KEY POINTS:
When Tim Wilkinson started hanging around the Manawatu Golf Club no one picked the scrawny primary schoolboy as a future PGA Tour player.
Only those who looked past his lack of power saw his unflappable, positive and calculating mind, his depth of self belief, and a work ethic that made him persist when others quit.
Armed with those weapons of stealth, a sublime short game, and the same brand of clubs he has treasured since his first quality set, the 29-year-old leftie yesterday won a place on the PGA Tour.
He did it the hard way, finishing in a tie for 14th after six cut-throat rounds of the PGA Qualifying School in Florida.
Only the top 25 and ties of the 158 hopefuls who qualified for the school made it to the big show, where next year they will cross clubs with the likes of Tiger Woods.
As his coach, Andre White, watched on television in Palmerston North, the 1.72m former runt flexed his muscles with a composed four-under final round 68, proving he belonged in the elite.
White said he never doubted Wilkinson was headed to the top, though he didn't bloom until his late teens, then won the New Zealand strokeplay title in 2000.
Wilkinson turned professional in 2003, and went to the United States to try to make his way in the game.
He has had his hot patches - last year he notched eight consecutive birdies on the Nationwide Tour, and managed a streak of nine in Australia.
But his story wasn't always about birdies and big bucks, White said.
"He never ever stood out. Tim is not a naturally gifted superstar ... he works hard for everything he has got. He has got the world's best attitude.
"The biggest difference between Tim and what I see other players do is that Tim will do whatever is required to make sure that he gets to the end, as opposed to 'I want this here and now'."
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.
"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."
He made US$133,222 ($174,815) from the Nationwide tour this year to sit 49th on the money list. It was his most consistent season, making the cut in 23 of 26 tournaments.
"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 ... mental fortitude and fitness".
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.
David Smail's third-place finish in the season-ending tournament on the Japan Tour elevated him to the status of New Zealand's highest-ranked golfer at 148th in the world.
IN THE RUNNING
The Australasian players who have qualified to play the 2008 US PGA Tour (Australian unless stated). -
* RETAINED THEIR CARDS
Aaron Baddeley (ranked 10th), Adam Scott (11), Geoff Ogilvy (14), Robert Allenby (27), John Senden (29), Stuart Appleby (45), Rod Pampling (62), Nathan Green (66), Nick O'Hern (68), Peter Lonard (75), Stephen Leaney (97), Mark Hensby (102), Mathew Goggin (103) and Steve Elkington (111).
* QUALIFIED FROM NATIONWIDE TOUR
Nick Flanagan (3), Jason Day (5), Matthew Jones (7).
* QUALIFIED FROM FINAL STAGE OF TOUR SCHOOL
Brett Rumford (2), Tim Wilkinson (NZ, T14), David Lutterus (T23).
- NZPA
