Brad Heaven still targets US golf tour

Tuesday, Jan 19, 2010

Kiwi professional Brad Heaven has not forsaken his dream to compete on the United States PGA tour, despite six unsuccessful attempts to earn his card at qualifying school.
 
Last year Heaven, 29, made it through to the second stage for the fourth time and was confident of making it to the six-round final stage for the first time after preparing assiduously and making a flying start to the second stage.
 
But the United States-based Heaven, in Christchurch this week to contest the New Zealand PGA Championship at Clearwater starting on Thursday, admitted that he took the wrong approach after such a strong start and it cost him dearly.
 
``I worked so hard leading up to Q School after the Canadian Tour (where he has played for the last three years) finished in mid-September through to the middle of November and the second stage. I was putting in long hours and working on some good stuff.
 
``My game was good and I breezed through the first stage and went to the second stage as comfortable and confident as I have been. I got off to a flying start and maybe got in my own way a little bit. It (playing the US tour) was something I wanted so badly for so long that I probably switched modes. Instead of trying to win the tournament individually I was thinking top 20 is all I need to advance to the final stage and I tried maybe too hard to just hold on and that killed me.’’

Heaven comfortably kept his Canadian Tour card for a fourth year. But he says his dream is still to play either the main US PGA tour or the secondary Nationwide tour.
 
``My game is definitely good enough to get out there and that’s encouraging to know in itself. My peers I competed with at college (Heaven attended the University of Toledo in Ohio for four years) like the Camilo Villegas’ Bill Haas’, Nick Watneys and Hunter Mahans are all out there. I know I can compete with those guys.’’
 
Heaven said there have been times when he has questioned whether he should pursue a professional playing career, but the answer has always been yes. ``You have doubts when you’re travelling alone in the car and it’s just you and your thoughts. If you’re not making cuts and not being successful it can be miserable, but there’s no greater high than having a result and knowing that the hard work has been rewarded. That’s why we hang in there.’’
 
Heaven, runner-up as an amateur in the 2004 New Zealand Open at The Grange, contested the NZ PGA Championship the next year on a sponsor’s invite and made the cut after a second round 68. Since then, however, he has had to pre-qualify and not made the final field.
 
He is hoping a top result at Clearwater this week will kick-start his 2010 campaign and give him confidence as he tries to pre-qualify at Russley on Monday for next week’s Michael Hill New Zealand Open in Arrow town.