Rookie Klauk hopes to build off success in 2010

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Jeff Klauk had three top-10s and made the cut in 21 of 29 tournaments during his rookie season on the PGA TOUR.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Now that Jeff Klauk's rookie season on the PGA TOUR is over, the 32-year-old is finding it easier to relax. That doesn't mean, however, he won't have something to prove in 2010.

"I'd like to knock down the door next year and win," Klauk said. "I can't afford to get too relaxed. I'm going to enjoy some time with my family right now, but there are a lot of things in my golf game that I would like to improve."

Klauk, who attended Wednesday's groundbreaking for THE PLAYERS Championship Boys & Girls Club, was one of only four PGA TOUR rookies to earn more than $1 million in 2009. He finished 71st on the money list with $1,243,696, posted three top-four finishes and made 21 of 29 cuts. Klauk's 2009 earnings more than doubled the amount he made in seven seasons on the Nationwide Tour.

Thanks to that success, Klauk repeatedly enters into the conversation for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, along with fellow pros Marc Leishman, Webb Simpson and Scott Piercy. He's played with nearly every rookie in this year's class at some point in his career, but Klauk believes Leishman, who tied for second at the BMW Championship, will win the postseason award.

"I think Marc would be the favorite based on the way he's performed," Klauk said. "The entire rookie class is very good. I would be lying if I told you I haven't thought about the race with the rookies but it certainly hasn't been a top priority. I can't rank these guys. All of these guys could be world-class. It depends on how hard they work."

If there's a sentimental pick, though, Klauk may be it. Among the top five rookies on the money list, he is the oldest. He is also the only one in that group to endure seven unsuccessful attempts in q-school before finally earning his PGA TOUR card as a 2008 graduate of the Nationwide Tour.

"I not only went through q-school, but I got to the final stage seven times," said Klauk, who has many friends competing in the second stage this week. "It's not any fun. I can relate to what these guys are going through, but you have to be part of it. The system is in place. You just have to do it."

As if the rigors of competition weren't enough of a challenge, Klauk also had a stretch in 2006-2007 where he battled seizures and had shoulder surgery. First Coast News Sports Director Dan Hicken has been friends with Klauk for a long time and is amazed at his resilience.

"He went through a lot of adversity and could have given up golf a lot of times," Hicken said. "Jeff stuck with it. He battled, worked and practiced. He had a dream. It took him longer than he ever expected, but he never quit."

Klauk's father Fred was the long-time course superintendent at TPC at Sawgrass and as a child he would sneak out early in the evening and pretend he was competing in THE PLAYERS Championship. As a rookie this year, Klauk's dream was finally realized.

"That was the one I wanted to play in the most and I reached my goal this year to qualify," he said. "It was the one major goal I set at the beginning of the year and it was a lot of fun. Even though I've grown up around THE PLAYERS Championship, I've always been on the outside. I've never been a player participating, so this year was great to finally be out there.

And Klauk finished tied for 14th in his first appearance.

While it took him a long time to finally get to the PGA TOUR, the former Florida Southern standout believes the hardest part is over.

"I felt very prepared this year and played well," Klauk said. "I learned a lot. Obviously next year I'm looking forward to getting back out there and not having to learn the same things I needed to learn this year like the golf courses and the cities we were in."

In addition to his father's inspiration, the support he's received from his wife Shanna has also helped make Klauk's inaugural PGA TOUR season so successful.

"If you're going to succeed, you have to have that great support system," he said. "Fortunately, I have an awesome team around me."