This is always one of my favorite times of year in golf because so many professionals are in the hunt to make their dreams come true. When I was playing golf as a youth I made numerous putts (in my mind) to win my spot on golf’s main stage. Now, as a grown man with my season of playing behind me, I love watching the guys grind it out.
Last week the Nationwide tour graduated its class of 2008 to the PGA Tour. The top-25 money leaders for the season earned the coveted pass to join Tiger and company on the big tour.
One guy that punched his card this year is Chad Collins. This will be Chad’s sophomore campaign on tour and I believe a breakout year. His game matured immensely during 2008, highlighted by a win at the Miccosukee Championship.
Chad was a rival of mine in collegiate golf. He played for Methodist College and I played Greensboro College. During his four years at Methodist he was the number one ranked player in NCAA Division III every year. Many times we played head-to-head in collegiate events and many times he beat me like Brock Lesner vs. Pee Wee Herman.
I knew Chad was going to make it on tour during his freshman year when he drained a putt on the 72nd hole of 40 feet from off the green to win the NCAA Tournament. Clutch! Over the next three years we watched him break scoring records and win countless medalist hardware. We knew it was just a matter of Time.
Here is a video (courtesy of pgatour.com): Meet Chad
I hope you will tune in next year and watch the crop of young players in pursuit of their golf legacy.
