First-time winners the theme for '07 Nationwide Tour season  PGATOUR.com Correspondent Although overtime was required, the Nationwide Tour's 2007 season hit the quarter pole just outside Richmond, Va., on Sunday. And already a central theme for the 32-event schedule has been uncovered -- first-time champions. When Nick Flanagan outlasted Chris Baryla, Roland Thatcher and Bryn Parry to claim the title in the Henrico County Open the young Australian became the sixth player to score his first Nationwide Tour victory in '07. At first glance that number might not seem significant, but considering the fact that a mere eight events are in the books, it grows in significance.  Nick Flanagan picked up his first Nationwide Tour win on Sunday. (Greenwood/WireImage)
It started as a trickle when Miguel Carballo broke through at the Movistar Panama Classic in late January and continued when Scott Sterling and Nicholas Thompson scored their first triumphs in Australia and New Zealand, respectively. In the last three weeks it has become a significant trend as John Kimbell, Martin Laird and Flanagan also have located the elusive winner's circle for the first time. Skip Kendall and Omar Uresti, a pair of well-seasoned PGA TOUR veterans, won in Louisiana and California on successive weekends to break the first-time winners' mold. What's interesting about the pair is each went more than a decade between Nationwide Tour victories. So it's fair to say the 2007 Tour is off to an intriguing start. So is Flanagan, who doesn't turn 23 until June. He began with a top 10 in Australia and a top 25 in New Zealand. His Henrico victory was worth $81,000, moving him to eighth place on the 2007 money list (a jump of 25 spots) as players jockey for a coveted spot inside the top 25 on the season-ending list, one that earns a promotion to the PGA TOUR in 2008. Flanagan did it in familiar fashion Sunday -- surviving a four-man playoff. Playoffs were his calling card when he arrived in the United States as an amateur at the age of 19. Flanagan won a playoff to squeeze into the match-play portion of the 2004 United States Amateur and then became only the second Australian to win the prestigious title, beating Casey Wittenberg in 37 holes -- one more than scheduled. "I seem to have a habit of making things difficult,'' Flanagan said via telephone less than an hour after he secured his first professional title. Shoot, Flanagan even makes it hard on himself when it comes to travel plans. He was scheduled to catch a late Sunday flight for his home in New South Wales, where a two-week break from the grind was in the offing. But the hour-long overtime and the glad handing and autograph signing duties of a freshly minted champion, who won with a par over Baryla on the third playoff hole, altered that. "That's a good problem to have,'' Flanagan said, laughing. "It's only a day and this is worth much more to me than that. I'll still have a good week and a half to get away, relax and do some surfing.'' Flanagan, flush with the thrill of victory, can afford to now. He also had something else on his mind besides surfing late Sunday. "We've got a long way to go but it sure would be handy if I found two more of these,'' he said, referring to his victory and the number of wins required (three) to receive an in-season performance promotion to the PGA TOUR. "It would be good fun to earn my TOUR card that way.'' Anyone who came across Flanagan in his Nationwide Tour rookie season will discover there is a newer, more improved model in 2007, a player who is more patient, calmer and displaying newfound maturity. Flanagan credits sessions with Neal Smith with aiding his mental approach and experience gleaned in his rookie season of 2006 as the sparks for his quick get-away. He discovered his game is not suited to long stretches of golf when he played in eight straight events last year as he chased money and a spot in the top 20. "That was just two many in a row for me,'' he said. Hence the half-way-around-the-world holiday the next two weeks. Although Flanagan is nearing his third anniversary as a professional, he is still young. He said Smith has helped him grow, something that allows him to accept things in a game that can be cruel and capricious. "I'm coping better now,'' Flanagan said. "I know I tried too hard last year and put too much pressure on myself. I've improved tenfold there. I also understand now that every shot cannot be a great one.'' So the eruptions on the golf course have been few and far between. "I'm calmer now, unlike in the past,'' he said. "I'm behaving like a professional, not chucking tantrums like a 17- or 18-year-old. I did that too much last year.'' Flanagan laughed at the recollection of himself as a petulant player in 2006. "I guess the best way to put it is, I'm tamer,'' he said. Better too. |
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