AURORA — What if athletes are young, talented and have the chance to become professionals at an early age? In major-league team sports, the decision usually is part of a process that includes drafts, agents and specific dollar figures — and perhaps a huge signing bonus — in contracts.
Golfers?
Eldrick Woods was a hot commodity when he left the Stanford campus after his sophomore year, with endorsement deals looming, but that was exceptional — as is everything about Tiger. Michelle Wie turned pro at age 15, before she was eligible to be a member of the LPGA Tour. She signed lucrative endorsement contracts with Nike and Sony, but her competitive career has been disappointing.
Many of the players in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship this week at Murphy Creek Golf Course are collegians, hoping that a lucrative PGA Tour career awaits them.
But getting to the money of the PGA Tour takes money and sponsors, something to which most young golfers have limited access.
The top prospect at the tournament, Rickie Fowler, just finished his sophomore season at Oklahoma State. He was second after stroke-play qualifying but lost in Thursday’s third round of match play. Fowler, the top-ranked amateur in the world, made the cut at the U.S. Open and finished tied for 60th (which would have earned him an $18,000 paycheck). That showing added to his reputation as a lock to be on the tour in the next few years.
Fowler, a member of the winning Walker Cup team in 2007, said he definitely would return to OSU for another year.
“I’m going year by year,” Fowler said. “I’m ranked No. 1, but that doesn’t mean much.”
But once you’re a pro, there are no guarantees. There’s a daunting qualification process, precious tour cards and no guaranteed salaries.
“Three guys on my college team last year have turned pro, and I’ve talked with them,” said Corey Nagy, 19, who also just finished his sophomore season at North Carolina-Charlotte and is considered another of the amateur game’s bright lights. “They’ve told me the transition from amateur and college golf to pro golf is very difficult.”
The American Junior Golf Association ranked Nagy No. 16 nationally in the high school class of 2006, and he finished 16th in the NCAA Championships in May, leading the 49ers to an eighth-place team finish. He tied for fifth with Nebraska junior-to-be Brandon Crick in the Publinx stroke play.
“I’d say that if you’re having to think about turning pro, don’t,” said Nagy, who won twice Thursday to advance to today’s match-play quarterfinals. “I would say get as much experience as you can before you go out there and play against some of the best players in the world. That’s definitely something I’m going to do. It hasn’t crossed my mind to even think about turning pro.
“Even Tiger went to college. He left early. But I think he was the only one who had the game to beat the heck out of other guys right away.
“Golf is slowly going toward big contracts for younger players, but I know in basketball, it’s been there for a long time. Kids see that big dollar sign and start running. In golf, we’re going to see some of that start to happen, but the tour’s not going anywhere. It’s going to be there the rest of your life.”
Crick, 20, from McCook, Neb., is entering his third season of college golf.
“If I keep playing well, who knows?” said Crick, who lost in the first round of match play. “I’ve got a couple more years to decide. It’s definitely been a dream of mine, and if I keep playing well, I don’t see why I can’t.”
Casey Carnes, 26, played at Texas State-San Marcos and gave pro golf a try. He didn’t get his tour card, and then after not playing competitively for 18 months, he went through the process to regain his amateur standing.
“I just didn’t have the money behind me,” he said. “I gave it a couple of shots. Then I knew the money wasn’t going to be there, so I decided to work and then got my amateur standing back.”
He smiled. “There’s a lot less stress here. It’s fun just to be back playing again,” he said.
Carnes managed a Pizza Hut for two years.
“That was 65 or 70 hours a week, and I couldn’t get out to practice,” he said. Eventually, he moved into the insurance business in San Antonio.
Carnes had another disappointment this week. He missed match play after finishing in a 10-way tie for the 64th and final spot in the field and losing in a playoff.
But it didn’t affect whether he got a paycheck.
Staff writer Irv Moss contributed to this report.
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
Winning ways
A look at how the past five Publinx champs have fared since winning the amateur event:
2003, Brandt Snedeker: Was going to school at Vanderbilt when he won. He turned pro in 2004 after graduating and won his first PGA event last year. Has earned $4.2 million on PGA Tour.
2004, Ryan Moore: The 2002 winner was a junior at UNLV in ’04. Turned pro in 2005 and won $686,250 in eight events that year. Has won $4.5 million on the PGA Tour since going pro.
2005, Clay Ogden: Was a junior at BYU. Turned pro in 2006, and played on the Vegas Tour in 2007 but lost in second stage of PGA Tour school. Now playing on Canadian Tour and has won $10,252 this season.
2006, Casey Watabu: Was a senior at Nevada when he won. He used the exemptions as Publinx champ at many events before going pro in October 2007. He has won $4,240 on the Canadian Tour.
2007, Colt Knost: Had just graduated from SMU when he won, then turned pro in September. Has bounced between Nationwide and PGA tours and has won $189,000 since going pro.
