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By Doug Milne, Jr.
PGA TOUR staff

FLINT, Mich. -- Signs have always seemed to work their way into the life of Doug Labelle II. Good thing he pays attention to them.

Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., just about 90 minutes northwest of where he will tee it up in Thursday's first round of the Buick Open, Labelle was exposed to a variety of sports by his parents.

From early on, however, it was the game of golf that held the most allure for the 32-year-old PGA TOUR rookie. At the age of 10, his mind had been made up.

Doug Labelle II is happy to be the local favorite this week. (Getty Images)

"My grandfather brought me to the Buick Open when I was just a kid to watch Dan Pohl, who was also from Mt. Pleasant," Labelle recalled. "I fell in love with the atmosphere and the entire PGA TOUR production. It was then when I saw what I wanted to do for a living."

The local favorite's passion never waned. Just before his senior year at the University of New Mexico, though, Labelle had a change of heart. Or, so he thought. Admittedly, he was playing good golf, but the ubiquitous grind started getting to him. Simply, he'd had enough.

"The players were better than I thought they were going to be and it was tougher than I thought it was going to be," Labelle said. "In fact, I was looking to get out of the game altogether."

But right here at the 1997 Buick Open, another sign emerged.

"I had an opportunity to Monday qualify to play here, and I did. I earned a spot in the field here in 1997," Labelle said. "The experience of the Buick Open and how good of a job they do here totally rejuvenated me and gave me focus. That is why I am here today."

After a solid finish at the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament last December, Labelle earned fully exempt status on TOUR in 2007. In his first event as a full-time PGA TOUR member, the Sony Open in Hawaii, another sign arose. It seemed as though he was on his way to missing the cut, but birdies at Nos. 17 and 18 on Friday kept him around for the weekend. The result -- a tie for fourth.

"The guys out here told me that I really needed to make a few hundred thousand dollars before the first re-shuffle," he said. "That's really hard for a guy like me to do, when I didn't even know how many starts I would get. To do it all in one week was huge. It set me up for the whole year."

Alongside Labelle each week this year is his South American fiancée, Julie Allidina. The two met on the high seas. While on a Caribbean cruise with his family, Labelle was introduced to Allidina and the rest, as they say, was history.

Allidina, who comes from a family with no golf background to speak of, has adapted well. That, Labelle laughed, was more than he can say for her brother, Rishi.

"When we first met, he asked me what I did. I told him I played golf. He then asked 'no, what do you do for a living?' I told him I play golf professionally. He then rephrased the question and asked 'I mean what is your primary source of income?' I said I play golf," Labelle laughed. "And that was the end of that conversation."

Play golf is, indeed, what Doug Labelle II does, though. As a kid, from sun up to sun down, he played members of the Mt. Pleasant Country Club for candy bars. Now, he competes for millions of dollars week in and week out on golf's grandest stage.

And when he tees it up in the first round of the Buick Open on Thursday, surrounded by friends and family, he'll no doubt see another sign; a sign that reads "Quiet please." That's the sign that all the other signs have been leading to. Again, good thing he pays attention to them.