Feeling fearless has Aldridge on verge of career breakthrough

Badz/PGA TOUR

After a difficult year on the Nationwide Tour, Tyler Aldridge decided no to play scared anymore.

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Tyler Aldridge felt like he had nothing to lose.

He was going nowhere fast after shooting consecutive rounds of 75 during the first stage of the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament at Carlton Oaks in Santee, Calif., back in October. So Aldridge decided an attitude adjustment was in order.

"I'm like, you know what, let's just go out and play good golf," he recalled. "Don't think about anything: just go out and play. And so far, it's worked."

It has indeed. Aldridge shot 5 under his next two rounds and tied for 15th to advance to the second stage. Another tie for 15th there sent him back to California for this week's q-school finale, where the Boise State product is one round away from what would be his rookie season on the PGA TOUR.

Aldridge ended a streak of sorts when he made his first bogey of the tournament in Sunday's fifth round. But the 74 he shot on PGA West's Stadium Course still kept him firmly entrenched among the leaders in a tie for sixth with Brian Stuard and Robert Garrigus at 18 under.

"I feel real good," Aldridge said standing by the busy practice green after he finished a live interview on the GOLF CHANNEL. "I just didn't have any putts drop today and the ball-striking wasn't quite there. But we'll work on that. I'm going to hit some putts and see what happens tomorrow."

Aldridge finished in a tie for 74th at q-school a year ago, earning a Nationwide Tour card in the process. Should he maintain his position among the low 25 and ties after Monday's final round, though, the 24-year-old from Idaho will get to take the next big step.

Aldridge has dreamed of the opportunity to play the TOUR since he began playing golf at the age of 13 when his friend, Michael Torres, asked him to join him for a game. "I'll never forget him -- he's a big connection to me and the game,' Aldridge said.

Although he played golf as a youngster -- "I mainly drove the golf cart around," Aldridge said -- baseball was his favorite sport. Once he started playing golf again as a teenager, though, there was no looking back.

"As soon as I picked up the club for that second time, so to speak, I fell in love with it," he said.

Aldridge won the 2002 PGA Junior Championship when he was 17. A playoff loss at the Idaho Open three years later gave him the confidence that he might have the game to play on the PGA TOUR. He began to try to Monday qualify for events and then earned his Nationwide Tour card last year.

The highlight of Aldridge's 2008 campaign, though, came away from the course when his wife delivered their second child, Chandler, several days early while he was playing in the second round of the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open.

"It was the only time I was happy to miss the cut," Aldridge said.

Turns out, though, that was one of 17 cuts he missed last year as Aldridge only made $12,143 in 23 starts. Asked about the transformation of late, Aldridge only had to think back to the attitude adjustment he made during the first stage of q-school.

"I'm not playing scared anymore," he said. "What happens, happens. You've just got to remember it's still golf. You're still hitting a little white ball. I'm not going to die. I'm going to go home and see my family -- most importantly, that's what it is. You go home and see you kids and your wife. Golf in the long run really doesn't mean anything. So yeah, (the difference is) not playing scared anymore."

Even though his earnings left something to be desired, the Nationwide Tour offered Aldridge a chance to learn how to travel and play in different kind of terrain and conditions. He learned what pressure means, too.

"It's an adjustment," Aldridge acknowledged. "When you're growing up just playing with your buddies it's not the same. It's tough to deal with people watching, the cameras, media, everything."

Helping him handle the pressure this week at q-school are several friends from back home in Idaho. One is caddying for him. Another flew in on Saturday.

"I don't know what it is, I just feel at ease this week," Aldridge said. "Maybe because I've been here before, I know what to expect, but I feel at ease."