After six years of trying, Bettencourt gets his win

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jour•ney•man
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from journey journey, a day's labor + man
Date: 15th century

An experienced reliable worker, athlete, or performer especially as distinguished from one who is brilliant or colorful.

Condon/PGA TOUR

Matt Bettencourt's first Nationwide Tour victory came at the Oregon Classic.

Matt Bettencourt isn't sure about how "brilliant'' or "colorful'' worked their way into the journeyman definition, but if you check a "Merriam-Webster'' near you, you just might find his mug shot in the margin right next to this work-a-day word.

Need proof? Ask Bettencourt's caddy, "Montana'' Russ Bethel, who, when asked to describe his boss at last week's Oregon Classic, had the following to say.

"There's a journeyman. There's an absolute journeyman."

Now, to be honest, last week the journeyman truly was brilliant, at least when plying his trade. Bettencourt, 33, surged into the third-round lead in Oregon following a sizzling, seven-under-par 65. He built his advantage to five strokes through 13 holes during the final round. And then held on for dear life coming down the stretch to score a two-shot victory over 2001 United States Amateur champion Bubba Dickerson.

It was the journeyman's first significant professional victory in six long, arduous years of trying. But isn't that the way it's supposed to happen when you are, well, a journeyman?

Know what else? The journeyman turned colorful when flushed with the thrill of victory.

"I'm on Cloud Nine Million,'' Bettencourt said.

The good news is Bettencourt has a week to come down from the stratosphere due to an open date on the Nationwide Tour schedule. He has a week to let this victory sink into the deepest recesses of his mind. He was a week to look at the Nationwide Tour money list and see his name in slot No. 19 among 'The 25.' And he has a week to make a game plan for the final four events of the 2008 season. Because with $193,843 in official earnings, the journeyman likely still has some work to do to secure the 2009 PGA TOUR playing privileges that go to the players who finish among 'The 25' on the season-ending money ladder.

When Bettencourt does gaze at the list, he's likely to get a chill when he notices there is certified gridlock between Matt Weibring in 17th position with $195,431 and Ryan Hietala in 23rd with $190,694. That's a grand total of $4,737 separating seven players so much can happen in the coming weeks.

But at least Bettencourt has a golden opportunity now. He couldn't say that as little as two tournaments ago when he was mired in 77th place on the money list and working hard to squeeze into the top 60 and secure an invitation to the $1 million Nationwide Tour Championship.

Things can change quickly, though, even for a journeyman. Bettencourt suddenly located his lost putting stroke at the Albertson's Boise Open presented by First Health and rolled his way to a solo fifth, his best of the season that provided a $29,000 boost to his bankroll.

"It's amazing, when you catch the ball in the sweet spot and you keep your head still, you actually hit your lines,'' he said.

Still, few would have selected Bettencourt if polled about who would be crowned champion in Oregon. How could they considering he was in his fifth season on the Nationwide Tour, had never finished higher than 95th on the money list and had a tie for third in the 2005 Scholarship of America Showdown as the highlight of his resume?

But the journeyman defied the odds. His putter stayed hot and viola', he authored another one of those feel-good stories the Nationwide Tour seems to produce on a fairly regular basis. This particular one because Bettencourt's background and his path are as different from the majority of his peers as night and day.

Pick up a Nationwide Tour Media Guide. Check the resumes of the tour's members. And see what you will see.

There are United States Amateur champions like Colt Knost and Ricky Barnes. There are too many high-profile collegiate stars to mention. There are former champions on the PGA TOUR who have fallen on hard times, but are battling to regain their status.

And then there is Bettencourt, the guy from Alameda, Calif., who never hit a shot in an NCAA event. He didn't make it past Modesto Junior College.

Bettencourt played golf, but not always at a high level. Flying in the face of what is now convention in professional golf he has never had a swing instructor. The late bloomer's swing is homemade, taught by his father.

Once he was approached by a teacher who offered to break down his swing and rebuild it. He told Bettencourt the process would take a year.

"Man, I don't have a year," Bettencourt told him, and the journeyman went on his way.

The catch in all this was Bettencourt's homemade move was good enough for him to win the Northern California Amateur Championship in 2000 and be named the association's player of the year twice. So he got the professional itch, figuring he's spend some time on the Nationwide Tour and then head to play among the rich and famous in The Big Show.

"Wow, was that wrong," Bettencourt said, laughing as he looked back on his long, strange trip in pro golf. "It has been a grind, a real grind.''

But now the ultimate reward is within this journeyman's reach.