Argentina one week, South Africa the next. Back home for Christmas, then off to Panama, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia.
A jet-setter's lifestyle? Not in this case. Instead, it's the nomadic, competitive life of Scott Dunlap, who may not be on your golf radar, but he should be if you appreciate a relentless spirit. After all, he is a throwback to the days when you didn't need to throw in the courtesy cars, million-dollar bonus pools, and helicopter trips for the wives. All you had to do was announce the game was on.
Dunlap may not be in the big leagues, but he hasn't abandoned the passion that helps get you there.
"I'm a golfer," said Dunlap. "I want to play - and I enjoy the traveling."
At 44, Dunlap has experienced the comforts of the world's greatest golf circuit, a fully exempt PGA Tour member in 1997 and from 1999-2002. There were a few moments of glory, most notably at the 2000 PGA Championship, when he finished joint ninth during a week memorable for Tiger Woods's third major conquest in a row.
Six years removed from his last go-round in the big leagues, Dunlap is a member of the Nationwide Tour, but what allows him to stand out is his insatiable thirst for competition.
Before the Royal and Ancient did away with the 36-hole qualifier right before the British Open, Dunlap was an annual visitor to the great links of Scotland and England, going a route that had been just fine for Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, and Ben Hogan. He may never have visited the winner's circle as a member of the PGA Tour, but he has claimed victories in Manitoba, South Africa, Argentina, and Peru. Though his appearances in PGA Tour events number just seven since 2003, Dunlap has never given up on the quest to make it back.
That is why while many colleagues were home resting up for another season, Dunlap packed his suitcases and headed to the Argentina Open Dec. 6-9. Things did not go well, but after missing the cut, he traveled even farther to play in the South African Open. There, Dunlap met with a similar fate, but he's been at this business for a long time, so even though he returned home a bit poorer, his life had been enriched by the travel.
"I traveled out of necessity when I was younger because I needed a place to play, but I really loved it," said Dunlap.
He concedes that years ago he was like many other young American golfers - that is, a disciple of the minitours. Then an old college teammate, Jay Townsend, suggested Dunlap head to South Africa to play the Sunshine Tour. He did, and he's been attracted to the road show ever since.
Oh, don't get him wrong, the PGA Tour is where he'd love to be. But until that option returns, Dunlap will not hesitate to pack the bags.
"Sure, it's a long way to come for two weeks," said Dunlap from New Zealand, where he was playing last weekend in a Nationwide Tour event. "But I will do it. I'll buy an airplane ticket every time if I have the chance to play. I know other guys aren't of that mind-set and I've always found that disappointing, but I'll go anywhere once, and if I like it I'll gladly return if I have the chance to play there."
With a few weeks of rest after his return from the South African Open, Dunlap got out the passport for his trip to Panama and the season opener of the Nationwide Tour, which plays its first four events on foreign soil. The next week he was in Mexico, then it was off to New Zealand. Today, he tees it up in Australia, making it six countries and four continents in 10 weeks. With $115,512, Dunlap sits third on the Nationwide Tour money list, but we'd put his frequent flier mileage up against anyone's.
Same goes for his passion for competition.
Wie in Fields field
At the tender age of 18, the comeback begins for Michelle Wie, who'll tee it up today in her native Hawaii in the Fields Open, tournament No. 2 on the 2008 LPGA Tour schedule. It will be Wie's first competitive event since she concluded a miserable 2007 season with a poor performance (19th out of 20 players) at the Samsung World Championship in October. For the duration of 2007, Wie faced intense criticism from people in golf and the media, but she told reporters on the eve of the Fields Open that the problem stemmed from wrist injuries. In fact, when she told reporters Tuesday that the wrists still hurt and she has "accepted the fact that it's never going to be 100 percent ever again," it was almost as if Wie was throwing out a disclaimer in case things go poorly in '08. Now a student at Stanford, Wie has concluded her winter quarter and will take off the spring quarter to concentrate on golf. No doubt, she needs the focus if she is to improve upon a 2007 season that featured nine starts, only three cuts made, two withdrawals, and just two of 19 rounds under par. "I feel a lot stronger," said Wie. "I feel like I can be a lot more aggressive with the ball." Her instructor, David Leadbetter, was on hand at Ko Olina for practice. "Everybody thinks, 'Well, Michelle is finished.' But you don't become a bad player overnight," said Leadbetter. "Things happen and you learn from things. The fact is when you have an injury, learn to accept the fact, heal, and get back to competitive play." . . . There are roller coaster tournaments and then there are a few loop the loops, like the one produced by Kelli Kuehne at last week's LPGA Tour opener, the SBS Open in Hawaii. Of the 79 players who made the cut, Kuehne had the low first round (67), the high second round (79), and the low final round (66). Added up, it was good for a share of 12th, which was her best finish since a joint fifth in October 2006 . . . When Annika Sorenstam closed with a 69 to win the SBS, it marked her 70th career victory and the fifth time she has started the season with a win . . . It was a solid start to the season for Meg Mallon, as she finished joint 16th in the SBS. Mallon, 44, is coming off back-to-back lackluster campaigns, but appears focused, healthy, and in good form as she tries to shake free of a rare stretch of play. She has gone 35 tournaments since her last top 10, in the fall of 2005.Old pros
While the big names are gathered in the Arizona desert for theJim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com.
