Golf: Long tees up for fifth USPGA event

New Zealand golfer Michael Long tees up in his fifth United States PGA Tour event this year at the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta tomorrow, determined to make it count.

Long has not played competitively since missing the cut in last month's Chrysler Classic in Tuscon, Texas.

Long, 36, who now owns a residence in Ponte Vedre, Florida, is the only New Zealand player in the US$5 million ($7.13 million) field featuring reigning US Masters champion, Phil Mickelson.

Mickelson will face tough opposition from the likes of double US Open winner and past BellSouth Classic winner, Retief Goosen of South Africa, along with England's Luke Donald, who was joint runner-up in last week's rain affected Players Championship.

Long, the 1996 New Zealand Open champion, regained his full US Tour card last year after finishing 19th on the secondary Nationwide Tour where he won once in 2001 and in 2003.

He first gained his US Tour card for the 2002 season but finished well outside the top-125 and in 183rd place with only US$153,000 in earnings.

Long started his 2005 season in January in Hawaii but missed the cut before contesting all four rounds of the Buick Invitational prior to also missing the cut in the AT & T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and then in Texas.

And now the Cromwell-born golfer is back full time on the main Tour, he's not about to fall into the trap he suffered in 2002.

"It's been tough not playing as regularly as I would have liked and I am in same position I was in 2002 but hopefully I will have learned from my time on the tour three years ago," he said.

"I feel I just over-practised in 2002, but this year plan to relax more and not get too over stressed about not playing regularly.

"Back then, I practised really hard so when my opportunity to play on the Tour materialised I felt I would be ready.

"But I found I was over prepared and too tied and then a bit stale by the time Thursday rolled around."

But while Long has only played in five of the 13 events contested this year, he will be assured of competing in upwards of 23 events this season.

"All I can do is relax up and enjoy the time off and be ready for when the daylight hours are longer when I will be playing something like 10 straight," he said.

"Having come through from the Nationwide Tour, I am currently in a pecking order and it's just a matter of waiting my turn."

- NZPA