Veriato finishes 5-over; takes aim at Q-School
| • | Irwin wins at Turtle Bay, shoots into record book |
| • | Ferd Lewis: Stephenson was way out of bounds |
By Bill Kwon
Special to The Advertiser
KAHUKU — Steve Veriato finished his final round at the windswept Turtle Bay Championship yesterday and rushed off to catch a plane. Such is the life of a Monday qualifier.
Advertiser library photo • Oct. 3, 2001
Fortunately, Veriato and a number of non-exempt Champions Tour seniors have an extra day to get there. In a rare move, the qualifying for this week's SBC Championship in San Antonio, Texas — the year's final full-field event — will hold qualifying for four spots tomorrow.
"I came here with the idea of winning. That was probably the only way I'd be exempt for next year," Steve Veriato said.
"It's different because we're in Hawai'i, I guess. But they didn't do it last year," said Veriato, who closed with a 54-hole total of 5-over 221 after shooting his best round in three days, an even-par 72. Instead of a badly needed payday, Veriato collected $6,450 — leaving him in 62nd place on the money list with $204,386, well back of the top 31 money leaders who earn an exemption for 2004.
"I came here with the idea of winning. That was probably the only way I'd be exempt for next year," said Veriato, who got into this week's event based on a reshuffling order thanks to top-10 finishes earlier this year in the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai and the MasterCard Classic in Mexico, where he qualified for the event on a Monday.
"Realistically, this is my last tournament of the year," said Veriato, who is planning on going to the qualifying school next month although he's not looking forward to it.
It will be his fourth try at the senior Q-School and it isn't a pleasant experience, he said.
After years of beating around the Monday-qualifying trail, Veriato finally earned his playing card for the 2001 season when he recorded his only tour victory in the Novell Utah Showdown. That got him into Hualalai on his native Big Island. But he lost his exemption this season after finishing 61st on the 2002 money list with $281,400. He didn't come close to that figure this year in playing only 15 events this year as a non-exempt player.
Veriato called the year "horrible" but admitted he neglected his game partly because he and his caddie and wife, Karen, bought a 26-acre ranch to raise some cattle and a few horses.
"That took a lot of my interest away. I also don't like the direction the tour is heading," Veriato added.
A scrambler without any PGA credentials — his best showing on the regular tour was finishing second to Hale Irwin in the 1977 Atlanta Classic — Veriato said new rules next year will make it tougher for guys like him, those who are on the outside looking in.
Instead of four spots, Monday qualifiers will play for only two in 2004. And the number of Q-school qualifiers will be cut from eight to seven.
In addition, the Champions Tour will reduce its tournament field from 81 to 78 after a one-year experiment.
Asked about a worse scenario for next year if he doesn't make it through Q-School, Veriato said he will be playing fewer Mondays.
"I won't go to a lot of them. Location will probably be the deciding factor, like if it's at a course I've played before," he said.
Besides, there's that ranch in the Texas Hill Country between San Antonio and Austin to keep the transplanted Texan busy.
