Wilson's decision to go back to 'school' pays off
By Bill Kwon
Thanks to successfully surviving the grueling, six-day National Qualifying Tournament, there is life for Dean Wilson on the PGA Tour next year, starting most likely with the Sony Open in Hawai'i next month.
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Wilson was one of 35 players gaining their PGA Tour membership cards as he finished tied for 13th with a 108-hole score of 9-under-par 423. The cut-off score for an exemption was 425.
Dean Wilson's 13th-place finish in the PGA National Qualifying Tournament helped raise his exempt status and chances of playing in PGA events. He hopes to open 2005 at the Sony Open in Hawai'i.
It was a nice birthday — and Christmas — present for the Kane'ohe native, who turns 35 on Dec. 17. True, he gave it to himself, but it was only after working awfully hard for it.
The PGA Q-School is perhaps the most pressure-packed of any sporting event. It's a Game 7 lasting nearly a week. It's where every shot counts, where careers are born or die. Or at least put on hold.
"Yeah, there's a lot of pressure. It's six rounds and you don't know where you're going to play next year," said Wilson, who will be home to spend Christmas with the family.
Wilson is no stranger when it comes to the Q-School.
"I've tried every year since 1992," said Wilson, whose first Q-School attempt came right after he graduated from Brigham Young University.
He failed eight more times before succeeding in 2002 after three successful years on the Japan PGA Tour.
In 2003, Wilson earned $654,345 to finish 98th on the money list, securing playing privileges for this year. But he missed more than half the cuts in 33 events and saw his earnings dip to $561,340 for 133rd place on the money list this season. Only the top 125 get to keep their PGA cards.
"I just didn't play well at the beginning of this year," said Wilson, whose best finish was a tie for third in the Valero Texas Open near the end of the season.
As a player on the top-150 list, Wilson could have gotten in about 18 to 20 tournaments next year. But he went back to Q-School to improve his exempt status, leap-frogging at least 50 spots up the ranks with his 10th and, he hopes, last Q-School try.
That's why he had to go back to "school." And it's not like any school you know.
For one thing, the final testing grounds — the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta, Calif. — is one of the most demanding tracks in golf, according to Wilson.
"The course is nerve-wracking," Wilson said. "There's a chance of a penalty on nearly every shot. You can't afford to make any mistakes.
"You just have to play safe. You can't afford to make double bogeys."
Wilson thought briefly before coming up with an analogy: "It's like walking a tight rope. You know how to walk, but you get penalized for messing up."
Wilson walked the walked.
"It was a grind, but I'm going to be all right," he said.
Now comes an equally difficult task — that of keeping the playing privileges — as Wilson well knows.
He hopes it starts with the Sony Open.
"Hopes" is the operative word because if everyone who's ahead of him on the tour's all-exempt priority rankings shows up, Wilson could conceivably be on the waiting list for one of the 144 spots in the field.
The 35 Q-School graduates and those who finished 2 to 20 on the 2004 Nationwide Tour money list will be selected in alternate order, starting with Brian Davis, the Q-School medalist.
They still rank below golfers who won major championships, tournaments and those on the top 125 list. And those who made the latest Ryder and President Cup teams if they aren't in the categories above. Even the eight sponsor's exemptions in a tournament enjoy a higher priority.
"I'll play if my number gets in," said Wilson, who said he believes he's somewhere around 30th in line.
If there's any consolation, Masters champion Phil Mickelson said in a press conference after winning the PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Po'ipu Bay Resort, that it's "unlikely" that he will play in the Sony Open after the Mercedes Championships on Maui.
Tiger Woods should be another no-show.
Player of the Year Vijay Singh, who won the PGA Championship, said he'll play both Hawai'i events starting the 2005 season, as will British Open champion Todd Hamilton and U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen.
JAPAN Q-SCHOOL
Hawai'i's Greg Meyer finished fourth in the Japan Golf Tour Organization qualifying school and should play a majority of the 28 tournaments scheduled next year.
David Ishii and Regan Lee failed to qualify.
However, Ishii, who made the cut after four rounds in the six-day qualifying, will use a one-time exemption based on his top-25 career money earnings to play on the Japan tour next year before trying the Champions Tour qualifying school.
Lee missed the cut, tying for 135th with a 54-hole score of 221. His future plans are not definite at this time.
Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net
