First Week MQ in Argentina - Unexpected and Unfortunate Event

I left for Argentina last Friday March 10th from Miami and arrived after a full day of travel across two different countries in Termas de Rio Hondo, Argentina on Saturday night. I got settled in to the hotel and saw some friends who were playing in the event for dinner. On Sunday morning after a full nights rest I was ready to start my preparation for the Monday Qualifier. The weather here was sunny, hot, humid, and dry with temperatures close to 100 degrees, this region in Argentina has not seen much rain in close to 3 months. I picked up a local caddie, Adolfo, who travels to some of the PGA Tour Latin America events to caddie for me. Some friends and I had lunch at the course and played a practice round and after a full day I was back to the hotel. Sunday night I did some more unpacking and my typical routines after dinner to prepare for my 9:10 tee time on Monday morning and that is when the unexpected happened, food poisoning. The entire night I was up only getting about 2 hours of sleep, by the time morning came around I felt so bad that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to tee it up in the qualifier. All of my electrolytes had been flushed out, I had barely anything in my system aside from a protein bar and some water (all I could get down), I did everything I could to give myself enough time to get to the first tee and give it my best shot. In 100 degree weather my dehydration set in quickly and I physically wasn't able to perform the way I know I can. I was nauseated, exhausted, dehydrated, and mentally disoriented, but I did everything I could to complete my round to the best of my ability and give myself a chance at getting into the tournament. Ultimately, I finished shooting 76 (+4) with two double bogeys and a triple bogey, the cut was 70 (-2). Obviously, I was upset and discouraged about the poor timing to get uncontrollably sick, but I still look at the positives from the day. I made 5 birdies in my last 10 holes when I was feeling my worst and felt that my putting was better than it has been recently. All in all I didn't qualify for the tournament in the Qualifier, but because of my Tour status and being one of the few players on-site and available if players withdrew, I still had a chance to play in the event. I went back to the hotel after the round and slept for close 15 hours, with taking some medicine and refueling my body on electrolytes and safe foods I began to feel better and still practiced/prepared for the event on Wednesday on the off-chance I got the call saying I was in. Today was the first round of the event and I waited at the course from the first tee time until the last in the 3rd alternate position, but unfortunately there were no withdraws from the event. I know that sometimes in golf and especially in life I will run into bad luck at the worst possible times, but it is how I'm able to learn from it, adapt to it, and overcome it to allow there to be zero effect overall on my end goal. I have another opportunity this week to play my way into the second weeks event in Buenos Aires, Argentina and I am in much higher spirits. I am feeling much healthier, better rested, and excited to play the great golf I know I can play! Time to hit the reset button and get focused on the next Monday Qualifier! On a brighter note below pictured is my Tour membership card for the 2022-23 PGA Tour Latin America season and a swing video from Wednesdays practice session.

*Full Disclaimer*

This 3-week trip I am on I will be playing in all of the Monday qualifiers due to only having conditional status on PGA Tour Latin America. Reason for spending the time and money to do this is because if I am successful qualifying for an event and play well enough to make the cut I will get into the "reshuffle" for the back half of the season. For those that don't understand what that means, my status currently may get me into 1 or 2 events later in the season, but if I can successfully Monday qualify and make a cut in an event I would guarantee myself 7 or 8 starts out of 12 which gives me a better chance of A. keeping my card for next season (top 60 on the money list) and B. playing my way into the top 25 on the money list for this season which has numerous benefits especially in moving up to higher level tours.