'Patience pays off' for TOUR's oldest rookie

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CROMWELL, Conn. -- Brad Adamonis didn't face an serious adversity Friday until his final hole.

Going against his better judgment, Adamonis hit a driver instead of a 3-wood on the dogleg right, par-4 ninth hole, his tee shot running through the fairway and into a bunker. Adamonis then bladed his approach over the green and under a small tree, thinking it might be out of bounds.

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Brad Adamonis is looking for his first PGA TOUR win.

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But Adamonis had a window to the green, hunched over and pitched a shot about 15 feet past the pin. He made the par-saver for a 2-under 68 and 36-hole total of 132 that kept him among the leaders in the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.

"It was a great way to end the day," Adamonis said.

The final stroke kept the PGA TOUR's oldest rookie (35) bogey-free for the day thanks in large part to a lesson and a new putter he got back last weekend from his father, Dave. It also epitomized the philosophy that his dad preaches to his Johnson & Wales golf team, which won the NAIA championship in 2005.

"Patience Pays Off" is the senior Adamonis' credo and represents what he endured the last three years while inspiring Brad, family, friends and anyone else who knows his tale.

In an opening 64, Adamonis felt woozy on the ninth hole from a vertigo attack. Earlier this year, he had a neck injury and was diagnosed with nystagmus, a disease that involves inner ear imbalance and eyes racing side to side. He began taking medication Wednesday but still had a three-minute episode on the way to that 64, which was his low score on the PGA TOUR and gave him a piece of the first-round lead.

But Adamonis shrugs off what amounts to trivial matters compared to the three cancers his father has gone through. In September 2005 in Florida, Dave Adamonis went in for what was supposed to be routine surgery for prostate cancer, but the doctors didn't stitch him up properly. He went septic, blew up like a balloon and nearly died. A priest performed last rites three times.

Staph infections helped lead to an 80-pound weight loss (217 to 137), and then more cancer was found, making a trio: prostate, throat and Hodgkin's lymphoma. He got into Mass General in Boston, which helped get his throat cancer in remission, but he still has to go for more chemotherapy.

"But I'm on the right side of the divot," he said, smiling.

Dave missed his son's best TOUR score Thursday because he was at Mass General having a needle stuck in his neck four times to treat a lump. But he was at TPC River Highlands Friday, walking 18 holes and beaming about the way his son hung together, especially at the end.

"PPO," he said. "Patience pays off."

Such an outlook and attitude earned Dave national recognition when he was named Father of the Year by Golfweek in its June 14 edition.

"It was awesome," Brad said.

And what if he won Sunday with dad there?

"It would be fantastic," Brad said.

Brad's emotions then got the best of him. The man who has played the mini-tours and was on the Nationwide Tour five of the last six years had difficulty fathoming such a feat. Especially with so many family and friends coming in this weekend from Cumberland, R.I., about 90 minutes away.

"I'm sure there will be a lot more [Saturday]," Brad said, smiling. "But I'm just going to treat it like any other tournament. I can't get ahead of myself. I've done that before, and it hasn't worked."

Dad would be proud of that "PPO" appraisal.