Special delivery changes Smock's outlook, season

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The 2008 season, at least the way Brian Smock looked at it from a professional standpoint, had all the earmarks of the year from hell.

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Brian Smock

Inside the Numbers

Brian Smock's season

Events Played 14 Cuts Made 8 Wins 0 Seconds 1 Top-10s 3 Top-25s 4

Smock, a conditional member of the Nationwide Tour, was playing poorly when he got the opportunity to compete and was flummoxed by close calls in Monday qualifiers when his number didn't come up for entry into events by the conventional method.

Nice guy that Smock, 35, is he also fretted that his performance on the golf course reduced his worth to next to nothing to a new and generous sponsor, the Sycuan Resort in El Cajon, Ca.

"I was thinking, 'Oh my God, they must be wondering what in the hell is going on,' '' Smock said of the resort owners, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. "Thank goodness they were patient and understanding. But the pressure was mounting''

Then a funny thing happened back in mid-June when Smock was pitching a deflating shutout in cuts made. His professional and personal worlds collided. And just like that, his season (certainly) and his career (quite possibly) were resurrected by the arrival of a little bundle of joy.

That would be son, Ty, now four months, Brian and Aidan Smock's first child. Ty gave Brian a new perspective about life off the course and fueled his desire to improve on it.

"I had more to play for,'' he said.

So Smock took a different tack. Instead of getting caught up in an endless -- and unsuccessful -- search for the perfect swing, the veteran professional began "making smarter'' decisions, including consultations with sports psychologist Neale Smith. He got a better feel for managing his time, using his range work to properly prepare for the week and course ahead rather than break down the components of his swing.

"I had become a victim of that search,'' he said of the bugaboo that haunts many a golfer. "There are thousands of different things and one million ways to do it in golf.''

A large dose of common golf sense was injected into his game. He went back to the basics.

"Sometimes in golf you forget about the little things,'' he said. "It's the little things that often separate the great players from the good one.''

It's way too early in his renaissance to place Smock in the great category. But since Ty's birth and his come- to-Jesus meeting about his approach to golf, Smock has been good, very, very good. His new-found confidence is underlined by the following quote.

"Realistically I'm one win away from the top 25,'' he said, referring to the Nationwide Tour's all-important money list and the number of players who are rewarded with PGA TOUR playing privileges in 2009 should they make their way into THE 25 when the '08 season ends Nov. 9 with the final round of the Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch.

Smock laughed at the mere thought. When July turned to August, he was just a fraction north of oblivion on the money list. He had made one cut and all of $3,140.39 in seven starts. He hasn't missed one in his last seven, three of which have been top-10s, including a personal best tie for second at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank. He has made almost $87,000 in that span and now stands at 72nd on the money list heading into the WNB Golf Classic, which begins Thursday in Midland, Texas.

"If someone would have told me in July I'd be where I am now . . .'' he said.

Smock didn't need to finish the sentence. He would have dismissed that someone as a lunatic. Yet here he is, with three tournaments remaining in the regular season and one goal in mind: To move up at least 12 spots on the money list and earn an invitation to the Tour Championship with its anything-can-happen purse of $1 million.

Smock trails No. 60 Cameron Percy by less than $9,000 with 11 like-minded pros in between. If that happens, Smock at worst will guarantee himself a full-time job on the Nationwide Tour in 2009, one free and clear of Monday qualifiers.

So opportunity knocks for a guy who turned professional at 21 and, save for three non-descript seasons on the Nationwide Tour, has beaten the bushes on the mini-tours. The good news is, Smock has slowly but surely proved to himself that he belongs. He has won five times on the Gateway Tour, where he was its player of the year in 2004. He also had a victory on the AG Spanos Tour in 2006 before he returned to the Nationwide Tour in 2007. He finished a career-best 82nd on the money list and while that might not seem all that important, it was to Smock because it told him he had enough game to compete at that level.

"I have to laugh about how bad things were going on the golf course at one time this year,'' he said. "I told my wife that if I were to shoot a 64 in a tournament I'd probably get struck by lightning. But then the birth of my son put everything in perspective.''

Now Smock is pinching himself.

"I have a lot to be thankful for,'' he said.