KEY POINTS:
Hotshot Australian Nathan Green is a prime case in point where the numbers do the talking.
Green will line up in next week's Blue Chip New Zealand Open at Gulf Harbour and is sure to have more gallery attention than on past trips across the Tasman. Why? Consider the last couple of years of his golf life.
He grabbed second at the Jacobs Creek Open in Adelaide in February last year on the second-tier Nationwide Tour. He ended that campaign with five top-10 placings and 18th place overall to get his US PGA Tour card for this year.
By the end of the second event of the Tour at the end of January, Green had pocketed US$1.7 million ($2.5 million).
First up, he finished fifth in the Sony Open in Honolulu, eight shots behind American David Toms.
A fortnight later, Green was in a playoff with Jose Maria Olazabal and a bloke called Woods at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in San Diego, all at 10 under. One guess who won the playoff, but at that point Green could have been forgiven for wondering what all the fuss was about on the world's toughest tour.
Four other top-10 finishes followed for the Newcastle-born 31-year-old and, importantly, he missed a mere six cuts out of 30 starts, so even if he was off the pace, the cheques kept rolling in.
Green ended the year second-best rookie behind South African Trevor Immelman, and 41st on the Tour Order of Merit. Talk about bursting out of the pack.
"It couldn't have gone any better in the last two years," Green said before teeing off at the Australian Masters at Huntingdale yesterday. "I never expected it would go that well. I thought I'd be struggling to keep my card."
It must be deeply satisfying to know that effectively you've secured your playing rights for next year before the calender has flicked over to February.
Green couldn't put his results down to one key element. He made some changes a couple of years ago, switching coaches and working on his fitness. When he thought back on those first two events, Green reckons "that was as good as I could play".
Green stressed the importance of making plenty of cuts. Between June 18, when he packed his bags after two rounds at the US Open, and October 29, he played all four rounds at 13 successive tournaments.
"For me, it's pretty important because I can get down on myself pretty quickly if things go wrong," he said.
Green had no specific targets when he set out this year - although it's fair to assume if he had, he exceeded them - or again for next year. His parameters have not changed in terms of what he wants to achieve.
"I've never been a goal-setter. I never had a specific plan for how to get on the Tour. And there's still a lot of parts of my game which need a lot of work."
He's no stranger to New Zealand. Green won the national under-23 titles in 1996 and 1998 and finished equal third with fellow Aussie Chris Downes, after shooting a final-day best 67 in the 2003 Open, won by Mahal Pearce at Middlemore.
"I struggled in Australia as an amateur but I had a really good run over there [New Zealand]."
He battled at Gulf Harbour in last year's Open, finishing on 282, 16 shots behind winner Niclas Fasth of Sweden. But he liked the course. He'll bring solid current form with him to Auckland next week. He didn't leave his game in the US - Green was fifth at the Australian Open last week in Sydney.
He led at the halfway mark by two shots. Can Gulf Harbour add the one thing missing from his recent CV? His last wins were in 2000 on the Canadian Tour and the Queensland PGA.
"I would just like to win a tournament somewhere. I've struggled to finish off tournaments in the past. That's one thing I have to learn, how to win."
