Jay Williamson gets
“Gift Card” for Christmas
By Bill Burton/metga.org
St. Louisan Jay Williamson said he’d really like a Gift Card for Christmas.
No, not the kind that you can swipe for goods at Home Depot or Best Buy. This is a very specific Gift Card. Across the top it reads: PGA Tour Member.
In firing rounds of 67-68-69-66-73-70 at PGA West, Williamson once again secured a spot on the PGA Tour for the 2009 season. It marked the third time he has successfully negotiated Q School, and the second time at PGA West.
Not surprisingly, he did it right on the cut line.
Williamson’s final round was a roller-coaster ride of emotional highs and lows. His final eight holes included four birdies, a double bogey and a bogey on the home hole. When it came to its conclusion at about 3 o’clock Pacific Time on Monday, Dec. 8, Williamson was given one of 28 Gift Cards issued from a field of 163 golfers.
Winless in 12 seasons on the Tour, Williamson seemed headed for one of his best seasons in 2008 when he mysteriously loss his way up the money list and back to the PGA Tour bubble.
He nearly won the John Deere Classic in July, losing to Kenny Perry in a playoff. The T2 at John Deere afforded him a chance to play in his first British Open. Williamson was solid in his four rounds at Royal Birkdale, surviving the 36-hole cut to finish T36.
He also advanced to the third round of the FedEx Cup playoffs this year, thus getting the chance to play at his home course, Bellerive, during the BMW Championship. But things went south from that point. He missed his final six cuts of the year to fall outside the sacred top 125 money list (he finished 137th).
With more than $5.2 million in career earnings and top 10 finishes dotted throughout his career, dating back to 1995, Williamson, on the cusp of his best season on Tour, was back in school at age 41.
PGA West: Dec. 3-8, 2008
After opening with four rounds in the 60s, Williamson’s fate once again seemed secure. However, an up-and-down 73 in Round 5 pushed him just ahead of the cut line. And during Monday’s final round, he appeared to be in good shape until a double bogey on the 13th hole once again sent him teetering on the line between full and partial status. Williamson came back with an approach to 3 feet for birdie at No. 14.
“The shot of the year for me,” he said.
He birdied 14, 15 and 17 to step back into the top 25. A clutch 16-foot birdie putt at No. 17 allowed just a bit of breathing room as he stepped to the final tee. Williamson could afford the three-putt bogey on the final hole, giving him a final-round 70, making it on the number at 19-under 413.
"Christmas has started as of right now for me," Williamson said after learning his finish was in fact good enough to get one of the Gift Cards he so wanted.
Harrison Frazer won the event handily, making 39 birdies and an eagle en route to a 32-under par 400 total, eight shots better than his nearest challengers, Australian James Nitties and American Derek Fathauer.
Now in his 40s and clearly falling into the definition of a PGA Tour journeyman, Williamson should have the greatest posture in the world. Since 1995, he has managed to make a solid living on the PGA Tour with his back consistently pinned against the wall. Though occasionally he has had to ply his trade on the Nationwide Tour, Williamson will enter 2009, his 13th season on the PGA Tour, having competed in over 320 events, all the time battling the dreaded “125 bubble.”
Whether it was overcoming bad starts to the season, struggles on weekends, or health issues, Williamson has always seemed to summon up the strength to get enough accomplished to keep playing on the game’s top tour.
“Being on the bubble is the worst thing about playing golf for a living,” he said. “I yearn to get off the bubble.”
His best finishes – playoff losses in both 2008 and 2007 – lend credence to the belief that he can win on Tour.
“My number one goal is to win,” he said. “If I had one win out there, I wouldn’t have to endure Hell Week (Q School). I’ve got to win a tour event, somehow, some way. I need to be a better putter, it’s that simple.”
Statistics bear that out. From tee to green, he is comfortably among the better golfers on Tour. In 2008, he ranked 35th in overall driving, 24th in driving accuracy and 52nd in greens in regulation. However, he ranked No. 178 in putts per green in regulation, T176 in putts per round and 159th in scrambling.
With his PGA Tour “Gift Card” in hand, Williamson now has another year to improve those short-game stats. If he can, he should manage to stay well clear of the Tour’s bubble.
JW's Top 10 Finishes on Tour
Since 1995, St. Louisan Jay Williamson has battled to remain a member of the PGA Tour. By surviving the PGA Tour Qualifying School, his third successful foray through the 108-hole marathon, Williamson will be entering his 13th season on Tour, beginning in January.
Here is a list of his top finishes as a member of the PGA Tour:
T7 - 1995 Walt Disney Oldsmobile Classic
T7 - 1995 B.C. Open
T4 - 1995 Ideon Classic
T7 - 1996 Buick Open
T4 - 1999 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
T7 - 2000 Bay Hill Classic
T6 - 2001 Marconi Pennsylvania Open
10 - 2001 Buick Classic
T7 - 2001 Buick Invitational
T5 - 2002 State Farm Bureau Classic
T9 - 2002 Kemper Open
T3 - 2003 BellSouth Classic
8 - 2004 Deutsche Bank Championship
T7 - 2004 Nissan LA Open
10 - 2005 BellSouth Classic
2 - 2007 Travelers (lost in playoff)
T2 - 2008 John Deere Classic (lost in playoff)