Posted on: Thursday, August 5, 2004
GOLF REPORT
Veriato eager to get back into the swing
| • | Kop seeks 7th Army Invitational crown |
| • | Holes in One |
| • | Golf notices |
By Bill Kwon
When we last saw Steve Veriato, he was playing in the Turtle Bay Championship in October — his final PGA Champions Tour event as an exempt player — at the O'ahu North Shore resort. Veriato had lost his playing privileges for 2004 after four years as a card-carrying member on the senior tour, failing in a bid to get it back in the National Qualifying Tournament the following month.
Advertiser library photo • Oct. 3, 2001 So we had to catch up with the Hilo native to see what he's up to during his "off" season. And to learn of his plans for the immediate future.
Veriato was at his 26-acre ranch near Austin, Texas, which now occupies most of his time. He was painting a house he just had built, but was glad to take time and chat with a caller from the islands.
"I miss the blue water," said Veriato, who quickly added that he's back doing what he did as a youngster growing up on the Big Island.
"I'm going to raise some cows and horses again. That's what I did to get money to buy my golf equipment back in Hilo. This time, it's for fun."
Still, Veriato misses the senior tour and plans on going to the qualifying school again this November in an attempt to regain his eligibility in 2005.
He knows it will be even tougher this time. Not because of his age. At 58, he and his wife Karen know his quality playing days on the senior tour are nearing an end. The reason it will be tougher is because the number of exempt spots awarded at the qualifying school has been cut from eight to seven players.
"And it's now six rounds, instead of four, and it's all walking, no golf carts," said Veriato, who thinks at least that will be to his advantage. "I don't mind the walking."
What Veriato did mind was another eligibility change that reduced by 50 percent (from four spots to two) his chances of doing what he once did so well — Monday qualifying.
He had established a reputation as one of the most successful Monday qualifiers before earning his playing card beginning the 2000 season. From 1997 through 1999, Veriato played in only 33 events, mostly through Monday qualifying, and two of his three top-10 finishes came in the Ka'anapali Classic on Maui.
"That's why I don't go out on Mondays anymore," said Veriato, who doesn't like the odds. He missed his only attempt this year at the Fed Ex Kinko's Classic in Austin. However, he does plan on trying to Monday qualify for two October tournaments in Houston and San Antonio because they're closer to home and would provide tune-ups for the Q-School. As a former tour member, he will go straight to the final stage.
The U.S. Senior Open was only his third Champions Tour event this year. He made the 156-player field as a past tour winner within the past three years with his only PGA victory, the 2001 Novell Utah Showdown, in his 99th senior tour start.
He also played in the Senior PGA Championship, where he missed the cut, thanks to his showing in the MasterCard Classic in Mexico City, where he also gained entry as a former tour winner.
His performance in the U.S. Senior Open, especially a 3-under-par 68 in the second round, proved a confidence booster.
"I had four birdies on the back nine. It showed I'm still capable of playing," said Veriato, who plans to resume practice in earnest to get ready for Q-School. He had played in several Cadillac Senior Series events but without much success because he hadn't been practicing much.
"Two months ago, I didn't really care," Veriato said. "Now, what I would like to do is play on the senior tour again. That's my intention, getting my card back. We're going to give it a good and hearty try."
There's added incentive.
The 2005 Champions Tour season begins in Hawai'i, where Veriato has had great success. Though it's highly unlikely that he can make it to the MasterCard Championship for 2004 winners at Hualalai, he'd like nothing better than to play in the Turtle Bay championship, which will now be the tour's first full-field event of the year.
"If it doesn't happen, we'll do something else. I've had a good run in golf, made some good money. That's how we got this piece of property," said Veriato, a two-time Hawai'i State Open champion (1976 and 1977), who won the 1971 Southwest Conference golf title while attending Texas A&M.
The only difference if Veriato goes back on tour is that Karen, an accountant with the Texas legislative budget bureau, won't be caddying for him as she did ever since they were married in 1995.
"She's back to work and the one getting a steady paycheck for us now," he said.
Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.
So what a surprise to see Veriato not only playing in the U.S. Senior Open at St. Louis last week, but making the cut as well. He finished tied for 37th along with Dave Eichelberger, another golfer with Hawai'i ties. They posted 72-hole scores of 290 to earn $13,782.
Steve Veriato's tie for 37th at the U.S. Senior Open at St. Louis was a confidence booster. "It showed I'm still capable of playing," he said.
