KEY POINTS:
Tim Wilkinson has earned a United States PGA Tour card for next year but the Manawatu golfer doesn't feel overawed by the prospect of competing in the toughest circuit in the world.
Wilkinson fired a final round four-under 68 to finish on 16-under par 416 at the cut-throat PGA Tour Qualifying School, well inside the top 25 players, plus ties, to advance to the main tour.
Of the 158 players who slogged through the arduous six-rounds of Qualifying School in Florida, only 26 secured their card.
"It hasn't sunk in yet. I am so thrilled right now. It feels pretty good to finally realise my ambition," Wilkinson said.
"I'll approach the PGA Tour the same way as I do every round of golf - it's still golf, that's all it is," Wilkinson said from the Orange County national golf centre in Florida today.
"It's still about the getting the ball into the hole as quickly as possible.
"(I'll be happy) just as long as I keep on improving everything from this year - that's my biggest goal."
After earning US$39,720 ($52,595) from playing and making the cuts in just two PGA tour events over his career to date, Wilkinson, who turned professional in 2003, can now look forward to bigger and better things.
Wilkinson, 29, made US$133,222 from the Nationwide tour this year to sit 49th on the money list and boost his career earnings to US$352,397.
It was his most consistent season, making the cut in 23 of 26 tournaments and achieving two top 10 finishes since he began competing fulltime in 2005.
"I have played really well all this year - I didn't get the results reflecting how I played," Wilkinson said.
"It would have been nice to have finished in the top 25 in the Nationwide but this (qualifying for the PGA) is just as good."
The six rounds on two really long golf courses had been a "good test of your golf game, your mental fortitude and fitness", he said.
"Today's round was one of the best I have played - just the situation I was in - having to play well and keep playing well."
He had not felt too nervous and remained composed throughout the day.
Wilkinson, 25th overnight, started strongly with four birdies and one dropped shot in his first nine holes, and was blemish-free on the return nine with one birdie along the way.
Fellow New Zealanders Grant Waite and Brad Iles missed the main tour but both earned rights for the Nationwide Tour next year.
Waite was in a share of 48th on 10-under par, four under the cut mark for the top 25, while Iles finished tied for 105th on one-under with a final round even par 72.
Meanwhile, David Smail has finished third in the season-ending tournament on the Japan Tour.
His performance has officially elevated him to the status of New Zealand's highest ranked golfer at 148th in the world.
Smail finished in a share of third place in the final of the Golf Nippon JT Series, after firing a final round 67 to finish nine-under.
Leading scores after the sixth and last round of the US PGA tour qualifying school in Florida today:
403 - Frank Lickliter 62 62 68 72 68 71
407 - Brett Rumford 66 70 68 65 68 70
409 - Chris Stroud 69 68 69 68 64 71
410 - Jin Park 70 66 71 67 68 68
411 - Jason Aldred 66 67 64 70 72 72
New Zealanders
416 - Tim Wilkinson 73 70 68 70 67 68, T14th
422 - Grant Waite 71 73 67 69 71 71, T47th
429 - Brad Iles 72 70 74 71 70 72, T106
- NZPA
