Gove looking forward to 2013 PGA Tour season

After hitting his tee shot safely onto the green on the water-logged 17th hole in PGA West's Stadium Course, Jeff Gove had a chance to relax and enjoy the moment, if he so chose.

But he was too nervous for that.

"I was thinking to myself, 'What if I three-putt this and that hit it into the water on 18?,'" Gove said, laughing in reminiscence.

No such trouble for Gove. In fact, quite the opposite. The veteran drained his 20-footer for birdie, then proceeded to hit his approach to inside the foot on the 18th, leading to back-to-back birdies and a closing 67 on the final day of this year's final edition of PGA Tour Q-School.

With the effort, Gove tied for 10th. With the effort, Gove will return to the PGA Tour full-time for the 2013 season.

"You can really make a mess on those last holes," Gove said. "The final day, tons of pressure, similar to the Tour Championship when you're fighting for your card. I'm thrilled to be going back."

It certainly wasn't the expected end-of-year result for for the San Diego resident and Washington state native, especially considering the turmoil he experienced earlier in the season. Gove endured a stretch of eight missed cuts in a nine-event stretch earlier this spring and summer, despite rarely making a mess of a round. He simply wasn't shooting low enough scores, on a tour that demands it.

It got to the point where he even considered giving up the game.

"I wasn't sure if it was still worth it," Gove said. "Traveling all the time, especially with a wife and two kids. I didn't know what I was going to do."

Gove never got to the point of giving up on the season, though. Resolved to turn things around, he continued to do the little things - going to the gym, tinkering with his putting - to give himself a chance to get better. The putting came around, and the results started to show. With the help of a string of top-30 finishes in the early fall, Gove put himself in a position to make the top 60 on the money list (and retain full Web.com status for 2013) if he could make the cut and finish reasonably well in the final two events.

After missing the cut in both (and missing the Tour championship), Gove needed to go back to second stage of Q-School, needing to advance and perform well at final stage to get back on the Web.com Tour full-time, much less the PGA Tour circuit. Mission accomplished: Gove shot 6-under for four rounds at the tricky Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, CA, and he entered final stage with plenty of confidence.

"Going in, I had a different feeling than I've had in previous years," Gove said. "I really thought I was going to make it."

Armed with the late-season confidence in his putting, and the rest of his game, Gove attacked the Stadium and Nicklaus courses with precision over the Q-School week, sticking to his game plan and making sure not to get too up or too down. The plan worked: he only shot one round in the 70s (a fifth-round 71), and he hovered around the top 25 the whole week. Before he knew it, he hit the beautiful approach on the 18th hole of his final round, listening to and appreciating the roars of the crowd.

After tapping in for a final-round 67, he happily greeted the assembled fan club that included his parents along with friends from along the way. Gove lived in the PGA West vicinity for a few years after the turn of the century, and knows the area quite well.

"We all had a bunch of high-fives and celebrated," Gove said. "After being close so many times, I was kind of in shock. It was great."

From there, he made the very enjoyable two-hour drive home before cracking a bottle of wine and celebrating with his family. Not a bad way to end a heck of a week.

Now he switches gears to preparing for the PGA Tour, where courses are almost always played under difficult conditions - fast greens, thick rough, and plenty of distance. Although the Web.com Tour strives to provide a PGA Tour-like environment, the nature of the schedule amkes this a near-impossible task on some occasions, Gove said. Take the United Leasing Championship in Indiana earlier this summer, where temperatures above 100 degrees kept officials from keeping the greens dry. Consistent watering became necessary to prevent the greens from burning out, and players got to fire at pins.

With early-season swings through hot climates, the PGA Tour climate is free of such concerns, for the most part. Gove knows he needs to bring his A-game to meet his goals, which include keeping his card (by finishing in the top 125) and ultimately winning an event.

In addition to the different courses and schedule, the PGA Tour brings an exponential increase in crowd attendance. Gone will be the days of two or three-person galleries, where officials can outnumber spectators at times.

Gove looks forward to it.

"Having the crowds keeps me focused," Gove said. "It's fun, and obviously there's plenty to play for."

Gove will get into the first full-field event in Hawaii, and he reasonably hopes to play in four of the first six events on the West Coast swing. If he can pick up some solid finishes early and gain some momentum, he can set himself up for an enjoyable year, where his family plans to attend a sizable portion of events in the summer months. Events in Hilton Head and Charlotte are two of the tournaments that he points out as being specifically excited to return to.

After longtime friend Jeff Brehaut qualified for the Champions Tour by way of a second-place finish at Champions Q-School, two weeks prior to the PGA Tour edition, Brehaut told Gove that it was time for him to make him through himself.

After making it through on the final day at PGA West, Gove was greeted by an estimated 150 texts, e-mails and calls of congratulations from family, friends and peers. Gove maintains friendships with PGA Tour contemporaries such as Zach Johnson and Jonathan Byrd, and is excited to spend more time with them as he returns to the big tour.

So here he is, a journeyman veteran, back from the abyss (and then some) in the span of a few weeks. From potentially out of a job to the biggest tour in the world, with a few good rounds of golf at the right time.

With impeccable timing, Jeff Gove opened up a world of potential - with opportunities like Augusta and the FedEx Cup Playoffs within reach if he keeps up his sound play.

Just another of the endless stories that comes by way of the game of golf.

"What an experience," Gove said.

Gove defies odds, earns PGA Tour card

Sometimes, all you need is a bad stretch to propel you to greater heights than you would have thought possible.

But even with that being said, Jeff Gove's 2012 turnaround seems to still defy the odds.

Midway through the summer swing through the Midwest, Jeff Gove couldn't buy a made cut. He was struggling with his putting, his iron play, his normally relaible wedge game - you name it. A friend came out to Wichita to help him with his putting - but he putted poorly and missed the cut. One scene in my mind from the summer is Gove talking to this friend after his second round at Crestview, the look on his face quite confused.

But then the tides turned. The former PGA Tour player suddenly found his game, finding the level of Web.com consistency that had been his hallmark for so many years. He put together a string of top-25s, and nearly climbed his way back into the top 60 by the end of the year.

So Gove went to Q-School with reason to believe he could do well, and he fought through second stage to advance to finals. Then at finals, the consistency couldn't be broken. Four consecutive sub-70 rounds to start put him right in the thick of the top-25, and a fifth-round 71 in tricky conditions kept him afloat.

And a closing 67 was plenty enough. Gove finished at 21-under for the six-day event, four shots clear of the 17-under cutoff and in a tie for 10th. Just like that, Gove returns to the PGA Tour for 2013, successfully navigating his way through the last traditional form of Q-School as we know it.

After a front-nine 35, Gove was squarely on the line for PGA Tour membership. For any golfer who cares at all, the nerves surely become a factor at that point.

But Gove didn't show it. He went 4-under on the back, finishing in style with back-to-back birdies, and can proudly say he is a PGA Tour member for next season. Back are the opportunities for million-dollar winners' checks, and courtesy cars. Back to the good life.

Gove last had PGA Tour status in 2010, where he made only five cuts in 22 starts. We'll see if the experience will allow him to feel better this time, especially considering where his game was over the last stretch of 2012.

The 41-year old has had plenty of success on the Web.com Tour, winning three times, but has never cracked the top five on the big tour in 163 starts. Nearing the closing leg of his career, Gove now has a golden opportunity for a defining moment or two. We'll see.

Back in Greenville earlier this summer, I remember asking Gove if one of his main goals was to win on the PGA Tour. He looked at me and told me he had to get back there first.

Well, he did. Congrats, Jeff. Play well.

Gove advances to final stage

In the face of abundant disappointments at second stage of Q-School, Jeff Gove found success.

After struggling for most of the 2012 season on the Web.com Tour, the veteran Gove found his game late in the season with a series of top-25 finishes. Gove came tantalizingly close to the top 60 on the money list - and full status for 2013 - but missed the cut in his last two events and finished 65th on the money list.

But the experienced Gove went back to second stage and posted four solid if not spectacular rounds, closing with a 1-under 71 for a four-day total of 6-under at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, CA.

The cut was 5-under, so Gove moves on to final stage at PGA West, in an attempt to fully complete the late-season turnaround and earn a big-league card for 2013. If not, there's always the opportunity of finishing high enough to maintain his Web.com status.

Right there is the beauty of Q-School. You grind to make it by the skin of your teeth, and another grind awaits two weeks later. This one, six days as opposed to four.

And if you don't make it through, you're right back where you started. Probably with a few smidgens of regret.

Disappointments abound at second stage

The crux of professional golf is in its relentless nature. Unless you're a superstar with years of exempt status based on major victories, you must earn your keep each year. No five or ten-year megadeals or contracts. If you don't play well enough, you are gone.

That's the reality that takes place at second stage of Q-School, and many veterans unfortunately met their demise at this year's second round of PGA Tour qualifying. Without status from the year of play, a player needs to make it through second stage to have conditional Web.com status for the following year. If not, you're basically out of the loop.

For perrenial pros Kevin Johnson and Omar Uresti, the news was not positive at last week's Panama City Beach second stage site. KJ opened poorly and never got going until the final round, finishing at 3-over for the week and a disappointing eight strokes back of moving on to final stage.

Same for Uresti, the perennial on-again, off-again PGA Tour player who had slipped into the Web.com abyss over the last few years. Uresti struggled for most of 2012 on the Web.com circuit, flummoxed by inconsistent play on the birdie-conducive tour, and finished his Panama City week at 2-over. Now Uresti is out, trying to figure out what he must do to resurrect his once-promising career.

It doesn't end there. Looking at any of the six second-stage sites, one never ceases to be amazed by the names that have fallen from grace in the world of professional golf. Guy Boros, son of PGA Tour great Julius Boros, finished 10-over in Panama City. Former Ryder Cupper Brett Wetterich finished at even-par and failed to advance. In Plantation, FL, former PGA Tour winners Notah Begay and Jesper Parnevik finished a staggering seven shots behind the 10-under number they needed to move on.

Plenty of happy stories will emerge from final stage, of journeymen pros who finally get their big shot, or once-prominent names who are on the way to career resurrection. These stories will be seen and heard on the Golf Channel next week, when the six-day grind of final stage takes place at PGA West in California.

But for those less fortunate souls who found themselves walking away empty-handed at second stage last week? They now find their dreams even more out of reach.

Second stage of Q-School underway

For most of those Web.com pros who failed to qualify for the 2013 PGA Tour via 'The 25,' the next opportunity to get to the big leagues begins this week.

Second stage of Q-School is underway, with over 400 players taking part across six different qualifying sites. Depending on ties, about 120 players will advance to Final Stage next month at PGA West in California.

Second stage is perhaps the most pressure-packed stage, as making it to finals assures a player of at least some status for the following year, even if that status might bring entry into only a handful of tournaments. At least it's a start. If you don't make it through second stage, it can be a frustrating season ahead.

Kevin Johnson gets his second-stage effort underway tomorrow, when he tees it up at Hombre GC in Panama City Beach, FL. After a frustrating 2012 campaign where he never really put two good weeks together after the first two events of the season, KJ will look to find his game just in the nick of time.

Three sites began play today, with veteran pros Rob Oppenheim and Kris Blanks leading the way at Plantation (FL) Preserve after matching sizzling 8-under 63's. Nathan Green and Matt Jones share the lead at 6-under 66 in McKinney, TX, while Nebraska resident John Hurley is in front in Humble, TX after a 66.

But more interesting is the veterans who find themselves way back in the pack, needing to rally just to make it to final stage. In Humble, former PGA Tour winner Ted Purdy shares last place after firing a 6-over 78, while former Tour card holder Kent Jones didn't fare much better after a 77. Former British Open champion Todd Hamilton is T57 in McKinney, and former young-gun bomber Hank Kuehne is T67 at Plantation Preserve.

Looking through these leaderboards, it's always shocking to see the former well-knowns struggling to find their game, while certain young players just out of college have no trouble moving on. Then again, in a different week, the roles could be reversed. That's golf, and that's the fickle nature of Q-School.

It's hard to peak your game in golf. Some stars claim they work on peaking for majors - and Jack Nicklaus probably actually did - but it's not that easy for the rest of us. Nothing's worse than the miserable feeling where you know what's wrong but you just can't do anything to fix it.

Especially when it just happens to be second stage of Q-School.

Gove fighting down the stretch to keep full status

For Jeff Gove, it doesn't get much more intense than this.

Currently No. 60 on the Web.com Tour money list, Gove finds himself squarely on the bubble as he plays this week's Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open at Dye's Valley Course. As if that wasn't enough, Gove is currently on the bubble to make the cut, playing the 11th hole Friday at 3-over for the week. The cut line is currently 2-over and should be safe there, but may move to 3-over depending on how players finish up their second rounds.

It's been an interesting season for gove, who has done well just to give himself a chance to keep full status without needing a good performance at Q-School. After suffering through a stretch of eight missed cuts in nine weeks during the summer, Gove has rejuventated his game down the fall stretch, notching seven consecutive top-30 finishes before last week's missed cut in Miami.

But the midseason slump forced Gove into rally mode, and his efforts could be for naught if he fails to close strong here at Dye's Valley. It is safe to say that if Gove fails to make the cut, someone will pass him on the money list, and he will packing his bags for the second stage of Q-School next month with his full status on the line.

After opening the week with a 2-over 72 at the testy Dye track, Gove birdied the par-5 1st on Friday to slide inside the cut line, which was 1-over at the time. The challenge has stiffened as the afternoon progresses, and Gove has made no birdies and two bogeys since the birdie at 1.

If he makes the cut, it's no sure thing that he will keep his spot in the top 60. The verdict would depend on the play of many players around the bubble over the weekend. But if he can close strong Friday and stick around for the weekend, he will have a very realistic chance to maintain his spot.

A few months ago, he couldn't have asked for much more.

Johnson on last legs

After finishing in the middle of the pack at last week's Neediest Kids Championship, Kevin Johnson knew he had some serious ground to make up in the last two events of the year, if he wanted to assure keeping his job.

In Thursday's first round in Miami, Johnson made things more difficult for himself. He started off slow with two early bogeys, battled back to get to 1-over on the round with two holes to play, and gave it away with bogeys on the last two holes.

It all added up to an opening 74. With the lead at 64, not good.

Now Johnson faces a challenge if he wants to make the cut, and missing cuts isn't really an option at this point. The cut has just moved from even to 1-over, and it looks like 1-over should be safe to make the cut, considering the upward trend of scores today.

So, he needs a 69 this afternoon. Teeing off at 1:10 p.m., with winds slated to gust above 20 mph this afternoon, Johnson will not have an easy time of it. Neither will the field.

Making the cut would be a start, but Johnson would need to continue the push on the weekend if he wants to put himself in a better position going into next week's full-field season finale.

But for now, making the cut is the pressing concern. And that itself carries plenty of s challenge.

Notes:

-When I talked to Jason Allred in Wichita, it seemed like the journeyman pro has gained a fresh perspective about the game. He told me how having kids has loosened him up on the course, making him realize the relative unimportance of one's golf ability.

The season's final stretch has been a mixed bag for Allred, successful top-15 finishes sprinkled together with many missed cuts.

So far this week, Allred is looking like a safe bet to make the cut, and maybe more. Allred fired an opening 64 to take the day-one lead in Miami, using a torrid stretch of five birdies in a six-hole run to vault up the leaderboard.

Currently No. 78 on the money list, Allred needs he knows a special week or two to keep his full status for next year. After three consecutive seasons of limited eligibility coming into 2012, it would surely mean a lot.

-So far on Friday, Kevin Tway is experiencing a harsh reality check of the rigors of professional golf. The former Oklahoma State standout with the decorated amateur career has failed to make a cut this season in four appearances split between the PGA and Web.com Tours, and is in jeopardy of missing another in Miami.

After Thursday's round, that didn't seem to be the case at all. Tway opened the proceedings with a 4-under 67, moving into the top 10 with a six-birdie, two-bogey effort.

But today, it's crashing down in a hurry. Tway has opened with five bogeys and five pars in his first ten holes, putting him perilously on the cut line with eight holes to play.

If he hopes to finally play the weekend this year, he needs to stop the bleeding fast.

Full circle

On our crew's drive back to Syracuse from Washington, D.C., I had a sudden epiphany.

I turned around and shared my realization with Jack.

"You drove with me to my first event for this project," I said. "And now you're driving back with me from my last."

Jack's eyes lit up, and he uttered the only response that could possibly be appropriate at that point.

"Wow."

Five months after I started my journey through the enigma known as minor-league golf, it has come to the end. I've been to Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C. I've interviewed countless players, watched thousands of holes of golf played, and added plenty of miles to various cars. I've slept in my car, gone to events on no sleep, ate too many dollar-menu chicken sandwiches, and listened to too many top-40 radio songs.

I'm all the better for it, I think. Either way, I rolled back into Syracuse last night with Jack (among others) in the car. Just as I left Syracuse for Greenville with Jack in the car, five months ago.

Before this project started, I had a disjointed vision. I knew I wanted to gain a sense of what life in the minors really is, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. My plan was to watch as much golf as I could, talk to players as much as I could, and replicate their travel experiences as much as I could.

Along the way, I gained varied insights into different areas of the Web.com Tour life, with the graciousness and generosity of the players and media officials who gave me their time and support. I got to know players, befriended players - and in the pinnacle of my journalistic (and right up there in my personal) life, caddied for Kevin Johnson in Springfield.

So what did I ultimately learn? To put it concisely, I still don't really know. I now feel that to truly put together a great project on life in Triple-A golf, I need more time. I need to talk to players over the course of a few years, attend tournaments over that span as well. Right now, I have a snapshot of the Tour, which is perfectly fine for a good project.

To make it great may take a while.

But I'm here, with my first year of the experience completed, and I'm still alive. I did it, somehow. Who knows how.

I do know that these players are good, that the line between the big-boy tour and these guys is incredibly fine. A couple putts here, an untimely hook there.

I know these guys don't live rich. Renting cars to drive from place to place, staying in budget motels, sometimes traveling together. It's a traveling fraternity. Many of them could do better financially if they went into other lines of work.

But they love what they do, and that's good enough.

And I know these guys are normal people. They don't have egos. They aren't famous enough to have egos. They happen to play a game for a living where you can track their results on a website - and besides that, they're just like you and me.

Just the fact that I was allowed to caddy should say plenty about that.

So here I am, back in Syracuse, ready to jump into the heart of my senior year of college. Where does time go?

It doesn't seem that much long ago that I was sitting on my old porch at 501 Clarendon St., planning the South Carolina trip with Jack. The trip was his idea, which led to my project becoming a reality in Greenville, which led to plenty of summer memories in far-flung places like Wichita and Springfield.

Which led to Jack returning with me from D.C., to complete the circle. Jack didn't come home with me from Greenville (he took a plane back to Cleveland for his birthday) and he didn't come with me to D.C. (he had an interview on Friday morning, and he caught a bus to Washington to meet up).

But the trip definitively began with Jack, and it ended with him. Completely unplanned, but absolutely no surprise regardless.

The root of the entire golf adventure took hold in London, when I truly learned the value and importance of spontaneity, not being afraid to do things that you want to do. Sounds easy, but it seems to me like a trait that needs to be learned.

I learned it abroad, while traveling with Jack and the gang through places I had never expected to actually see - places like the Vatican, the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Amsterdam Red Light District, and so on. I could go on for days.

So it's fitting, then, that one of my London roommates - Jack - helped to begin and end my golf sojourn. Without the willingness to take a risk and try to get access to a professional golf tour, the experience would have never happened. I would never have fulfilled a personal bucket list item of caddying in professional golf, or a professional dream of interviewing dozens of pro golfers.

Be bold. Be brave. Take risks.

Don't fear failure. Fear the possibility of never having the opportunity to fail.

Generic truths, but statements that served me well in my adventure. Thanks to everyone who played a part in making it happen.

As Dave Matthews would say, "And here, we will rest in peace."

Scattered notes from the weekend

After a weekend spent following Kevin Johnson do battle at TPC Potomac, some notes collected along the way...

-Sunday morning, I made it to TPC Potmoac (along with friends Brendan and Jack) just after KJ's tee time, and our crew caught up with him on the 10th fairway.

A lifetime Red Sox fan, KJ immediately appreciated Brendan's Boston hat, and smiled and tipped his cap in appreciation.

When considering the fact that we made it out to the course on a cold, rainy Sunday morning, the appreciation morphed into mild confusion.

"Why are you guys here?," KJ asked.

-Considering the weather, KJ's question was well-deserved. The rain alternated with mist, and the cold temperatures made matters even worse. With heat approaching 80 just a day or two prior, the sudden change was a shock to the system.

Luckily, the rain subsided after a few holes. Otherwise, who knows if we would have made it through the entire 18. After all, it was an NFL Sunday.

-After KJ hit a brilliant approach to inside 5 feet on the 15th, leading to a birdie, KJ caught up with me to make sure I made a note of it for my blog. I told him that I would, indeed.

"Best shot I ever hit," KJ said.

-After a break, we caught back up with KJ on the 3rd hole (his 12th), where he was hovering at 2-over on the event and 7-over on the week. Well outside the top 25 on the leaderboard, KJ was not exactly making a significant impact with his play. With only seven holes to play, the status of his week was essentially stamped as mediocre.

Which led him to the following question.

"Why are you guys still here?," KJ again asked. "Don't you have anything better to do? Isn't there a bar open somewhere?"

I told him that indeed, we would probably be going to a bar after his round, to watch some football.

"Good," he said. "Maybe I'll come with you."

-After KJ completed his round, my friends and I had lunch with his caddy Smiley.

Smiley said that he will be caddying for KJ's longtime friend Fran Quinn at second stage of Q-School next month, as KJ will be having another friend caddying for the week.

KJ will take his chances at Hombre Golf Club in Panama City, assuming he fails to make a significant surge in the last two weeks that would allow him to circumvent second stage.

Smiley recounted a story from Friday, when he went to the bathroom by the 4th tee after handing KJ his driver and a ball. The 4th is a demanding par-4, with water down the left side of the fairway and a narrow green.

When Smiley returned, KJ had already teed off. Smiley was greeted with a look of disgust, which he interpreted as meaning that KJ had driven his ball into the water. Immediately, Smiley reached to the bag for another ball.

But then, KJ intervened.

"I'm just kidding, Smiles," KJ said. "We're right in the middle of the fairway."

-On the 14th green Sunday, while looking through his clubs, KJ suddenly looked at Smiley and gave a nod over to me.

"Better get ready, Kev," he said, joking that I would be called in to caddy soon enough.

Other notes from the tournament proper...

-It wasn't a good Sunday for Fargo, ND. In an occurrence that may have never happened before, the final group included two golfers from the North Dakota city, Monday qualifier Josh Persons and Tour player Tom Hoge.

Starting the day occupying the top two spots on the leaderboard at 8-under and 7-under repsectively, Persons and Hoge looked poised to do battle on Sunday afternoon.

It wasn't meant to be. Persons struggled to a 77, Hoge turned in a 76, and both finished T8.

-For plenty of other players, Sunday was also quite misfortunate. There were many scores well over par on the leaderboard, including Fabian Gomez's 81 and Jason Gore's 80.

It was a sharp decline this week for Gore, who confidently opened with a 63 and stated that he felt surprised whenever he missed a putt.

Sunday, Gore took 32 putts. Coupled with 12 missed greens, it was a recipe for disaster. Gore finished near the bottom of the leaderboard at T57.

-For others, it was not as bad. Soon-to-be PGA Tour rookie Paul Haley posted a 2-under 68, moving from 51st to 25th. Haley was seen in a good mood walking off the 16th green Sunday, smiling and wearing a winter hat.

-For David Lingmerth, it was just perfect. The Swede came away with a remarkable Sunday 66, on a day when only 11 players managed to score under par.

Lingmerth finished at 8-under, and left Washington with the victory.

Johnson finishes T46, more work to do to keep job

After finishing up his week in Washington with a bogey on the par-3 9th at TPC Potomac, Kevin Johnson headed for the scorer's tent to sign for his final-round 74.

And with the 74, a four-day total of 9-over and another middle-of-the-pack finish, this time T46. The result earned him just over $2,000, and allowed him to maintain his position at No. 85 on the Web.com Tour money list. Nothing more.

Johnson put it simply after his round.

"Not good enough."

Johnson is running out of time to ensure himself of keeping his job for next year, and he knows it. Although the week in D.C. marked his fourth made cut in five events, he has only notched one top-40 finish over the stretch, a T9 last week in Charlotte.

Without high finishes, Johnson is finding it hard to make a move up the money list. At a course like TPC Potomac, the problem was length - Johnson averaged 260.4 yards for the week off the tee on measured driving holes, 58th of the 66 players who made the cut.

When a course plays long due to wet conditions, combined with a series of long and demanding par-4's, the situation hurts a player like Johnson. Forced to hit long-iron approaches time and time again, he found it hard to avoid bogeys, or to make enough birdies to counter the bogeys.

So the result was another mediocre finish, which simply isn't good enough at this point in the season. Johnson played well at times throughout the event - like when he grinded to make the cut by making eight pars on his final nine Friday - and hit a number of good shots, like his long-iron approach to inside 5 feet on the demanding par-4 15th on Sunday.

But in the end, his lack of length caught up to him.

Johnson would have needed to chip and putt nearly flawlessly to finish under par for the week, and all things considered he performed just fine around the greens. But as his caddy Smiley said on Friday, the course 'wears him out'.

By Sunday, the conditions were enough to wear anyone out, with morning temperatures hovering around 50 degrees and a steady combination of mist and rain. With an 8:33 tee time, Johnson was faced with the challenge of playing in the heart of the cruel conditions. Not a promising prospect for anyone, much less someone who is struggling to generate distance.

Johnson hung in there as well as he could, birdieing his 5th and 6th holes of the day (his 14th and 15th) to fight back to even on the day, 5-over on the event. But from there, he failed to make another birdie - or even give himself a promising look at birdie - and steadily drifted down the board with four bogeys the rest of the way.

The final verdict wasn't for lack of effort, or lack of enthusiasm. Johnson maintained a positive outlook the whole week, joking with his caddy and the gallery (when there was one). It was just a difficult situation.

Johnson made the best of it. But considering the context of his situation, it wasn't enough.

He has two more events to make enough money to secure a position in the top 60. He likely needs two top-10 finishes, with maybe even a top-5 sprinkled in.

We'll see what he's got.

Damron flustered, Uresti flummoxed, more from Round 2

After making his swing on the tee of the par-3 9th at Potomac, seeing the ball sail left of target, Robert Damron could do nothing but shake his head and kick his club in disgust.

After his chip shot from the left greenside bunker hit the green and rolled 25 feet past the hole, Damron quickly escaped the sand trap and hurried to his ball. At this point, it appeared that he wanted nothing more to do with the hole.

Damron missed the putt, tapped in for his bogey, and hurried off the green looking clearly bothered. This completed a disappointing front nine of 5-over 40 for Damron, putting the veteran well outside the cut line at 9-over par.

This was not an isolated example on Friday at TPC Potomac. All day long, the difficult course setup and series of demanding par-4's has caused scores to sail, in sharp contrast to the typical score dispersion seen at a Web.com event.

Take Omar Uresti, for instance. The short-hitting Texan opened the event in 74, knowing a solid round of 2- or 3-under would be necessary if he wanted to stick around for the weekend. After six holes on Friday, Uresti was even on the day, still in position to make a run with a few birdies.

After a double bogey on the par-4 16th, Uresti was suddenly in panic mode. Despite a nice up-and-down from 30 yards for par on 18, the veteran found himself four shots outside the cut line with nine holes to play. This made another missed cut - and further drift down the money list - seem all but inevitable.

Despite a birdie on the par-5 2nd, Uresti will need to go 3-under over his last six to stick around.

Former Ryder Cupper Woody Austin opened the day in a tie for 6th at 4-under, but triple-bogeyed the 4th and turned in 41 to make a missed cut a very tangible reality. Former PGA Tour member Ryan Armour birdied the 1st (his 10th) to get to 1-over on the event, safely inside the current cut line of 2-over, but promptly doubled the 3rd to fall outside the line.

The list goes on and on.

Potomac is eating plenty of veterans alive, while lesser-knowns like Tom Hoge and Monday qualifiers like Josh Persons find themselves on the first page of the leaderboard. Makes you question the perception that tough setups favor experienced players. And so it goes.

More notes:

-Saw Jimmy Jones on the 18th green, who caddied for Ryan Armour in a practice round with KJ in Springfield. When he saw me, Jones ran over to me and gave me a high-five, asking how I was doing. In an ironic twist, Jones is caddying this week for Wes Short - in the same group as Ryan Armour, his former employer. Wonder how those conversations are going.

-Forgot to mention this earlier, but Steve Allan has some interesting body language while watching his shots. Allan played in the same group as KJ, and was constantly observed shaking his head in disbelief and muttering harsh words to himself when the ball didn't head in the desired direction. Allan hung in there for most of the round, but missed a few makeable putts late in the round to finish at 4-over on the event, outside the cut line.

-Asked Fabian Gomez (who shot 70 for a two-day total of 2-under) for an interview after his round. He respectfully declined. The reason?

"He doesn't speak English," his caddie told me.

Gomez was followed by a friend of his caddie, the only other person to follow the group (KJ, Gomez, and Allan) besides me. I had figured that being close to D.C., this tournament had potential to attract a well-sized crowd. Not Friday, but we'll see how things turn out on the weekend.

Then again, it's an exciting time for Washington sports. The Nationals in the playoffs, RG3 taking the NFL by storm.

Who needs the Caps?

Johnson posts 71, feels he will miss cut

After bogeying the 8th hole on Friday at TPC Potomac (his 17th), Kevin Johnson figured that he needed to birdie his final hole to stick around for the weekend.

When he ran his 25-footer for birdie on 9 a couple feet past the hole, he figured he was likely done.

"I was hoping it could maybe be even," Johnson said after his round. "Maybe. There's just no wind today, and the greens are soft."

Little did Johnson know that Friday's morning scoring average was over a stroke higher than Thursday's average, and that his efforts actually improved his position on the leaderboard upon completion of his round.

Johnson posted a Friday 71 to back up his Thursday 70, moving from T46 after the first round to T43 currently, in an anomaly on a tour that consistently yields low rounds and cut lines well under par.

So by the looks of it, Johnson will be around for the weekend. Even if he didn't want to hear any of that after finishing his round.

"I'm going to stick around," Johnson said. "But it's not like I have any other choice (regarding travel arrangements)."

Johnson's round exemplified his struggles finding adequate driving distance to make low scores possible, a problem that surfaced earlier this summer in Springfield. At Highland Springs CC, a relatively flat course that lacks significant length, Johnson could survive with below-avergae drives.

Not at TPC Potomac. When it was suggested that he was driving the ball 250 on Friday, Johnson remarked, 'if that.' With an abundance of long par-4's, Johnson found himself hitting long irons and hybrids into greens on nearly every hole, keeping him from giving himself realistic birdie looks.

"You saw it out there," Johnson said. "I had sixty-footers all day."

But he made do, with his lone three-putt coming on his 9th hole of the day (the 18th) when he missed a 4-footer, and he plodded along with a series of par saves. The most notable came at the 4th hole, when he missed the green left but chipped up and rolled in an 8-footer.

After opening up in an all-over-the-place fashion by alternating birdies and bogeys through his first five holes, Johnson settled down and made par on 11 of his final 13 holes. Aside from the three-putt bogey on 18, he found another bogey on the 8th after driving into a bunker left of the fairway, laying up short right of the green, and missing a 12-footer for par.

In those final three holes, Johnson had only two realistic birdie looks - a 15-footer on the par-5 2nd, and a 20-footer on the par-4 5th.

"I just didn't play good today," Johnson said.

But he didn't play bad. At the difficult Potomac track, not bad should be good enough for a Saturday tee time.

Notes:

-KJ immediately greeted me when I caught up with his group on the 12th green, walking down the hill from the green to say hello and briefly catching up. Throughout the round, we discussed the firing of Bobby Valentine ("that just never was going to work out"), his trip to Atlantis last month ("it was a blast, the girls loved it"), and the difficulty of the course ("this is a PGA Tour-level test").

Despite his struggles on the course, KJ kept his spirits up and was in a joking manner throughout the round. Of course, he was pleasant with his caddy Smiley, just like he always is.

-I got to talk with Smiley as well on a forecaddying hole, who reflected on his boss's recent lack of driving distance. However, Smiley maintained a positive light on the situation, maintaining that KJ can still contend when he putts well.

"When he putts good, my man can beat anyone out here," Smiley said. "Anyone. Doesn't matter how far we hit it, or where we hit it. Just need to putt good."

Smiley was prophetic on Friday - KJ didn't hit the ball anywhere near well, but putted decently enough to get in position to make a Sunday paycheck.

-After the round, I had a fun run-in with KJ, Smiley, and Joe Chemcyz in the media room. Seeing me typing on the way to the locker room, KJ and Smiley stopped by my workspace and checked out what I was doing.

We informed KJ of the positive outlook regarding his chances to make the cut, and he still didn't seem to think that he had a chance.

KJ joked to Joe about how I was the only one in the media room, saying, "that's some press corps you've got, huh?"

He went on, "Seems like you guys really don't have security here. He can just stroll in and plug his computer in."

"It's like he thinks he's a professional journalist," Joe replied.

"Yeah, and Smiley's a professional caddy," KJ retorted.

Then KJ paused and issued another remark, pointed in my direction. "Guess you can say you're a professional caddy, too."

-I stated my confusion to Joe about how KJ really didn't think he was going to make the cut, even though the leaderboard trend seems to clearly show that he will make it.

"Well, you're just the veteran here now, aren't you?," Joe replied.

-I asked KJ about his plans for the offseason, if he fails to make the top 60 and keep full status. He said he will soldier on to Q-School, going to second stage in Panama City in an attempt to make it to finals, and then back to the big Tour. And remember, this is the last year of traditional Q-School, before the new structural changes make it necessary to go through the Web.com Tour in order to make it to the Show.

But hey, you never know. He could post a couple 62s this weekend, win by a bunch, and get himself in position to make the top 25 and head back to the PGA Tour that way.

He just needs to figure out the issue of distance.

Early Notes from Round 1

Tidbits early, with help from Shaun May, media relations contact for the Neediest Kids Championship...

-It hasn't been an easy few weeks for Will Wilcox. While suffering through a stretch of nine straight tournaments without making a cut (eight missed cuts and one withdrawal) earlier this year, Wilcox has dealt with a bout of pneumonia, his grandfather's death - with his dad suffering a heart attack on top of it.

Wilcox has righted the ship a bit in the last two weeks, posting back-to-back made cuts in Midland, TX and Charlotte. At Charlotte's Chiquita Classic, he opened strong with a 6-under 66 before fading to a 55th-place finish.

Now here in Washington, Wilcox has gotten off to another solid start, posting a 5-under 65 on Thursday to open the week in a tie for second. In Friday's second round, which has surprisingly proven more difficult than round one so far, Wilcox held steady with a 71 and is currently tied for 6th.

The weekend is a whole different animal, but Wilcox is in position to make a big check with a couple of solid rounds. He needs them, too, currently at 83rd on the money list.

-In another example that blurs the distinction between professional caddy and complete novice (see: Prise, Springfield, 2012), Ewan Porter has a former pro football player on the bag this week. The lucky man is Mark Rypien, former Redskins signal-caller, who led Washington to a 1991 Super Bowl win over Buffalo - the Bills' second loss of the infamous four-Super Bowl losing streak.

Porter and Rypien met a few years ago, and the relationship developed to the point where Porter extended the caddying gig for this year's D.C. event.

The results so far aren't as nice. Porter opened with a 8-over 78, and will need to go low Friday afternoon if he wants to give Rypien the weekend experience inside the ropes.

-With Friday's scoring average currently two strokes higher than Thursday's, the simple question is why. Morning conditions tend to be more receptive to scoring, with softer fairways and greens, and this week's averages so far indicate a discrepancy against the norm.

One possible explanation is the fact that TPC Potomac plays plenty long, with only two par-5's (one that isn't realistically reachable), and several long par-4's that require hybrid approach shots for the shorter hitters.

Another was raised by Lee Janzen, speaking with Tour media official Joe Chemcyz after posting his 1-under 69, compared to a Thursday 71.

And the possibility borders on psychological.

"People went out yesterday and realized how hard this course was," Janzen said.

Could be true. We'll see what the afternoon's results bring.

Cutdown Day at TPC Potomac

Back in the media center, and it's good to be here. Coming to you from TPC Potomac just outside Washington D.C., where wet and damp conditions greeted the Web.com Tour crew early this Friday morning.

When I first arrived at the course, I wondered if a frost delay would be in order. Temperatures are currently in the mid-50's, and the wetness on the course could be seen from a passing glance.

No worries though, and play is underway early this morning. Jason Gore is the overnight leader after opening with a 7-under 63, a sudden and pronounced turnaround from his opening 78 at last week's Chiquita Classic.

As of now, the cut line is at 1-over, which is currently T59. Depending on conditions, it is reasonable to think that the cut will fall at 1- or 2-over. Even par is currently T46, and should be safe to make the cut barring the course playing significantly easier today. Thursday's scoring average was 71.194 on the par-70 track.

Kevin Johnson opened at even par after his 70, making three bogeys but quickly responding with a birdie each time. KJ was on the range with his caddy Smiley about a half hour before his Friday tee time, in preparation to make an attempt at a Friday morning move up the leaderboard.

At the very least, KJ needs to make sure he plays smart enough to make the cut. At 85th on the money list with three full-field events to play, he needs to make cuts to give himself a chance for weekend moves up the leaderboard. He did so last week - entering the weekend T40 and going 66-69 to finish inside the top 10 - and can do so again. He just needs to get to Saturday.

As for Jeff Gove and Omar Uresti, their recent trends continued on Thursday. Gove opened with a steady 1-under 69, heading into Friday in a tie for 34th after closing his opening round with eight pars and a birdie on his back nine. After a lost summer, Gove has shown impressive consistency of late, and it was no different on Thursday.

For Uresti, it was more of the same regarding his play of late - a struggle. The Texan opened with three bogeys in his first four holes and never really recovered, posting a 4-over 74 that will require a near-flawless Friday if he hopes to stick around for the weekend.

Around the leaderboard, former Presidents Cupper Woody Austin opened in 4-under 66, putting him in good position to get in contention with a solid Friday. Former Ryder Cupper Brett Wetterich opened strong as well, with a 67 that included four birdies in his final eight holes.

Last year's D.C. event was played at the University of Maryland's course, and saw Steve Wheatcroft blitz the track for a winning score of 29-under. So far at TPC Potomac, a par-70 layout that measures over 7,000 yards, that same low result doesn't seem possible.

Gore shot 63 on Thursday, sure, but it's unlikely that anyone can keep up that pace for 72 holes. With only two par-5's and a number of long par-4's, the abundance of scoring opportunities doesn't appear to be there.

Then again, I haven't walked the course yet. I will now. I could be wrong.

Off and away to D.C.

Here I am, sitting in a computer lab on a Wednesday night, in beautiful Syracuse, NY.

Where else would I be?

After hours of working on a five-page write-up for one of my business classes, I'm getting ready to do some writing that I enjoy much more - my final event coverage of the year on the Web.com Tour.

After a couple months off since my last adventure caddying for Kevin Johnson in Springfield, MO, it's time to hit the road again - this time for the Neediest Kids Championship in Washington, D.C.

Each trip I've embarked on this summer has been different, in destination and travel companions. Let's take a quick look at my stops along the way:

-Mid-May: Left Syracuse for Greenville, SC, with brother Nick and friend Jack in tow.

Returned by myself, after Nick and Jack flew home mid-week

-Late June: Left Buffalo for two-week swing through Wichita, KS and Evansville, IN

Brother Alex and his friend Chris in tow (although his friend David was supposed to come at first, but his mom decided not to let him come at the last minute - I don't blame her).

Returned early July, with all of us alive. Good stuff.

-Mid-August: Left Buffalo for adventure to Atlantic City for friend Ryan's birthday and Coldplay concert in New Jersey with Jack.

Adventure continues directly from New Jersey to Springfield, MO (nearly 20-hour driving escapade) by myself. Wow.

Week spent caddying for Kevin Johnson - I may have cost him a chance to make the cut (even though he would never say that).

Another endless drive home, returning in one piece, after many stops for huge cheap sodas at gas stations to keep me from falling asleep at the wheel.

-And so it goes.

From there, I finished up the last few days of summer and headed back to school. Now I'm headed from Syracuse to D.C. for a much-needed weekend off. After all, covering golf is far from work - especially the type of work expected in business school.

Why exactly am I in business school, anyway? Oh, yeah, I didn't want to take French. Sounds about right.

Anyway, this trip is getting set to be the culmination of this summer journey through minor league golf. This time, I won't be by myself - I'll be with a crew of multiple other hounds, as we make the cruise down to D.C.

My friends Kellie, Jenna, Lindsay, and Craig are all joining for the sojourn. The girls will be staying with our friend Shelby from London, while Craig will be with his brother - who goes to Georgetown.

The unpredictable Jack is taking a bus to D.C. on Friday afternoon (he has an interview Friday morning) and will join us for the weekend. I'll be hosted by my friend Brendan from home, and if all goes to plan, the whole crew will meet up for a giant circus through the D.C. streets on Friday and Saturday nights.

But when does anything ever go to plan? Who said anything about planning, anyway?

Gonna try to recruit the crew to come watch the event, but I know I shouldn't expect much. I'll be getting up early (allegedly), probably too early for anyone who makes a reasnable effort at a night out in D.C.

But we'll see. As for the event, there are plenty of storylines to tie together as I close my coverage. Among them:

-Can Kevin Johnson keep a positive directory after last week's top-ten finish, and continue a late-season run at making the top 60 and keeping his job?

-After a lost summer, Jeff Gove has turned it around with some consistent fall play. Can he keep it up and hold onto his well-earned spot inside the top 60, or even make a break for the top 25?

What's up with Omar Uresti? The PGA Tour veteran is finding high finsihes and good paychecks hard to come by on the minor-league level, and has fallen into the money list abyss. Is Uresti's career on shaky ground, or does he remain confident moving forward?

And so it goes. The attempt to combine covering an event and having fun out in D.C. may prove futile, but I'm going to give it a go. Why not?

D.C., here we come. As Jenna would say, "Hounds, assemble."

Johnson positions himself well for Sunday

Entering this week at No. 104 on the money list, Kevin Johnson knew he was running out of time to make this a successful season. With only five events left in the season (including this week), opportunity to play well and move up the list is precious.

For Johnson to have a chance to reach the top 60 and keep his Tour status for next year, he needs a few high finishes down the stretch - at least two or three top-10's, and maybe even a top-5 or two.

So the veteran went out on Saturday and fashioned a bogey-free 66 at The Club at Longview to move to 11-under on the week, sailing from T40 to T15. Although Johnson drifted further back from the leaders (Brad Fritsch and Russell Henley, who are both 20-under after Saturday 65s), he finds himself only a shot back of the top ten heading into the final round.

After starting the season in a promising manner, with a T6 and T19 in his first two events, Johnson's results have seen a sharp decline. After the second event, he has only one other top-50 finish in 18 tries (a T15 in Wichita).

This is in no contrast to the pattern seen throughout Johnson's career. Along with plenty of high finishes (including six wins) and other successes, the Clemson grad has suffered through many years of substandard play. he failed to notch a top-35 finish in 2011 (in 14 tries) or in 2008 (22 tries).

He told me he can go from 'missing the cut to winning, just like that." His results show that he isn't lying.

Johnson found his Saturday success with crisp iron play, hitting 16 of 18 greens in regulation in the bogey-free effort. On a course with plenty of short par-4's and reachable par-5's, players are set up for makeable birdie efforts if they're on their game, and Johnson's game looked to be just fine on moving day.

Now faced with the challenge of closing the week strong and acquiring a useful paycheck, Johnson needs to keep the pedal to the metal on Sunday. A 70 or 71 won't do it, and a round of 5- or 6-under could be necessary for him to finish the week inside the top ten. The wind is not expected to blow above 10 mph, and players can be expected to light up the course.

If Johnson to break 70, another low finish is likely in the cards, even if a result outside the top 50 is unlikely.

Simply, he's running out of time to keep his job, and he can't afford anything less than an above-average round.

Johnson tees off at 11:22 today. We'll see what he's got.

Home stretch begins in North Carolina

After a summer of criss-crossing the country, with stops anywhere from Sandy, Utah to Boise, Idaho to Midland, Texas, the Web.com Tour will now settle down for the rest of the season.

This week's stop is Charlotte, for the Chiquita Classic, a tournament previously hosted in the Cincinnati area that has moved southeast for this year. The event takes place at The Club at Longview, a 7,065-yard par-72 designed by Jack Nicklaus.

Most Web.com players are used to trying out new courses, and the United Leasing Championship debuted just this summer, in Evansville, Indiana. Now the players get to have at another different track, one that appears to be fairly scoreable by the numbers - reachable par-5's, and plenty of moderate-length par-4's.

Of course, speculation can always prove futile. If the course plays firm and fast come Thursday, with tucked pins and demanding rough, there's no telling how players will respond to the new challenge.

With only five events left on the schedule, time is running out for players to make their moves up the money list. Three distinct milestones are on the players' minds - the top 25, top 60, and top 100.

Of course, the top 25 on the money list will achieve PGA Tour status for next season. The top 60 retain full Web.com status, and No. 61-100 retain conditional Web.com status, assured of (at least) an occasional place to play next year.

The PGA Tour has instilled fundamental changes for qualifying starting next year, with a fall series mixing PGA Tour and Web.com players together to determine PGA Tour privileges for the following year. However, the top 25 on the Web.com circuit will retain their right to move up, unlike an initial plan that proposed to wipe out qualifying via the Web.com money list.

Speculation has been made regarding the impact that these changes will have on professional golf as a whole, trickling down to college kids deciding when to go pro. Omar Uresti worries that collegians will be encouraged to leave school a year early, since the changes will force players to play a full Web.com season at minimum before getting on the big tour - since the changes eliminate the traditional Q-School that has allowed direct big-tour access.

Nobody will know the impact for sure until the changes actually take hold. Either way, this is the final home stretch for the 'traditional' Web.com format that has taken hold for two decades.

For this year's Web.com group, the 'old' rules are still in play, and the old ways of qualifying. For players like Kevin Johnson (currently No. 104 on the money list), time is running out to maintain full status for 2013. For a Jeff Gove (currently No. 59), recent weeks have proven encouraging, and the time is now to make a late surge into the top 25.

I'll be at next week's event, the Neediest Kids Championship in Washington, D.C., to cover the different types of late-season pushes that these players face. Should be interesting.

But for now, the group has business to take care of in North Carolina.

Johnson grinds out solid 70

After bogeying the par-4 10th at Midland CC on Thursday, Kevin Johnson found himself over par on his round. On the Web.com Tour, anything over par puts a player in position to miss the cut. Missing cuts makes a player drift further and further down on the money list.

KJ finds himself currently 100th on the money list, with the season slowly winding down. The top 60 at the end of the season retain status, and the top 25 will 'graduate' to the PGA Tour.

For KJ, it's time to start making something happen. Top-25's are essential, and a few very high finishes may be required. Missing cuts, at this point, are disastrous.

So after fading over par on the 10th, KJ went about the business of making something happen. The Clemson grad righted the ship with a par on 11, and birdied three of his last seven to post a solid 2-under 70. With the early lead being 6-under, KJ finds himself within reasonable shouting distance of contention.

You can't win the tournament on Thursday, but you can certainly play your way out of it. KJ did well to make sure that he kept himself in it, capping off the strong finish with a birdie on the 470-yard par-4 18th.

KJ could certainly fade on Friday afternoon, and making the cut is no guarantee. But at least he won't have to play catch-up.

Considering the ever-constant threat of Texas winds whipping through on a late afternoon, there's something to be said for that.

Day near top of leaderboard in Boise

When I talked to him in Indiana this summer, Glen Day mused on how it can be tough for former PGA Tour veterans to gear up for a full season on the Web.com Tour. The money is less, the cities (more like towns) not as glamorous, and the crowds significantly downsized.

For Day, the ability for a player to finish a Web.com season inside the top 25 requires a full commitment to the minor-league circuit. High finishes are required, and a player won't make it back to the big show with a collection of top-20's. Top-threes and top-fives are the order of the day.

So far, so good for Day in Boise. He opened with a sizzling 8-under 63 on Thursday, and has backed it up adequately Friday morning - going 1-under thru 10 in tougher conditions. Day finds himself in a tie for second, one shot back of leader Tyrone Van Aswegen.

A high finish this week is much needed for Day, who is currently mired at No. 95 on the money list. He has certainly committed to a Web.com schedule - this is his 14th event - but has not done much in terms of big weeks. His highest finish was a T16 in Indiana, where he cashed in with $8,250.

Day has made a total of $41,891 in his 13 completed Web.com events this year, with most of that money coming from his four top-25 finishes. He has almost reached his Web.com earnings total in just three PGA Tour events - making $38,850, despite failing to notch a top-25.

Simply put, the monetary difference is profound. For a guy like Day who knows what it's like to do well on the big tour (nearly $9 million in career earnings), it's easy to see how the prospect of grinding away in the minors can be tough.

Then again, the winner this week will cash in a check for over $130,000. That's still plenty of incentive to play well.

If Day can keep it up for the rest of the week, he'll be right there on Sunday afternoon.

Notes:

-Jeff Gove is riding the momentum train right now, after a summer of failure after failure on cutdown day. Gove matched Day with a Thursday 63, and is currently even on the day thru 6 holes, T4 and two shots back of the leader.

Still, Gove has plenty of work to do in the season's final events, if he wants to make up for the lost summer.

-Casey Martin struggled on his first nine (the back) on Thursday, capped off by a double bogey on 18 to push him over par on the day. But showing flashes of the young star he once was, Martin rebounded with a 4-under 32 on his final nine to post 3-under on the day. In search of his first made cut in six years (he has not played a Web.com event since 2006), Martin currently finds himself right on the cut line at 3-under.

Casey is a great story, and surely most everyone in golf is rooting for him.

-Kevin Johnson, on the other hand, has some work to do if he wants to stick around for the weekend. KJ opened at 2-under, right on the day-one cut line, but has struggled out of the gate on Friday. KJ bogeyed his first hoel and finished the nine at 1-over, leaving him 1-under on the event.

Heading into his back nine, KJ is two shots back of the cut. The cut line will likely move to 4-under, depending on afternoon weather, which means he might need a sizzling 32 on the back.

He certainly has the talent to string some birdies together. We'll see if he can.

For here, we can rest safely

One August morning around 4 a.m., I pulled back into my driveway in Orchard Park - completing a 16-hour journey home, and completing my summer of covering golf on the Triple-A circuit.

I woke up that morning at my Extended Stay America in Springfield, and cleaned up the room I had made my home for a week. After making sure I didn't leave anything behind, I checked out and headed to the course - with the intention of watching Omar Uresti's round for a while. I planned to watch the whole round if he was playing well, but not if he struggled, as I didn't want to get home TOO late.

I was sort of expecting Uresti to make a Sunday charge, after finishing in such a disappointing fashion on Saturday. But it wasn't meant to be - Uresti made it through the first ten holes at just even par, on the eminently scoreable Highland Spings track.

When he hooked his drive into the trees on the par-5 11th - cursing to himself, 'Aaaah, Omar!' in the process - I noticed that we were relatively close to the parking lot. I took this as a subtle clue.

And so I hit the road.

Making the seemingly never-ending drive through St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Erie, and eventually back to Orchard Park, I got to thinking about all the time spent at these tournaments, and what I learned. With so much time spent watching golf over the years, I figured that I had a pretty good idea of life on tour, but I figured there was plenty more I could learn from experiencing it for myself.

Indeed there was. Through my travel patterns - making the drives as the players would, sleeping in the same low-budget motels, spending day after day at the course - I feel that I gained as much of a sense of the life as I possibly could, without actually playing myself. The week caddying was a culmination of sorts, finally getting inside the ropes to see what it's like for the players as they compete.

So after all that, what can I take away from the experience? For one thing, I had certainly glamorized life on tour before actually experiencing it. Despite the public spectrum that these guys find themselves in, they aren't really celebrities at all - they're far from it. True, they get to play a game for a living just like all the famous athletes, but they're doing it on a much smaller scale - and for much less money. The crowds are less, the star treatment is nonexistent, and they don't carry themselves like 'stars' at all. They aren't famous, most of them anyway, no matter what I may have thought growing up.

And just like thousands of people do every Saturday and Sunday across the country, they're just playing golf. They hit good shots, and they hit bad shots (albeit many more good shots than the average player) and live with the consequences. Unlike on the PGA Tour, they aren't necessarily living and dying with every shot from a monetary perspective - unless they're in contention on Sunday afternoon.

The PGA Tour is a show. The Web.com Tour is a workplace, where people grind every day to make a living. If you don't do well on the Web.com Tour, you have a hard time getting by.

One good week on the PGA Tour can be enough for a family to live for the year. On the Web.com Tour, you need sustained weeks of solid play to build up the money reserves. Not the same, by any stretch.

The Web.com Tour is real - not to say the PGA Tour isn't real - but truly authentic, a representation of the everyman's struggle. You don't get rich playing average golf on the Web.com Tour.

That's what makes it appealing, and a reason why these guys aren't stars. They're pro athletes, but they don't live the lives associated with the stereotype of a pro athlete. Some may have nice cars, some may have boats, sure. But the luxuries are associated with trade-offs. The money supply isn't endless.

They play because they love the game, and they stop when they realize they don't love it enough anymore. Bob Heintz has a Yale degree, but toiled in the minors for years because he knew of no other job that would make him as happy. And he still had that driving force, the belief that he had the ability - somewhere, deep down - to succeed in the big leagues.

But eventually, he ran out of gas. Heintz officially retired this summer after the Midwest Classic, taking the job as head coach at Penn. The travel will still exist - matches, recruiting, etc - but the income will be stable. With a family to support, that's the most important thing for Heintz.

Heintz is done, but there are plenty of new young golfers fresh out of college, eager and ready to take his place. The PGA Tour needs players for the future, and many of them will come from the Web.com Tour. Just like the minors produce the next wave of star hockey and baseball players, the Web.com Tour gets players ready for the life of a PGA Tour golfer, so they can handle the life once they get to the grand stage.

Maybe they'll make it to the top, maybe they won't. If they don't, they can keep toiling away on the Web.com Tour, waiting for their best golf to come to the surface.

And who knows? Maybe in a few years, Heintz will be back. The golf bug doesn't go away easily.

Martin returns to Web.com action in Boise

Casey Martin had most of the country pulling for him this past June at the U.S. Open. The outcome was disappointing, but his game effort served as inspiration for all who know his story.

He gets a chance to make amends this week in Boise, after receiving a sponsor exemption to the Web.com Tour's Albertsons Boise Open.

Martin is the disabled golfer whose situation drew national attention in the late 1990's, when he sued the PGA Tour for the right to use a cart in tournament play. Due to a leg disease that makes it difficult and painful to walk, he reasoned that the cart would not be providing him with any sort of competitive advantage, as walking to and from the cart was tough enough. The Supreme Court ruled in Martin's favor, 7-2, and he had his cart.

But soon after the ruling, Martin's game began to slip. He failed to keep his card in 2000, which proved to be his only full PGA Tour season. He tranisitioned back to the Web.com Tour, but gradually played less and less until he retired in 2006, taking a job as golf coach at Oregon.

Martin can still play, though. He frequently competes with his players in practice, getting the best of them on occasion, and was inspired to go through U.S. Open qualifying this spring - for the event was scheduled for Olympic in San Francisco, where he finished T23 in 1998.

Sure enough, Martin made it through, and hung around the cut line all week. A bogey on his final hole Friday dropped him one shot over the cut line, a disappointing end to a nostalgic week.

This week in Boise, Martin gets another chance to make the cut, at a friendlier course, against less severe competition. Every player at Olympic finished over par, and early starter Michael Putnam is already 8-under through 15 holes in Boise.

Martin tees off in the final group of the day off hole 10, with Patrick Cantlay and Jamie Sadlowski at 4:55 p.m. ET. Martin attracted a crowd rivaling the big names at Olympic, and don't be surprised if he steals a large part of the (much smaller) crowd in Boise.

Notes: -Jeff Gove suffered through a severe midseason slump, but recent play has shown signs that the veteran's game still has some life. After missing 8 of 9 cuts through the spring and early summer, Gove has rebounded to post three consecutive top-30 finishes, including a T6 at the News Sentinel Open three weeks ago.

Currently No. 83 on the money list, Gove tees off in Boise at 3:45 p.m. ET. He has a long way to go if he hopes to snag a PGA Tour card for next year, but the big week always looms as a possibility.

-Bob Heintz talked about retiring at the BMW Charity Pro-Am, but proceeded to play a handful of additional events throughout the summer. He backed up his words this week, though, taking the head coaching job at Penn.

The press release referred to Heintz as 'recently retired' - recently meaning the last month, as Heintz competed in the Midwest Classic in mid-August.

A nice note of sentimentality for the man who nearly won the PGA Tour's Reno-Tahoe Open in 2010? He closed his career with on a high, birdieing the 18th on Sunday at the Midwest Classic to finish T27.

Good career, Bob. Sad to see you go.

Uresti struggles, but keeps spirits up

With the 18th tee backed up on Saturday afternoon, Omar Uresti had plenty of reason to be upset. Having started the round in a tie for 5th, two strokes back of the lead, he was in prime position to put himself in contention for the title on Sunday.

And after birdieing three of his first five holes to get to 13-under, the prospects looked even better. Uresti seemed in complete control of his swing, on a course where birdie chances have been plentiful all week.

But from there, things deteriorated in a hurry. Uresti missed make-able birdie efforts on the 6th and 7th, and hit a poor approach into the pond on the par-5 8th, leading to a bogey.

Uresti birdied 11 but bogeyed 12 (after hitting into a greenside pond again), and then bogeyed 14 after a bogey. Two more short birdie misses - on 16 and 17 - would have seemingly pushed Uresti over the edge, as he had fallen back to 11-under on the week, and outside the top 25.

The Texan had gone from an afternoon tee time in Saturday's third-last group, to the prospect of a very early start on Sunday morning.

Yet while waiting in the shade next to the 18th tee, Uresti saw me and called me over. As I was walking past (completely oblivious of where he was standing), he shouted over - "hey, you're not even gonna say hello?"

I turned my head and was surprised to see Uresti look relatively happy considering the circumstances, greeting me with a big smile on his face. I asked how he was doing, and he said, 'okay' - and he sounded it, as well. Heck, if I were him, I probably would have been throwing clubs into a house somewhere.

"The ball just doesn't want to go in," he said.

So true.

In our brief conversation, I asked about his schedule for the rest of the year, and he said he would finish the season on this Tour. This led to talk about new changes to the PGA Tour qualifying structure that are currently being finalized - where Q-School will no longer serve as a direct path to the big leagues. In its place will be a three-tournament series at the end of each season, allowing top Web.com players from the year to compete with PGA Tour players who fail to keep their card - with the top finishers in the series gaining PGA Tour status for the following season.

When I asked Uresti what he thought of the changes, his face hardened.

"Don't like it," he said. "Now when you lose your card, it will take you two years to get back out there (onto the big tour)."

Indeed, players who fail to qualify through the three-event series will have no opportunity to play their way back through Q-School. Then again, it seems like the series is just a new form of conducting Q-School.

But Uresti brings up a good point when talking about college players, and how they will have to go about making the big leagues. A top college prospect will no longer be able to work his way through Q-School to make it to the big tour the year of graduation. Besides the slim possibility of playing your way on through sponsor exemptions, the reality is that each player will have to make it through Web.com Tour Q-School, and then play well enough the next season (and/or in the three-event series) to get to the Big Show.

As a result, Uresti said he thinks top college players may turn pro a year early - with the senior year of college being essentially replaced by a year on the Web.com circuit.

Now, the details and numbers are still being finalized. There is still ongoing discussion (to my knowledge) about whether top Web.com players money list-wise will still gain PGA Tour status for the following year, regardless of play in the three-event series (this year, the top 25 on the money list will get their cards for next year).

When everything is made official, I will have more thoughts on the new system.

As for Uresti, he proceeded to bogey the 18th to complete a poor finish on an even more sour note. The veteran hit his approach into the water just short of the green (again) and took a long time trying to decide whether he could play the shot - to the point of taking off his shoes and stepping into the pond, which elicited a roar from the crowd surrounding the green.

Ultimately, Uresti decided to take a drop, all the way back across the pond. There would be no heroics like on the 8th hole Thursday - he wedged on, and two-putted to complete a disappointing 72.

Still, I was impressed with Uresti's willingness to chat on the tee box - he even initiated the conversation - despite the poor play. His position in the tournament may have regressed greatly on Saturday, but this didn't keep me from gaining a large amount of respect for the perennial Web.com pro.

_______________________

Other notes from the day

-Leaving the course, I saw Doug LaBelle working hard on the right side of the range. After posting a Saturday 66 to get to 13-under, four strokes back of the lead, LaBelle wanted to make sure his swing was in fine form for a Sunday charge.

I asked him what he thought he needed to shoot Sunday, suggesting 9-under.

I was fairly on-target. "Yeah, 9 or 10," he said.

His caddy remembered me from when KJ introduced us on Friday afternoon, asking if I had a good experience on the bag this week. I told him that I did indeed, but that KJ didn't make the cut on Friday.

He quickly corrected me.

"It's not 'he didn't make the cut,'" he said. "It's WE didn't make the cut'."

Hey, I guess it takes more than a week to truly learn how to caddy.

-After Omar striped a tee shot on hole 12, he received a bit of verbal abuse from the crowd. In the state of Missouri - not far from Uresti's alma mater of Texas, but with Oklahoma in between - a fan called out, "Go Sooners."

And that wasn't all. Uresti was paired on Saturday with Michael Letzig, a Missouri native.

If Omar didn't have a few friends in his gallery - including a friend who wore Texas apparel proudly - things may have gotten pretty heated. After all, beer carts dotted the premises, along with a beer garden near the clubhouse.

After a few drinks, rivalries tend to escalate - just look at any Sunday at an NFL stadium.

-On a hot day like Saturday, the bathroom can be a nice reprieve. Luckily for the fans, Highland Springs provides a restroom adjacent to the 14th tee.

Or not. When one member of the gallery tried to access the restroom, he found it locked - that a key was needed for access.

Needless to say, the man - and his friend - had a few words for the locked toilet.

"A pisser's a pisser," the guy said.

"It's a free country," his friend replied.

"That's what I thought."

-Uresti's good spirits could be seen even before the 18th, as he was staring down a devilish eagle bid on the 11th. After pulling his approach 50 feet left, he was faced with a putt that went down a ramp - and then abck uphill. Despite the massive challenge that the putt provided, Uresti found time to joke with the crowd about the complex green as he was lining up the putt.

Relaxed, Uresti two-putted for his birdie.

-Although he missed the cut by a shot with rounds of 70-70, James Sacheck was seen working hard on the practice putting green on Saturday afternoon. Sacheck had a bunch of tees laid out around the green, and worked attentively on his putting stroke while listening to his iPod.

Good to see Sacheck working hard on his game, before heading to Kansas City for his next event. Sacheck has supportive parents (who I talked to in Indiana) who support him well, attending as many tournaments as they can.

Maybe Sacheck's diligence on the greens will pay off on in the coming weeks.

-In the caddy tent is a sign that says, 'Please pick up your own trash'. Clear enough, right?

Maybe not. Seeing the sign - and some trash on the table - a caddy chimed in.

"Guess they didn't think about how some caddies can't read."

Caddying in Triple-A Golf: Tourney Round 2

My Friday on the bag for KJ got off to an ominous start - before we even got to the first tee.

Leaving the range, I thought all was well. I was pretty sure all the clubs were in the bag, and I hadn't messed up yet (or so I thought).

Until someone called back from the range - "Hey, KJ, you left a club."

KJ gave me a questioning look - until he saw that the club was a 4-iron, which he knew he had laid down on the range while warming up.

"You're good," he told me. "I'll take the blame for this one.

But he noted that if this were a bigger event, with a larger crowd around, the case may have been different.

"Yeah, I would've made a scene, blamed it on you," he said. "Remember, it's never the player's fault. It's always the caddy."

So I asked, "And if something goes well, it's never because of me, right?"

"There you go," he said. "Now you're catching on."

____________________

The day started off well, with me greeting KJ at the clubhouse at 11:45 - we were both right on time. While eating lunch in the caddy tent, I noticed a lot of talk about the cut line - which they figured would be 6-under, but maybe 5-under.

I relayed this to KJ, who figured that the talk was due to the fact that this year would likely see a noticeably low cut - even though the cut is always low at Highland Springs, with soft greens and plenty of reachable par-5's. KJ noted that the cut after round 1 was 4-under. Since the day-one cut can usually be doubled to find the day-two cut, the projected cut would be 8-under according to this logic.

"Boy, I hope not," KJ said.

But either way, KJ is experienced enough to know that there's no sense worrying about the cut so early - especially before we had even teed off for the day.

"All we can do is play hard," KJ said.

We started Friday off at the putting green, just like we did on Thursday. On our walk over, KJ relayed a story about a time at the Web.com event in Miami - which is about an hour and a half from his home in Palm Beach Gardens.

KJ had received a new shirt with Clemson colors - featuring orange, of course - which he loved from first glance. He couldn't wait to wear the shirt in tournament play.

There was one problem, though. KJ only likes to wear his school colors on Sunday, and he had suffered through a series of missed cuts late in the year. Miami was the last full-field event of the year, his last chance to wear the shirt until the next season.

Naturally, he made the cut. Miami is close enough to his home, that he will stay at home the night before if he has a late tee time - but will stay close to the course if he has to play relatively early. This particular Sunday in Miami, his tee time was early enough that he decided to stay by the course. He brought the shirt with him on Saturday night - the only shirt he would bring.

Of course, in his excitement to make a cut and wear the shirt on Sunday, KJ had failed to actually try the shirt on, up to this point. So to his surprise, when he put the shirt on before heading to the course, he realized a slight problem: it was too tight.

"It said it was a large," KJ said. "Must have been a kid's large."

But without any other shirts, KJ had no other choice. He went to the course to warm up, wearing the shirt. When friend Pat Sheehan saw him on the putting green, making a questioning remark about the choice of attire, he knew he was in trouble.

When best friend on Tour Fran Quinn saw him, there was no more room for kidding around. Quinn insisted that KJ change his shirt. When KJ told him that he didn't have another shirt, Quinn insisted that he would go and get him one.

KJ resisted at first, but eventually relented. So much for the prized shirt, long-saved for a Sunday appearance.

So the shirt now has a prominent place in the Johnson household. Right, KJ?

"Nah," KJ said. "I gave it away."

Maybe some junior golfer is wearing it now, as we speak.

________________________

After we completed our putting session, we made our way to the range for a final warm-up. Along the way, I relayed my knowledge acquired throughout the week that some caddies seem to be secretive - not wanting the possibility of any semblance of media attention. KJ seemed to know where I was coming from.

"Now, this is just my opinion," KJ said. "My personal opinion. But I feel that a lot of these guys, especially out here (on the Web.com circuit), are here because they're running from something. Just my personal opinion."

Hmm. Could be. On the whole, they all seem like good guys who enjoy what they do. But as for their personal lives, the week certainly hasn't revealed anything to me.

And I'm certainly in no position to expect anything more.

On the range, things went fairly well. I got the towel wet, grabbed the dry golf balls for the long clubs, and cleaned the clubs after he finished using them.

But when he grabbed the towel to dry himself off for the first time, I realized something was wrong. I had over-soaked the towel in the water cooler, and the whole thing was saturated. More than half of the towel is supposed to remain dry. Oops.

At least I wet the towel in the cooler, rather than in the more conveniently-located bucket. It was the first thing he told me on Monday, and the one thing I will be sure to never forget as a caddy.

"See, you're learning," KJ said.

Stevie Williams and Joe LaCava, here I come.

Just before we had to head to the tee, KJ had a new task for me - filming his swing. With his Atlantis vacation imminent, he figured he could use some footage to look at while hanging out on the beach.

So I fumbled around with his iPhone at first, trying to figure out how to get the thing set to record. Too bad my brothers (who both have iPhones) weren't there to help me.

"Hey, it's part of the job," KJ said.

Finally, I figured it out, and took footage from two different angles of KJ hitting a driver, an iron, and a wedge. I even got some credit afterwards - he looked at my film job, and told me 'good job'.

From there, we proceeded from the range toward the tee - without realizing that he left his 4-iron on the range.

No, wait. I left the 4-iron on the range. Not him. Never the player's fault.

__________________________

We made it to the tee box in one piece, where we greeted playing partners Elder and Gonzales. Elder was at 1-under and would need a low score to make the cut. Gonzales was 3-under, right there with us.

We hit our tee shots, and strolled down the first fairway. Then Gonzales had a question for me - he called over and asked if I wrote about Thursday's round in the blog.

"Of course," I told him. "I even mentioned you a bit, too."

He knew exactly what I wrote about him, as well.

"You wrote about how good-looking I am," he said.

"Of course."

But then, he thought about it - and realized he was wrong.

"No, that's not it," he said. "You wrote about how INCREDIBLY good-looking I am."

Spot-on, Andres.

Loosened up by the knowledge of his sex appeal, Gonzales went on to birdie his first three holes to quickly jump inside the cut line. After rolling in a 10-footer for birdie on 2, Gonzales looked at me and gave a mini Tiger-esque fist pump.

The good mood continued to the 3rd tee, where his caddy Brandon was talking about how he has been trying to write a letter to Yeti, a mountain-bike manufacturer. Brandon likes to wear Yeti hats, and was trying to work on a letter asking for a sponsorship.

But Brandon was struggling with a draft, and reflecting on the challenge as we waited on the tee. This compelled me to bring up my major in journalism, offering to help him out if I could.

This brought Gonzales to ask me what my major was.

"Broadcast?"

"Nope," I said. "Print."

This compelled Gonzales (also a print journalism major) to come over for yet another high-five, one of many on the week.

Along with a quick - yet loud - cheer for his alma mater, UNLV.

"Go Rebels," he cried.

____________________

Unfortunately for KJ, the putts weren't falling like they were for Andres. We hit it close on holes 1 and 2, inside 10 feet both times, but couldn't roll in the birdie looks. On 3 we had another chance, about 25 feet, but couldn't get it to fall. Then we missed the green on 4 and made bogey, falling back to 2-under on the week. Suddenly, we were way outside the cut line - three, maybe even four shots back.

We needed to make something happen, and soon.

Along the way, we got to talking about injuries, and how they can derail a career. KJ said his brother Chip - a good player in his own right, a club pro who has played in several majors - has been hurt almost everywhere on his body, making consistent play a challenge.

This led KJ to recount a shoulder injury he suffered, in 1996 - his first year on Tour no less. KJ and his college roommates (including fellow pro Brett Quigley) like to go on a hunting trip for a few days every year, in the South Carolina lowcountry near Charleston. They like to hunt on foot in the morning, and on horseback in the afternoon.

One afternoon, KJ and his friends were on horseback - with KJ riding the third horse. Suddenly, the first horse fell, leading off a chain reaction that led to horses falling down the line.

KJ's horse fell, and in a way that launched him off the horse. KJ fell in an unlucky way that caused him to injure his shoulder (I don't recall exactly, but I think it was a torn labrum). Just like that, KJ had to take some time off, in his first year with a chance to play against high-level competition.

Nobody is immune to injury - not even Tiger Woods. Golf itself can provoke a variety of injuries, much less unfortunate events that can occur by way of other activities. For KJ, it was just an unfortunate break - and he has rebounded to stay free of serious injury for a good part of the last 16 years. Aside from an injury-related eight-month break in 2002, KJ hasn't had a major layoff since.

I also asked KJ if the Web.com Tour maintains a fitness trailer, as I know they do on the big tour.

He gave me a look as if I'm crazy. ________________________

The 4th is a par-3 that measures over 200 yards, and we experienced a minor backup when we arrived at the tee on Friday. This allowed for some discussion, and we talked about how some players give me in-depth, insightful answers in interviews - while I'm lucky to get more than a sentence out of others.

KJ agreed, and compared the trend to his own daughters - ages 12 and 9. KJ's 12-year old is named Jordan, and his 9-year old is named Jade.

KJ tries to call his house each night before bed, to talk to his wife and daughters. He laughed when telling me of the dichotomy that exists between conversations with his daughters.

When he talks with Jordan, she will meticulously recount the details of the day - things that happened, ups and downs, and so on. The conversation can last for many minutes. On the other hand, he is lucky to get a minute out of Jade. According to KJ, the conversation with Jade can go something like this:

KJ: How was your day?

Jade: Good.

What are you doing now?

Nothing.

Anything exciting happen today?

Nope.

And so on.

__________________________

As we walked up the 5th, I asked KJ if he has any particular tournaments that he enjoys attending. I figured that after so many years on Tour, there would be certain stops that would stand out.

At first instinct, nothing. Then after he thought about it, he talked about how he enjoys certain aspects of different events - the area in Boise, the people in Greenville, the course in Rochester (Irondequoit, where the Tour no longer plays), and so on. He said he also enjoyed the (now-defunct) Wayne Gretzky tournament in Canada, about two hours north of Toronto. He said that one year, he took the family to the event - where they drove through Niagara Falls along the way.

After asking the question, I made another consideration - the Tour lifestyle isn't exactly conducive for much sightseeing or going out at any particular tournament site.

"Not if you want to play well," KJ said.

This allowed me to reflect on my experience this summer, where I have traveled to tournament sites across the country - Greenville, Wichita, Evansville, now Springfield. How much sightseeing do I actually do in each place? Not much. Between time spent on the course, and writing afterwards, I'm pretty much wiped out when I'm done with my day's work. When I'm done, I don't have the energy to do much else - I just want to eat and relax.

Besides, when I'm by myself, do I really want to go hit the bars/clubs and start dancing?

"Exactly," KJ said.

Same type of thing for these guys, who generally travel without their families most weeks (although some load the RV and bring the family in tow).

The reason isn't because they want to travel alone. It's because they want to keep their family's best interests at heart.

"If I want to play well, I need to be at the course most of the day," KJ said. "It's work. It's a business."

And KJ isn't naive - he knows that there isn't exactly much to do in most Web.com towns. On the big tour, which visits plenty of big cities, there is much more to do - along with an event planner on staff.

No event planners out here. _______________________

We progressed adequately, making pars up until the 8th hole, where we knew we needed to start make something happen. The 8th is a dogleg-left par-5, reachable with a good drive, and we really needed to make birdie here, par at the worst.

Things became more difficult after a pulled drive left us with about 220 yards to the flag - but with trees in the way, not to mention a pond guarding the green. Going for it was out of the question, and we would use a sand wedge to lay up.

The ball easily cleared the trees, but the wedge sailed to far - landing on a downslope in the rough, about 10 feet short of the pond. Nearly a complete disaster, but still a mini-disaster. We now had a poor angle to the pin, and a downhill lie that would make it difficult to generate the necessary spin.

Needless to say, KJ wasn't happy.

"You can't miss the fairway with a sand wedge," KJ said.

So we had no choice but to play it relatively safe, and the ball sailed over the green. A poor chip left us with a 18-footer for par, which we missed to fall to 1-under on the event - way, way back of the cut. For the first time, it occurred to me that making the cut would be a challenge.

We needed to step it up.

Par on 9, and we headed to the 10th knowing that a 31 on the back (32 at worst) would be needed to make the cut. After a poor approach on the 10th, we were short of the green - knowing that we absolutely had to get the ball up and down. To make matters worse, KJ had appeared shaky with his chipping all day - not good when you know that a poor chip is not an option.

But we came through and knocked it inside 3 feet, for an easy par.

"Why can't we do that all the time?" KJ remarked.

After a two-putt birdie on the par-5 11th, we were off and running - still alive, but knowing there was a long way to go.

__________________________

After missing a 12-footer on 12 and making par, we headed to the 13th - where we started talking about some of the better-known names in golf. Knowing Justin Leonard's reputation as a low-ball hitter - and knowing that Texas is known for having a golf climate that forces players to keep it low - I asked if the idea of Texas pros keeping the ball low holds water.

"Yeah, kind of," KJ said. "But Leonard's swing is a big reason for that(his low ball flight), too."

And I couldn't hope but noticing the ball flight of Elder - who played collegiately at Texas - being sky-high.

Makes you realize that stereotypes aren't always completely true across the board.

The discussion led us to Lee Trevino. I thought I had read that Trevino was known for hitting a massive draw. But when I brought this up, I was corrected.

"Nope," KJ said. "He's a cutter."

KJ happened to have a story to share about Trevino, as well. The day before the finals of Q-School in 1995, KJ was working on his putting with the pro at Hobe Sound Golf Club in Florida - where KJ had worked. Although Trevino frequented the club, he and KJ had never before had an actual conversation.

Seeing the pro, Trevino approached the green - where the pro introduced KJ, telling him that KJ was getting ready for Q-School finals. The talker that he is, Trevino took a liking to KJ and went on to initiate a near 90-minute discussion about the putting stroke and its intricacies.

The next day, KJ promptly went on to three-putt a bunch and shoot 78. But KJ stuck with the knowledge passed on by Trevino, and proceeded to 'make almost everything I looked it' for the rest of Q-School, narrowly missing his PGA Tour card - but gaining full Web.com status.

KJ has retained status on the Triple-A circuit ever since. Lee Trevino, thank you very much.

We went on to par 13, and then 14 - putting us in essential must-birdie mode from that point forward. Despite the pressure, KJ was handling everything in stride, knowing that worry is not always the best way to handle adversity.

Discussing the yardage on 15, we came up with a difference of a yard. Considering I had been accurate with yardages all day, I was slightly confused. We figured out the discrepancy, though - KJ had adjusted the yardage for the downhill slope by 6, while my book had said 7. He explained that he had acquired this number by use of a laser on some previous occasion - leading us to talk about the art of mastering yardage books.

I knew that Fred Funk's caddy, Mark Long, had worked on yardage book for a variety of events, and brought this up. KJ agreed, knowing exactly who Mark Long is - and having high praise for his yardage books, saying Long's are some of the best.

I asked how yardage books were made before the invention of lasers, knowing that lasers are a relatively recent phenomenon. He told me about a guy named George Lucas (he's pretty sure that was his name) who would make yardage books with a fishing line - marking the line with reference points for distances. He said that Lucas is essentially retired by now, but that Lucas' books have been used by plenty of touring professionals.

Fishing line. Good stuff.

KJ hit a nice shot to inside 15 feet, and we headed to the green in discussion about reading greens. He told me that he doesn't like to have caddies read the greens - whether you're Stevie Williams or Kevin Prise.

He explained that this is because discrepancies can create doubt - and that in general, you can't expect the caddy and player to have the same read every time.

"If the caddy always had the same read, that would be great," KJ said. "But that's just not going to happen."

He said that he had Smiley (his regular caddy) read a few putts early in the year, to see if they had a similar perspective. It wasn't the case, so KJ kept Smiley away from reading the greens from that point forward.

No slight to Smiley, though. KJ just prefers to read his own greens. After all, putting is hard enough - no need for more confusion than there already is.

We missed the putt, putting is in desperation mode from there on out. When we missed a 15-footer on 16, burning the edge for seemingly the hundredth time of the day, it was all but official - we wouldn't be playing the weekend.

"You'd think that when you're aiming at the hole all the time, one would eventually fall in," KJ said.

Walking up the 17th fairway, I asked KJ if he had a best golf memory. With Gonzales rolling up the fairway behind him, the answer should've been obvious.

"Playing these two days with Andres, of course," KJ said.

Andres then recounted a Web.com event in 1996, that took place at his home course in Olympia, Washington. Gonzales got to play in a pro-am as part of a junior golf initiative, and looks back fondly on the experience.

"The pros would hit a bunch of golf balls in the woods," Gonzales said. "I would run back into the woods and grab the balls."

As it turns out, while KJ was there, he shot the course record - a 64. Despite playing there all the time growing up, Gonzales was never able to match it, nor has anybody else.

"I shot a 65, once," Gonzales said. "It's a tough course."

Must have been pretty tough, considering Gonzales went on to produce a nonchalant Friday 65 here in Springfield.

As for KJ, he did pretty well in Olympia, tying for sixth in 1996 and winning in 1997 - his first of six Web.com titles to date.

___________________________

When we reached the 18th tee, a sizable backup had been created. The hole is a reachable par-5 with water in front of the green, explaining the backup. KJ's buddy Ron Whittaker was on the tee, getting ready to play the hole, needing birdie to make the cut (as it turned out, the cut would indeed be 5-under).

Despite the situation, Whittaker appeared relaxed, and he chatted amiably with KJ before striping a beauty down the fairway.

The talk turned serious in KJ's group, when Gonzales brought up the death of Jim Renner's dad. Renner is a fellow Web.com pro, who Gonzales has become close with over their time on Tour.

Renner was in Springfield on Tuesday, and had played nine holes and hit some balls before receiving the call. He immediately flew home. Gonzales will leave for the funeral upon completion of the tournament at Highland Springs, and will return to play next week in Kansas City.

They also talked about the deaths of their own fathers - KJ's died of skin cancer, and Gonzales' dad of pancreatic cancer.

"He fought it for two years, which is more than they give you," Gonzales said.

Makes you realize that there's more to life than making and missing cuts.

____________________

Speaking of Renner, Gonzales brought up a story about Renner's travails in college. Renner initially enrolled at Oklahoma, where he impressed his mom with a 3.4 GPA to start his collegiate experience.

"She thought I was a genius," Renner told Gonzales.

But things would get tougher the next semester, to the point where Renner became very confused while taking an exam - he didn't know answers to any of the questions. At that point, he made up his mind. He was leaving Oklahoma, and transferring to Johnson and Wales in Miami.

With his decision set, he went up to the professor, handed her the exam, and informed her of his plans.

"I can help you," she said.

"No, I've made up my mind," he replied. "I'm leaving."

"No, I can really help you."

"No, you don't understand. I'm not on the ledge. I'm leaving."

And so he went.

____________________

We finished up with a par on the 18th, to finish with a 73 - good for a two-day total of 2-under. Not quite good enough to make the cut, we finished three strokes back of where we needed to be.

"Sorry you had such a short-lived experience," KJ told me as we walked off the green. "You outperformed me this week."

I don't quite know about that.

As I was waiting for KJ outside the scoring tent, a lady came up and asked me for my caddy bib. Hoping I could keep it as a souvenir, I asked her so. She wasn't having any of it, probably thinking I was messing with her, and her tone quickly escalated.

At that point, KJ exited the trailer.

"Don't be giving the lady a hard time," he said.

So I backed away. So much for that souvenir. At least I have my yardage book.

We went up to the clubhouse area, where he left me with his clubs and told me he would be back out in a minute. When he returned, we reconvened with Gonzales, who told me good luck.

He also had a proposition for KJ. Gonzales is taking the Pittsburgh event off to visit Nashville with some buddies, and invited KJ along with him.

"We're going to grab a couple buckets of paint," he said. "Red paint."

I asked what the buckets would be used for.

"To paint the town." Gonzales said. "We're painting it red."

So will KJ bail on Atlantis and play Kansas City next week, so that he can paint up Nashville with Andres?

"Nah," KJ said. "If I did, though, I could play every Tour event for the rest of my life."

Why's that, KJ?

"I'd be single."

_________________________

As we walked back to his car - he offered to give me a ride back to the caddy lot for a final time - I asked KJ about his plans for the rest of the year. After taking KC off for Atlantis, he said he is planning to play the rest of the Web.com season all the way through.

That is, of course, unless he wins three in a row to get back out on the big tour.

"I can go from missing the cut to winning, just like that," KJ said.

I asked him to tell me my biggest caddying mistake of the week, anything that I shouldn't have done, or could've done better.

He couldn't think of anything.

"No, you were great," KJ said.

He must be lying.

He dropped me off at my car, and we said our farewells. I thanked him again for the experience, and he told me he would see me in D.C. in October. From there, I packed up, taking everything in - the conversations, the insight, the inside-the-ropes experience that I will likely never have again.

After years of following golf from the outside, I finally had the chance I had always dreamed of - to help a player in a competitive environment, to be a part of a touring pro's week on the circuit. I was finally there, and I didn't even mess up too badly.

If I had ever truly thought I would be lucky enough to have this chance, I would be lying. And to think it all goes back to my decision to go abroad last fall - the rejuvenation it gave me, the motivation to chase my dreams and truly believe that anything is possible.

And here I am. I did it. I caddied for a week on the Web.com Tour. No matter what happens from here on out, nobody can ever take that away from me.

And now, I truly know how it feels to miss a cut.