10 Questions with Derek Berg

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10 Questions With Derek Berg

PGA Tour Q School 2009 - Summary

Despite having the flu during the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School, there are still positive things to draw from my experience. I know that I can compete and eventually make it on the PGA Tour. I also know that things happen at the right time for the right purposes, so I will continue on practicing and doing what I do best; playing golf! I will spend the winter practicing (so long as the ground isn't frozen or covered in snow) and keeping in shape. Basketball and yoga are the activities that keep my in shape during the winter months.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Derek

PGA Tour Q School 2009 Stage 2 - Round 3

With a couple unfortunate bogies on his last two holes of the day, Derek finished even par for the third round. Results can be seen here. Tomorrow is the last round of this stage of qualifying school, and Derek tees off at 9:20 am. Thank you again for everyone's support!

PGA Tour Q School 2009 Stage 2 - Rnds 1 & 2

While struggling for about a week with the flu, Derek went out yesterday and today and gave it his all with the little energy he had. Although yesterday he got off to a rough start with a 76 four over par, today he was able to go out there and for the first time in a week actually have some energy over the golf ball and shot one under. Today was the first day Derek said he felt semi-healthy, feeling about 80% back to health. Tomorrow he tees off at 9:30 for round three. Please keep Derek in your thoughts and prayers as he is overcoming this horrible flu. Thank you for your continued support. Follow along here.

-Candice

Q School Second Stage

Derek has made his way down to Beaumont, California to Oak Valley Golf Club for the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School. While fighting off a cold/flu bug, he has been getting in his practice rounds yesterday and today. Tomorrow is the first round, and Derek tees off at 9:40 on tee number one. For more information about the second stage of Q School please click here. Stay tuned for round by round updates!

Washington State Golfer of the Year!

As many of you have heard, Derek was selected as Washington State Golfer of the Year! This honor is based off of points earned based on tournament performance for the 2009 golf season. Derek had a great summer, and is greatly honored to have received this award! For more information click here.

PGA Tour Q School 2009 - Round 4

In the final round of the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School Derek shot -2 (70) to finish at -19 for the tournament. He got off to another great start with birdies on holes number 3 and 4. He had a bogey on hole 7, however turned around and birdied hole 8 to turn at -2. Then on the back nine there were a lot of pars, one birdie on hole 14, and an unfortunate bogey on hole 18, leaving him in 2nd place overall for the first stage in Dayton Valley! Derek will be driving back to soggy Washington to practice for a few weeks until he is notified where he will be assigned for second stage. Second stage of Q School begins November 18-21. There are six different locations for second stage, and we do not know which stage Derek will be going to yet. We will keep you posted! Thanks for everyone's support, as this couldn't have been done without all our friends and family.

Click here to see the final scoreboard from 1st Stage!

PGA Tour Q School 2009 - Round 3

Derek shot 67 (-5) today in the third round, making his three round total -17. He eagled hole number 3 and made the turn at -2. He then birdied 11, 13, 17, and 18. The only bogey of the day came on hole number 16. Scores can be found by clicking here. Tomorrow Derek tees off for the final round at 10:50am.

PGA Tour Q School 2009 - Round 2

Today Derek fired off a 65! He teed off hole number 10, got a bogey on hole 12, then he went on to birdie 14, 15, and 18 to turn at -2. Then on the front nine (his back nine of the day), he birdied hole 1, eagled hole 3, and then birdied holes 4 and 5 to finish -7!
Scoreboard can be found by clicking here.

Derek is tied for 1st after the second round.

PGA Tour Q School 2009 - Round 1

Today was the first round of the first stage of Q School in Dayton Valley, Nevada. Derek shot a 67, 5 under par in today's first round to get off to a smooth start. He got off to a great start with 3 birdies in a row, and later went on to birdie number 12, 17 and 18. The only bogey of the day came on the par 4 hole number 9. Tomorrow Derek tees off at 9:22 am and you can follow along by clicking here.

2009 PGA Tour Q School

It is that time of year again.....Q School! Derek drove down to Dayton, Nevada last weekend to head off to qualifying school. For more information on PGA Tour Q School please click here. Derek was assingned to the Dayton Valley Country Club for his first stage. The first stage is 4 rounds of golf from October 21-24. More info on how he plays today will come later. He tees off today at 10:28 am.

US Mid Amateur - Summary

Following two solid rounds of strokeplay (68, 73), Derek moved on to match play having finished T3 for the strokeplay portion of the tournament! The rain caused delay after delay on day 3 (first day of matchplay), forcing the USGA to suspend play for the day after 6 hours of sitting in the clubhouse. So, day 4 consisted of 2 matches back to back. In the first match (round of 64), Derek won his match 5&4! In the afternoon round, Derek lost the match to Tim Spitz (2&1), however played solid golf. When he got on the 16th tee box, he was down 3 with 3 to play. In order to stay alive he had to win the next 3 holes to keep the match going. So Derek stepped up to the tee box with a bit more aggression in hopes to birdie the hole to stay alive. The aggression paid off and he won the hole. The par 4, 430 yard dog leg right hole 17 was playing from the further up tee boxes, which it hadn't all week, allowing for a slight possibility to drive the green. To the gallery's and my surprise, Derek stood up on the tee box and aimed over the marsh and killed a drive toward the green! His ball landed on the green, leaving him with a 50 foot eagle putt. Tim hit a solid drive to the middle of the fairway and then stuffed his second shot 4 feet from the hole for a birdie chance. So, knowing that making the eagle putt would be his only chance to win the hole and carry the match to 18, Derek gave it a roll. It was a great putt, with the perfect speed and had us all in awe as it made its way across the green on the perfect line. Then, it grazed the right side of the hole and stopped 6 inches behind the cup, leaving Derek with a disappointing birdie. Tim made his birdie putt to close out the round and move on to his next match. He went on to the final match against Nathan Smith, who took the title for the US Mid Amateur.

US Mid Amateur Kiawah Island, South Carolina - Round #2

Today Derek played the Kiawah Island Cassique course (par 72) and shot 73. Combined with yesterday's first round that puts him at -2 (141), which is No. 3/4 seed. Derek had a bogey on #6 and #7 (which was his 16th and 17th holes of the day). On #6 he missed a 4 footer to save par, having just missed the green on his second shot. On the par 4 #7 he had about 140 yards into the green, and knowing he was going to make the cut, he went for the pin in hopes for a birdie. It came up about 1 yard short and ended up in the green side bunker. He ended up with a bodey, but rallied back with a birdie on the final hole #9 with a 20 foot putt down hill with break. Tomorrow starts the first round of matchplay. We tee off at 9:10 am.

US Mid Amateur Kiawah Island, South Carolina - Round #1

Derek was one of only 4 people to shoot 68 today in the first round of the US Mid Amateur. Today he played the par 71 River Course. Tomorrow he plays the par 72 Cassique Course for the second round of stroke play. Please follow along here.

PNGA Mid Amateur - Homestead Farms Golf Resort

Today concluded the second round of the PNGA Men's Mid Amateur hosted at Homestead Farms Golf Resort up in Lynden, WA. Derek followed his +2 (74) from yesterday with a -8 (64) today! It was a solid round of 8 birdies and 10 pars. For more information please visit the PNGA website. Tomorrow is the final round of the PNGA Mid Amateur.

US Mid Amateur Qualifying

Derek qualified for the US Mid Amateur last week, shooting a 71 out at The Members Club at Aldarra! Thanks Barrie for caddying! So at the end of the month we will be off to Kiawah Island, South Carolina! More to come!

US Mid Amateur Qualifying 8/31/09

My next event if the US Mid Amateur Qualifier out at the Men's Club at Aldarra on Monday. It is a 18 hole qualifier to get into the US Mid Amateur at Kiawah Island Club (Cassique) in
Charleston, S.C. on Oct. 3-8.

Round 1 Pacific Coast Amateur

Derek shot 2 under today (70) with a chip in eagle on hole #1 (10th hole of the day)! He is hitting the ball well and rollin' the rock! We had a lot of great putts and a few lip outs too. Fun, yet hot day of golf. But being on the course is always better than a day at work (even if it is 114 degrees)!

Follow along here

-Candice

Pacific Coast Amateur 2009 - The Gallery Golf Club

We arrived to Tucson on Saturday afternoon. I had my first practice round out at The Gallery Golf Club yesterday, and have another practice round out there today. This is a picture of the first tee. It was around 110 degrees out there today, and I think Candice and her mom will be melted by the end of the week!

I'm heading out there again in just a bit for practice round 2.

PNGA Men's Amateur

Candice here:

Derek shot one under (71) in the first round of the PNGA Men's Amateur at the Home Course in DuPont, WA. Today, in the second round, he shot two under (70) to complete the stroke play part of the tournament at three under. The cut was made today at 149, with exactly 64 players at 149 or better. There was potential for a huge playoff to determine the cut, but turned out to be an exact amount of 64 guys at 149 or better.

Tomorrow starts the match play portion of the PNGA Men's Amateur. The remainder of the tournament is single elimination match play. Derek tees off tomorrow (Thursday) at 10:45 against Sean Collopy or Lake Oswego, OR. Follow along here.

Sahalee Player's Championship 2009 - Round1

First round I shot -3 (69). Results as well as further tournament information can be found here: http://www.sahaleeplayerschampionship.com/index.html

As far as I understand, you can follow along with the live hole-by-hole update on the above website. Tomorrow is a two round day (36 holes), so off to bed to get some rest!

I will keep you posted with the results and comments on my 2nd and 3rd rounds tomorrow night! Please follow along on the above site if you can't wait!

WA State Amateur - Round 4

Sorry for the late update.....

The final round Derek shot 3 over 75 in the WA State Amateur at Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, WA. On the 18th hole he had a chance to tie it up to go to extra holes, but it didn't quite work out that way. He had a 45 foot put for eagle to tie it, and missed by about 4 inches, but at least gave it a run for it. He shot the ball well and is satisfied how he played overall in the tournament.

Final results can be found here: https://www.ghintpp.com/WSGA/TPPOnlineScoring/results.aspx?id=4

Related Article: http://www.thewsga.org/sites/courses/layout9.asp?id=504&page=26062

WA State Amateur Round #3 - 6/25/09

Round Three: 72 (Even) Lead by one stroke

Leader Board: https://www.ghintpp.com/WSGA/TPPOnlineScoring/results.aspx?id=4

WSGA Site with more WA State Am tourney info: http://www.thewsga.org/sites/courses/layout9.asp?id=504&page=26062

One more round.....

WA State Amateur - Round 2

Round 2 Results:

67 (-5) Low round of the day with 7 birdies.

Related article: http://www.thewsga.org/sites/courses/layout9.asp?id=504&page=26062
Score Board: https://www.ghintpp.com/WSGA/TPPOnlineScoring/results.aspx?id=4

WA State Amateur

The WA State Amateur kicked off today over in Pullman at the Palous Ridge Golf Club. This event is hosted by the WSGA and more info can be found here:
http://www.thewsga.org/sites/courses/layout9.asp?id=504&page=26062

Click on the "Live Scoring" link and follow along with his rounds!

Derek shot -1 today. He tees off at 12:30 tomorrow.

Derek Berg: WA State Open

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090519/SPORTS/705199854/1044/SPORTS10
http://www.pnwpga.com/resultswa09.pdf
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/golf/2009239882_localgolf200.html
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090519/SPORTS/705209852/1044/SPORTS10
http://www.theolympian.com/sports/story/855062.html
http://www.thenewstribune.com/1043/story/747893.html

WA State Open

[Candice Here]

Derek shot 5 under (67) yesterday in the first round of the Washington State Open at Meridian Valley CC – 6,675 Yards, Par 72. He was the leader after day one by two strokes.

http://www.pnwpga.com/resultswa09.pdf
http://www.pnwpga.com/

Today he teed off early, and finished with a par 72 for the second round. One more round to go....

WA State Open

Washington State Open starts tomorrow....

3 Rounds
I tee off at 1:15 for the first round at Meridian Valley.

Follow along: http://www.pnwpga.com/waopen.htm

Callaway Golf Invitational 2009

Just a brief update....

I played in the Callaway Golf Invitational (2 round event) Monday and yesterday. I shot 68, and 70. I finished 2nd overall, and 1st for the team event with my fellow team mate and friend Tom Sovay.


Results can be found here: http://www.pnwpga.com/
(go to the Callaway "results" section of the page)

Mexican Amateur

Final Round Results:

DEREK BERG WASHINGTON 82 74 76 75 Total: 307

Ended up with a 22nd finish in the 2009 Mexican Amateur. It was a pleasure to have been invited to this tournament, and to experience golf at Club de Golf Mexico in Mexico City. The course was a hard course, with exceptionally narrow fairways. On the other hand, the greens were in horrible shape. I made it home tonight, however I wish I could say the same for my clubs. I know my clubs made it back to the states, because after I went through customs in Texas, I had to re-check them. So, somewhere wandering between Seatac and Dallas Fort Worth are my babies. Let's hope that American Airlines delivers them to me tomorrow morning. Afterall, I have to get out to the course to practice. Thanks for all who supported me in this tournament.

Final Results: http://www.fmg.org.mx/Torneos/lxxxii-convocatoria-campeonato-de-aficionados.html

Mexican Amateur Tournament Website

Looks like the web address changed slightly.

Copy and paste this address in to your browser:

http://www.fmg.org.mx/Torneos/lxxxii-convocatoria-campeonato-de-aficionados.html

Tournament Update

The tournament website seems to be having an error. In the first round of the tournament I shot 82 (afternoon tee time), but came back on Friday (morning tee time makes a difference) and shot 74 on the par 72 Club de Golf Mexico. Hopefully the tournament website will be functioning soon, so everyone can view both the team and individual scores. More to come soon.....

Tournament Kick Off Mini Contest

Check It Out:

http://www.fmg.org.mx/Torneos/lxxxii-campeonato-nacional-de-aficionados/Resultados.html

Derek Berg: Mexican Amateur

http://www.fmg.org.mx/Torneos/lxxxii-campeonato-nacional-de-aficionados/Fiel.html

Mexican Amateur

I've headed off to Mexico City for the Mexican Amateur. I flew in yesterday 3/23 and today and tomorrow are practice rounds (3/24 and 3/25). The elevation here is just under 7,400 feet and the population is around 22 million. The tournament is being held at is Club de Golf Mexico in Mexico City. It will be 4 rounds; 18 holes of strokeplay each round. On Thursday I tee off of the first tee at 12:45.

So far the only site that i found with tournament info is:
http://www.fmg.org.mx/Torneos/lxxxii-campeonato-nacional-de-aficionados/Fiel.html

If you go to the "Resultados" tab on the above site, you should be able to view the results and scores from the tournament.

With Candice's help, we will try to keep the blog updated each day with scores. Thanks for your support everyone.

Derek

Gearing Up....

I am in Phoenix getting some quality practice in. Unfortunately the Washington weather hasn't allowed for much practice this winter, so I jumped at the opportunity to head south for some sunshine. I will be in the Phoenix/Scottsdale are until the beginning of March, then I will be back to Seattle (but not for long). I head to Mexico City for the Mexican Amateur Championship at Club de Golf Mexico to represent the state of WA at the end of March. Before I know it, the golf season will be in session. I intend to play in the Sahaleee Player's Championship, the WA State Amateur, The PNGA, the Pacific Coast Amateur, and qualify for the US Am, US Mid Am, and US Public Links Am. I hope to add more tournaments to the list depending on financing..... Stay tuned!

Derek