Rob Rashell is playing his first season on the PGA Tour. Throughout his rookie year, Rashell will provide a frequent glimpse of what it's like to break into the Tour.

The last couple of months have been interesting to say the least. I’ve continued to struggle with my golf game missing my eighth cut in a row last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston. At least I think it has been eight weeks, maybe nine, I’m not sure.  I continue to try my best to keep a good perspective about the future and I also continue to form a clearer and clearer picture of what it will take to play for the rest of my career on the PGA Tour.

At best, I have about five more tournaments, including this week's Canadian Open, to play in before my season will officially be over.  Hopefully some good play down the stretch will get me the chance for a start in the last two regular season events on Tour. Other than that I’m going to have to make some hay in a short period of time.

As I continue to compete in each event down the stretch I’m also trying to keep in mind the bigger picture and what I have in front of me. Obviously the best case scenario would be to win in the next six weeks and be exempt for the next two years, but barring that I may be in for another trip to Qualifying School.

The Tour life is still quite enjoyable even when things aren’t going as planned on the course.  Two weeks ago we played in Hartford, Conn. and were treated to a night at the ESPN headquarters in Bristol. Being somewhat of a techie and a huge sports fan, I had a great time touring around the campus that is ESPN and seeing how things really work. A handful of anchors and ESPN personalities joined us throughout the night. The whole experience was pretty cool.

The following week in Boston I was treated to my first Boston Red Sox game at Fenway courtesy of the tournament. My girlfriend was with me for most of the week and we had a great time at the game. I’ll have to say that the people in Boston are rightfully proud of their team and their ballpark.

I think I always had an idea of what goes into a successful year on Tour and I now have a much better picture. I think using Tiger as an example will help. On top of being one of the most talented people to ever play the game, he also has a tremendous support group which he is constantly getting feedback from — strength coach, swing coach, agent, money manager, etc. These people are all part of his team and their jobs are to make him play the best golf he can. I use this example because I think I need to do a better job of putting together my team and using them at more regular intervals.

I also need to learn how to schedule all of this stuff without killing myself flying all over the country. Do I take a week off and do nothing but rest? Do I take a week off and spend the time working with my coaches? Do I continue playing tournaments? All of these decisions are difficult to make in the middle of the season and will always be answered differently at different times. I’ve always felt the need to be improving in all areas of my game and to have some balance in my life. These are the ingredients to making me a successful Tour player, the recipe I just haven’t quite perfected yet.

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I now know the golf courses and the towns the tournaments are played in. I have gotten used to a routine getting ready for tournaments and know what to expect week in and week out with the golf course set up.

I have taken some lumps this year, although I’m beginning to feel better about my future as a player. The trick will be to not make the same mistakes twice, and to continue to have the drive to win on the PGA Tour.

2005 results     How Rob Rashell stacked up on the PGA Tour this year. He made six of 25 cuts and earned $84,391. — 11/3-11/6: Southern Farm Bureau Classic (70-70-69-69—278, -10, 44th-tie, $9,070) — 9/22-9/25: Texas Open (67-73—140, Even, cut) — 9/15-9/18: 84 Lumber Classic (71-76—147, +3, cut) — 9/8-9/11: Canadian Open (72-73—145, +5, cut) — 9/2-9/5: Deutsche Bank Championship (75-73—148, +6, cut) — 8/25-8/28: Buick Championship (73-69—142, +2, cut) — 8/18-8/21: Reno-Tahoe Open (77-77—154, +10, cut) — 7/21-7/24: U.S. Bank Championship (71-72—143, +3, cut) — 7/14-7/17: B.C. Open (74-70—144, Even, cut) — 7/7-7/10: John Deere Classic (72-72—144, +2, cut) — 6/30-7/3: Western Open (72-72—144, +2, cut) — 6/23-6/26: Barclays Classic (75-73—148, +6, cut) — 6/16-6/19: U.S. Open (74-72-73-74—293, +13, 42th-tie, $26,223) — 5/26-5/29: St. Jude Classic (73-68-69-71—281, +1, 39th-tie, $20,090) — 4/28-5/1: Zurich Classic (74-73—147, +3, cut) — 4/21-24: Houston Open (78-73—151, +7, cut) — 3/31-4/3: BellSouth Classic (79-73—152, +8, cut) — 3/10-3/13: Honda Classic (73-68-76-70—287, -1, 58th-tie, $12,100) — 2/24-2/27: Chrysler Classic (71-68-71-75—285, -3, 64th-tie, $6,300) — 2/17-2/20: Nissan Open (73-72—145, +3, cut) — 2/10-2/13: Pebble Beach Pro-Am (72-75-73—220, +4, cut) — 2/3-2/6: FBR Open (77-74—151, +9, cut) — 1/26-1/30: Bob Hope Classic (66-76-73-72—287, -1, cut) — 1/20-1/23: Buick Invitational (73-72—145, +1, cut) — 1/13-1/16: Sony Open (73-67-74-69—283, +3, 56th-tie, $10,608)

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