Hey, $90,000 looks good in the check book balance no matter who signs it. But most importantly, that $90,000 ups Stiles’ earnings on the Nationwide Tour to $107,630 this season, giving him a nice boost on the way to regaining a full exemption on the PGA Tour.
Stiles, who resides in Pinehurst with his wife, Kim, and daughter, Sydney, lost his fully-exempt status last year when he finished 143rd on the PGA Tour money list. In an effort to regain that status, he’s competing on both the PGA and the Nationwide Tours this year.
The $90,000 came with his win in the Rheem Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club in Fort Smith, Ark., last Sunday. It didn’t come easily, either, as Stiles had to battle through a one-hole playoff before defeating rookie Michael Putnam with a par.
It didn’t figure to be that tough, though. Stiles entered the final round with a four-stroke lead but played the front nine in three over par. He rallied with birdies on 10 and 11, but trailed by a stroke after a brilliant run by Putnam that included an eagle on No. 11, a 20-foot birdie putt on 12 and a chip-in birdie on 14.
Putnam bogeyed 15, regained the lead on the 17th with another long birdie putt, then bogeyed the 18th from a bunker to set up the playoff.
Another bogey by Putnam from a bunker in the playoff sealed his fate and sent an emotional Stiles to the winner’s circle for the fourth time on the Nationwide Tour. His last win there came in 2002.
“It was a battle,” Stiles told reporters after the round of 71. “I just hung tough. That’s all I can say about it.
“Michael played great (67) today. It came down to the end and it was just a battle of short games, I guess.”
The win creates a dilemma of sorts for the 32-year-old Stiles. He is torn between competing on the PGA Tour in events he can get into and playing the Nationwide Tour often enough to try to earn his PGA playing privileges through a top-20 money finish.
“I’m pretty much going to stick to my original plan right now,” he said after the win.
Stiles initially earned his way onto the PGA Tour through a ninth-place finish on the Nationwide money list in 2002. He returned to the Nationwide in 2004 and finished 15th to regain his card. He’s eligible for only 13 to 16 PGA events this season despite winning almost a half-million dollars last year.
“I feel pretty good about where I am,” Stiles said in an interview earlier this year. “I just have to play well and make enough money. Every dollar counts.”
Stiles has played in five PGA Tour events this year and made the cut in two. He got off to a great start with a 66 in the AT&T Pebble Beach Classic, but faded on the weekend with rounds of 73-76 and tied for 42nd, earning $16,258.
He tied for 41st in the Zurich Classic in New Orleans a few weeks ago and picked up $21,600 for a season total of $37,858.
Stiles feels his game has improved and credits added strength to workouts under the guidance of Melissa Swarbrick at “Flex and Fit” in Southern Pines.
“What we’re doing would benefit any golfer,” Swarbrick said after a recent session with Stiles. “Darron has improved his balance and gotten a lot stronger in his upper body.
“Basically, we’re working on building his core strength and endurance. He’s able to see the difference in his distance off the tee and that he never gets tired now.”
As you’re reading this column, Stiles is probably playing the final round in the Nationwide Tour’s Henrico County Open being held at The Dominion Club in Richmond, Va.
Hopefully he’s in the final group again. And maybe he’ll be accepting another big check later today.
Another win would almost assure him of earning playing rights on the PGA Tour next season. And he really doesn’t mind cashing checks with the Nationwide logo on them.
