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Brad at Finals of the US PGA Tour School 2008 04/12/2007
A week at final stage of the US PGA Tour with 156 players all trying to secure a job for 2008 was a new experience for Brad but one he enjoyed and provided huge motivation to achieve his dream of playing on the US PGA Tour.
The final stage was played on two courses the Panther Lake and Crooked Cat courses at the Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge.
This facility has the largest driving range in the world with 48 aces of prepared grounds including a 360 degree driving range and fantastic practice facilities for your short game.
Brad
Wednesday Brad shot an even par 72 with some great tee to green golf, just having 2 birdies.
Feeling was good happy with the round, just not able to convert many of the birdie opportunities
Thursday Brad played some fantastic short game making 8 of 9 attempts and shot a 2 under 70.
Friday got off to a tough start being 2 over in no time and 4 over after 12 so a 2 over 74 ended up feeling not to bad given what it could have been Brad was back to even for the tournament.
Saturday was the day where Brad had three 2 s on the par 3 s but was unable to convert any of the par 5s and shot a 1 under 71 including a fantastic par save on the 7th hole a par 5 where his second shot was plugged in the hazard after a long walk back he then hit his 4th to behind the green in the rough on a down slope and chipped in for par. The crowd roared consisting of me and Charlie Wies PGA Tour Player Manager.
Brad and I had a discussion debate about Par 5 strategy on Saturday night, not the first one that is debate!! But it’s good to test the best prepared game plans.
What made the discussion the previous night great was the smile Brad gave me when he eagled the 8th and the comment as he walked past me Yep we should of layed up there aye. The eagle tasted even better after a tough start where Brad was 3 over after just 3 holes after a dub on the 3rd when he sent his driving out to visit Orlando country side.
Ily then went on to have another 3 birdies and finish 2 under and 3 under for the tournament, a great come back.
Monday Brad found himself 2 over after 3 but fought back as the wind started to blow to shoot an even par 72 and end in 106th place securing his conditional spot on the Nationwide Tour for the 2008 season.
Other Kiwis
Tim Wilkinson secured his PGA Tour Card shooting 16 under par a fantastic result and well deserved.
Grant Waite secured his Nationwide Tour Card finishing at 10 under par
Summary
Brad putting was his real frustration after having a great year confidence wise with putting and an excellent 2nd stage with his putter.
He felt that 1st stage was the toughest of the three stages.
5 of the 6 rounds Brad was coming from the back foot after being 1 or 2 over the card before starting to fire. Brads ability to take tough starts or bogeys on the chin and get on with it is a huge asset.
Brad thoughts.
The week provided a huge amount of motivation for the 2008 season and his dream of playing on the US PGA Tour as he knows how close he is to achieving that dream.
Rohan Teasdale Brads caddie summed up the week as huge and tough after carrying the tour bag for 9 straight days.
Now
Brad flew up to LA from Orlando last evening, had a very quick transit across to Qantas to fly down to Brisbane anyone who know LAs airport, we had to walk what seemed like a 100 miles to get to the baggage claim, he was due to arrive there at 7.45 this morning and then straight up to the Hyatt Regency Resort in Coolum for a shot gun start Pro am at 1pm arranged by Simon Butterly from the PGA Tour which will have started now so I hope he has made it.
Brad will play the Australian PGA this week in Coolum and then the Australian Open next week thanks to a Sponsors Invitation provided by Oakley which is very much appreciated.
The goal over the next two weeks is to secure his full Australian Card for the 2008 season which then guarantees starts in the two Australasian Tour Nationwide Co sanctioned events early next year.
2008
With Brads conditional card there is an opportunity to play over 20 events of the 33 events on the 2008 Nationwide Calendar. There is a re ranking of all players who fall inside the conditional category after 7 events and then every 5 events there after.
A number of players who were is Brad position for the 2007 season including Jason Day went on to secure there PGA Tour Card for the 2008 season finishing in the top 25 of the Order of merit.
The first two tournaments are in Panama and Mexico followed by the New Zealand PGA in Christchurch and Moonah Classic in Melbourne.
So scheduling will be a big part of the success in 2008.
Thanks again for your fantastic support over the last few weeks, I can assure you it is appreciated.
