Fathauer Blog: Trying to avoid return trip to q-school

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Editor's note: Derek Fathauer, a member of this year's Citi Mentor Program (click here for more), will write a blog for PGATOUR.COM periodically during the 2009 season. In his most recent post, he updates us on the Wyndham Championship.

Aug. 24, 2009

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Derek Fathauer

I've definitely performed at a level this year that's not even close to what I thought it would be. I know I can play at this level because I've got way too much success in my past to show I can do it. For whatever reason, I just haven't put it together at this level. I played college golf at a high level at the University of Louisville (with twin brother, Daryl).

I was a two-time All-American in the Big East. Last year, when I finished in a tie for third at the U.S. Open Sectional to qualify for the U.S. Open field at Torrey Pines, I knew I could compete at a high level. I ended up finishing 69th, which in that field, was pretty good. Yet this season nothing has gone the way I envisioned it. Do I want to go back to q school?

No one wants to go back to q school. But I've had success there, so I know I can do it if need be. I'm working on my game every day and I've seen some things improve over time. I just need to start putting it all together over four days.

June 3, 2009

First off, I was very happy to make it into the field at Colonial. That was a nice surprise after missing the cut at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. The Colonial's history make it one of the best tour stops. A lot of people talked about all the changes to the course, but since neither me or my caddie had never seen the course, it didn't make much of a difference for us.

I found Colonial pretty straightforward and the course really played soft last week. Scores were low so I knew I needed to get it low to even make the cut. I'm glad I made a cut and made a paycheck. Very glad to get a paycheck at the end of a week.

But I've still got a ways to go before I'm happy with my game. There's no one particular part of my game that deserves more attention to something else. Right now, it's my all-around game that needs work. Next stop for me is the St. Jude Classic, and I'm hoping to build on the success at Colonial.

We're halfway through my rookie season, and my biggest surprise has been how poorly I've played. I expected to play a lot better than this. But there a lot of tournaments left and I'm confident I can turn it around.

May 21, 2009

It's getting pretty old. I'm playing poorly and it's lasting way too long now. I just haven't been able to shake this.

What's funny is that the weakest part of my game right now is my putting yet the PGA TOUR statistics make it look like it's one of my strongest (Fathauer is ranked 20th in putting). If I could get the putts to fall, everything would come together.

I'm struggling with the short stuff and that's affected all of my putting. I've got absolutely no confidence on the greens right now. That's got to change in a hurry. I played a practice round at the TPC Las Colinas today. Great course. There are some really good holes for my game out there.

The greens are pretty hard so I'll need to buckle down to putt consistently this week. In San Antonio last week, I killed myself with loose drive. I was hitting out of the rough Thursday and Friday and never gave myself a chance to get it close. I've been in slumps before, but nothing this bad. I had a bad streak in college, but this is getting ridiculous. I know I can play better and will play better, but it needs to take a positive turn soon. We'll see if I can get it all to fall into place in Dallas this week.

April 27, 2009

The TPC Louisiana in New Orleans was a good course and the conditions were perfect at the Zurich Classic but I still struggled. It's been the same deal for about two months now and it's officially getting old. When it starts going bad, it's tough to stop it. It really wears you down. You have to go low out here and right now I'm making way too many mistakes to even make cuts. I really could use a good week to help me mentally if nothing else. I'm not even talking about a top-10 finish. I'm talking about a top-50 finish. I just want to put together four rounds that give me some confidence that it's going to get better.

Right now, I'm waiting for the phone to ring to tell me about Charlotte. If I get in, I'm on a plane immediately. If not, I won't play again until Dallas at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. I'm working harder than ever to get through this. But honestly, that might be part of my problem. I might need to throttle back on the practice and go back to a college routine of putting in a couple of solid hours and then relaxing and getting away from the course.

April 7, 2009

The Houston course was definitely challenging because of the wind, but it was really set up perfectly to score some low rounds had the wind not been blowing so hard. On the first day before they postponed the round, it took me five minutes some times just to get settled over the ball without moving. It was nuts.

I did play 18 pretty well, though. I birdied it during my second round and hit it to within 20 feet in my first round. Unfortunately, I ended up three putting and making a bogey. But I was happy the way I played that hole, especially off the tee. That was one challenging tee shot.

Right now, I'm just not sharp. I'll play 12 to 14 holes in a row without much of a problem and then hit a couple of stray shots and put up a double. No matter how many birdies you make out here, you just can't afford big numbers. You're better off playing mediocre all day but limiting your mistakes. If you do that day in and day out, you can make a good living out here.

This week, I'm going to practice and get away from competitive golf for at least a week, which is good timing. I'm trying to get into Hilton Head (Verizon Heritage), and I may play a Nationwide Tour event if I don't get in there. But I need the time away to clear my head and come back strong.