside from my previous visualizations and perceptions.

I'm headed to Greenville tomorrow, to cover my first event, the BMW Charity Pro-Am. I left Syracuse last Wednesday, and I enjoyed a few days of golf and the beach with my brother and friend Jack from school. We even got to play the Ralston Creek course at Daniel Island, where the Nationwide Tour Championship was last fall. My uncle belongs there. Small world.

Like I said before, I don't really know where I'm going with this whole charade, but I can't wait to get there. I have a semblance of a plan, but the plan will only unfold as it will (did that even make sense?).

Along the way, I will be posting stories, hopefully a lot of them. Along with event coverage and interesting stories I may find along the way, I will be posting about my experiences as well. Everything is fair game, from my experiences covering the tournaments, to characters I may meet along the way, to my life as a rogue traveling journalist.

I'm already pinching myself that this is really happening. Let the golf begin.