June 24, 2010

Portrush, Ireland - Hey Illini! Today was the first day of the Palmer Cup at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. The Palmer Cup is a team event consisting of 8 college players from the U.S. against 8 college players from Europe. In the morning four-ball round, I was partnered with Cory Nagy from UNC-Charlotte. We both played okay, but ran into a really tough match against Pontus Widegren and Henrik Norlander from the European squad. They closed out the match with making a 3 on the last seven holes of our match, and when somebody does that, you just have to hand it to them.

After a short break for lunch, we headed back out for the afternoon match that was played as an alternate shot format. Cory and I were again partners but in the afternoon we played a little better and ended up winning our last 3 holes to win 2 up. As a team, we played great today, only losing 2 matches and winning the rest to lead the European team 6-2. Over the next two days, there will be 16 points available throughout two rounds of singles match play, so there is still a long way to go. However, it's good to be in the position we are in and we are all very excited to get out again tomorrow and compete!

Thank you to all those who have followed and supported me over the last few weeks. It has been quite a ride, and the response that I have received from Illini nation has blown me away. Once again, thank you, and you can follow us tomorrow at palmercup.org!