DECISION ’08: A GOLFWEEK.COM SPECIAL PROJECTThe race for the
White House may be over, but those vying for a coveted PGA Tour card
still have 72 holes before the results are in. Check golfweek.com each
day this week to follow the winners and losers at the season-ending
Children’s Miracle Network Classic. Golfweek.com will be paying close
attention
to these eight players specifically.
•
Part I: Embracing perspective, not pressure•
Part II: ‘I have to play well’
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Part III: Laird enjoying the ride at Disney
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Part IV: Tour puts family man to the test
•
Parts V and VI: Saturday-Sunday
•
Decision ’08: Players to watch
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Chart: See how Golfweek's featured eight fared in Round 2
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Slideshow: Bubble boys at Disney
By DAN MIROCHA
Assistant EditorLAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Without a birdie during the final round of his 2008 season or a full-time gig next year on the PGA Tour, Charles Warren had one place in mind to unwind on a Friday night in Orlando.
“Epcot Center,” Warren said. “Probably have a few beers.”
Save a seat for Jay Williamson and Shane Bertsch, too.
All three players had their bubble burst at Disney, failing to make the cut at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic and leaving them on the outside of the top 125 on the PGA Tour money list.
Williamson had the toughest pill to swallow. The 41-year-old journeyman concluded a dismal Fall Finish by missing his last six consecutive cuts. At No. 132 on the money list, Williamson finished dead last at 6-over 150.
“I just showed what happens when you lose your confidence,” Williamson said. “I went the wrong way.”
Just eight weeks ago, Williamson was flying high. He had qualified to play in the BMW Championship, the third event of the FedEx Cup playoffs, held at his home course, Bellerive, in St. Louis. Life was good and so was his position – No. 112 – on the money list.
“I put so much pressure and emotion and emphasis into the event in St. Louis,” Williamson said. “And after that, I just turned the motor off.
“I haven’t been the same since.”
Williamson hasn’t broken 70 since the end of September when he made the cut at the Viking Classic. A bad back has continued to tighten, along with Williamson’s grip on his clubs. He even went to longer shafts to compensate, but it hasn’t worked. Williamson hit just 15 of 28 fairways and 20 of 36 greens in two days at Disney.
Every ounce of positive momentum has left his body. And now, Williamson isn’t sure how to get it back.
“The problem is that I’m 41,” Williamson said. “I don’t know what else I can do. That’s the tough thing. I’ve got three young kids. I’ve got to make some money. I certainly can’t retire.”
Williamson, who has banked $758,862 on Tour this year, has sent in his Q-School application. It’s not the ideal spot to be, but at this point, Williamson is running out of options.
“I’ve got some serious decisions to make,” he said. “I’m not trying to get religious, but I prayed really hard to see what would happen. To miss the last six cuts, someone is trying to tell me something.”
Like Williamson, Bertsch is enduring uncertain times. He has been wandering around Disney in a state of perplexity since finding out Tuesday he wasn’t fully exempt for next year. He thought he had a medical exemption to use but found out that wasn’t the case.
He missed the cut by two shots, and at No. 124 on the money list, will not stay within the top 125 as the leaderboard stands right now.
“I’d say (saying I was shocked) is pretty much an understatement,” Bertsch said. “I’ve been in a state of shock ever since, and I don’t know if I’m going to come out of it for a while.”
Warren, who entered the event at No. 127 on the money list, had plenty of opportunities to play on the weekend at Disney. He hit 17 greens in regulation, but took 36 putts in a 2-over 74 Friday on the Magnolia Course. He fell from T-75 at the start of the day to T-115.
“I needed to get it going, but it’s hard to put the pedal down when you’re not putting well and you see these low scores,” Warren said.
Warren began the year shooting the low scores he’s now watching others post. In his third event of the year, the 33-year-old finished third at the FBR Open. Everything seemed to be right for the man who had banked over $1 million every year since 2005. But something went awry upon leaving Phoenix. Warren missed 16 cuts, including five in a row from May to June, and despite being ranked second in total driving on Tour, Warren is 195th in putts per round.
“At the end of the day, you just write it off to a really, really bad year,” he said. “Everybody goes through it, man.”
Still, Warren left Disney with perspective. He’s on his way to Q-School knowing that he’ll play in 20-25 events next year, some of which will feature second-tier fields that he knows he can compete with.
“It wouldn’t be the worst thing for me,” Warren said. “I can go to the range at those events and look at everyone and say, ‘I can win this week.’ ”
“I had a bad year and lost my job, but I still made $800,000.”
• • •
Dan Mirocha is a
Golfweek assistant editor. To reach him e-mail
dmirocha@golfweek.com.
Posted: 11/7/2008
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