Graham DeLaet keeps his card

CP Chris Johnson

It's almost time for Graham DeLaet to put away the golf clubs. As many of his friends in the golf world begin grinding away at the PGA Tour's qualifying school, he'll be kicking back in Saskatoon.

A break will be just reward for a successful rookie season on the world's top golf circuit. DeLaet has all but retained his playing privileges for 2011 by finishing inside the top 125 on the money list, something no Canadian has accomplished in his first year on the PGA Tour in more than a decade.

The friends DeLaet made during three summers on the Canadian Tour have been texting him all week to offer congratulations and talk about their own experiences heading to Q-school. He certainly doesn't feel like he's missing out by not joining them.

"Not for a second," DeLaet said. "My wife said the other day, ‘How nice is it that we don't have to go to Q-school this fall?'"

Instead, the 28-year-old from Weyburn, Sask., will wrap up his season at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open this week in Las Vegas.

The 28th PGA Tour event of DeLaet's year is essentially a victory lap. He's earned slightly more than $200,000 (all currency U.S.) during the past three weeks - placing fifth, 25th and sixth - to vault himself high enough on the money list to be assured of maintaining his playing privileges. He's currently No. 102.

As a result, his visit to Sin City will be just a little more enjoyable.

"All of the business is kind of done for me," said DeLaet, who has made $895,961 in total this season. "Now I'm just going to go out and have fun this week. If I play well, great. If not, I'm not going to worry about it at all."

It's often been said that the only thing harder than earning a spot on the PGA Tour is keeping one. DeLaet can attest.

He played more golf in 2010 than any time before in his life - "way too much" - and found himself close to burning out, especially during a stretch of seven consecutive tournaments from late June through mid-August.

"For that last two or three weeks I didn't want to be on the golf course at all," DeLaet said. "I felt like I had to be. You learn that you really don't. You're better off talking a week off if you don't want to be there - even if you make the cut, you're probably not going to play well enough to have it make a difference.

"If you finish 50th [in a tournament], it doesn't do much for you. If you make $10,000, you might as well be at home."

That will be one of the biggest lessons he takes forward to 2011. DeLaet, ranked No. 179 in the world, plans to be far more selective when it comes to picking tournaments and he'll have the added bonus of having seen many of the courses.

"It should be a little bit easier," he said.

DeLaet also knows that he belongs. He's made some friends on tour (Alex Cejka, James Nitties and Troy Merritt, among them) and had the experience of contending in a couple events.

Ultimately, he'll have the chance to build some momentum with his second season on the PGA Tour, which contemporaries David Hearn and Jon Mills didn't get an opportunity to do in recent years after failing to retain their cards.

Even Mike Weir needed a second year on the circuit to break through. Canada's most decorated golfer finished 133rd on the money list as a rookie in 1998 and returned to Q-school, where he earned medalist honours. He won his first PGA Tour event in 1999.

It's worth remembering that DeLaet, who has three Canadian Tour wins and another in South Africa as a pro, had only appeared in two PGA Tour events prior to this season.

"I didn't really know what to expect starting the year," he said. "But I do feel like I belong out here now. Hopefully, I can be out here a long time."

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