Dolch: Chappell emerges on PGA TOUR scene in Texas

text size

Carroll/Getty Images

Kevin Chappell held up well against the pressure and tough conditions Sunday at TPC San Antonio.

There is no hazing on the PGA TOUR, but the rookies still don't have it easy.

Most of them can't get into the top tournaments, they don't get to play the course on pro-am days, their tee times aren't the best and they don't know when they'll get an opportunity to play again.

VALERO TEXAS

Steele edges Chappell by 1
Results, FedExCup points
Final Leaderboard
More on Chappell's finish
FedExCup standings

So when they have a chance for a good week, they better make use of it.

Just ask Kevin Chappell.

He was the top player in the NCAA in 2008 and owns the school single-season scoring average mark at powerhouse UCLA. He earned his spot on the 2011 PGA TOUR by finishing ninth last year on the Nationwide Tour.

Now comes the tough part: Keeping his spot.

Prior to last week's Valero Texas Open, things hadn't been going well. Chappell's best finish in eight starts had been a T42 at his first event, the Sony Open in Hawaii. He had missed four cuts, earning just $55,000 and hadn't made a paycheck on the PGA TOUR since February. (He had cashed for $1,575 on the Nationwide Tour in March because he wasn't getting any starts on the PGA TOUR.)

So when Chappell opened with rounds of 67-73-70 in difficult conditions at the Valero Texas Open to sit in a second-place tie entering Sunday's final round, Chappell knew it could be one of those watershed moments in his career: Does he take advantage with a solid round for a big payday, or does he fall back in the pack?

Chappell did everything but get the victory. He played his first 10 holes in three-under to move into a share of the lead with Brendan Steele, and then matched pars with him until a bogey at the 17th hole left Chappell settling for a second-place tie with Charley Hoffman, a shot behind fellow rookie Steele.

As deflated as he was not to win, Chappell could see the big picture quite clearly.

"It hasn't been a good year," Chappell said. "It is nice to play a good golf tournament and get one under your belt. Obviously finishing second, it stings but I gave myself a chance to win and that's all you can ask for."

As much as winning on the PGA TOUR can change a young player's life -- between the two-year exemption and the spots in THE PLAYERS Championship and the Masters -- finishing second isn't too shabby. Chappell took home a career-high paycheck of $545,600 that vaulted him from 180th into 63rd place on the FedExCup points list and practically assures him of full-exempt status for next year.

He can just about set his schedule for the rest of the year. But more importantly, he proved he can perform when the pressure was at its highest.

"It was just a lot of fun out there today," Chappell said. "Obviously, making bogey on No. 17 probably was the least amount of fun I've had all day. But if you would have told me I would shoot two-under today with the wind blowing 20, I would have thought I would have won the golf tournament. I walked off the golf course with my head held high with a lot of positives."

In a sense, rookies on the PGA TOUR are like children at the holiday dinner table. They are supposed to be seen, not heard. They are supposed to help fill the fields, but it's usually the big names that accept the trophies and pocket the million-dollar paychecks.

Not lately on the PGA TOUR, however. Steele became the third rookie to win on TOUR this year, joining Jhonattan Vegas and Charl Schwartzel.

This was the first time in more than five years that rookies have finished 1-2 at a tournament. In the 2006 Waste Management Phoenix Open, J.B. Holmes won and Camilo Villegas was second.

And with young South African star Schwartzel winning the Masters, it's the first time since 2002 that rookies have won consecutive PGA TOUR events. Those were no no-names, either: Jonathan Byrd won the Buick Challenge and Luke Donald the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

So the year of change continues on the PGA TOUR. In the last seven events, five have been won by players in their 20s, while players in their 30s have been shut out.

Moreover, while only one rookie ranked in the top 30 last year in earnings (Rickie Fowler, at No. 22), this year there are four (No. 6 Gary Woodland, No. 9 Schwartzel, No. 13 Vegas and No. 20 Steele.)

Chappell has no doubt he'll soon join his other rookies in the winner's circle.

"Who knows when I'll get my win," Chappell said, "but it will come."

Ah, these kids.