Smith didn't get rattled on way to Nationwide Tour win
By John Dell, Nationwide Tour Insider
Not even a rattlesnake was going to rattle Nate Smith in the pursuit of his first Nationwide Tour victory.
The 26-year-old rookie picked up that win Sunday at the WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas. It came in Smith's 23rd tournament of the season and moved him into the all-important top 25 on the money list at No. 25.
Smith had the encounter with the rattlesnake early in the final round after hitting a ball into some mesquite. As he looked for the errant shot he could hear the unmistakable sound of the rattle. Needless to say, Smith didn't stay around long enough to get to know the snake.
"We heard a rattlesnake in there so we peeled out of there pretty quickly and chose to play my provisional," he said.
After the close encounter of the rattlesnake kind, Smith went on to birdie five of his next 11 holes on Sunday to get the victory. He wound up shooting 67-70-67-66 for a four-round total of 18 under, two better than Alistair Presnell, Fabian Gomez and Brandt Jobe.
"I hit the ball consistently where I had to be, giving myself flat putts," he said. "I was lucky my putter heated up -- 'Black Magic' I call her -- she made her way back in the bag this week so she'll be in there for a while now."
Smith, who will play in this week's Soboba Classic in San Jacinto, Calif., had trouble putting into words what it meant to win for the first time in his rookie season.
"The first thing that comes to mind is all of the hard work and everything I've done to get to this point," said Smith, a former two-time All-America at Duke. "To be able to come through in the clutch like that is the best feeling in the world."
Smith was part of a Duke team that won the 2005 ACC title for Rod Myers, the legendary coach who died two years later after a long battle with leukemia. What made that ACC title so special was it was Duke's first in 36 years and was the only ACC title that Myers won as a head coach. Smith graduated from Duke in 2006.
Smith started the WNB Golf Classic well back at No. 78 on the money list, but his outlook on the rest of the season quickly changed after the victory. Now, with one or two more good weeks during the last part of the season he could earn his PGA TOUR card for 2011.
On his final hole Sunday all Smith needed was a two-putt from 35 feet for the win. Instead, he wound up making the birdie putt for his first victory since the 2007 NGA/Hooters Capital Chevrolet Classic.
Smith has never played in a PGA TOUR event as a pro, but did qualify for the U.S. Open in 2004. He never played in a Nationwide Tour tournament until this year after spending most of his pro career on the U.S. mini-tours. He spent the 2009 season on the European Challenge Tour.
Smith picked a good time to get hot because at this week's tournament in his native California 59 of the top 60 on the money list are entered along with 95 of the top 100 players.
What made Smith's win more remarkable was he only had one top-10 finish in his previous 22 tournaments. He tied for ninth at the Mexico Open and in his previous three tournaments before the WNB Golf Classic he had missed the cut, tied for 49th and tied for 25th.
Smith's win was good enough for $94,500 and was the largest payday of his career.
"This is my greatest accomplishment," he said. "I feel like I'm good enough to play on the PGA TOUR .... If I make it to the PGA TOUR at the end of the year I know I'll be better equipped."
John Dell has covered golf for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina for the last 17 years. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.
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