Editor's note: Team Allianz player Brett Quigley posted a 2-over 73 during the final round of the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. Quigley finished tied for ninth, 13 stokes behind winner Tiger Woods.

HERTFORDSHIRE, England -- As Brett Quigley contemplated the 2006 season, he gave himself something of a reality check.

Quigley certainly had made a comfortable living for him and his wife, Amy, putting more than $4 million in the bank. After a decade on the PGA TOUR, though, he still hadn’t taken the next step.

“I said, this is my 10th year and I need to start doing something,” Quigley recalled. “Not like practicing harder or playing harder. But I said, I’ve got to get going here. I’ve been out here 10 years and haven’t won.

“I kind of took the attitude that I needed to play better and I think it helped me focus a little more. Like I said, as it just keeps going, it snowballs. I realize when I play well I have a chance.”

Quigley admittedly has yet to win, but he’s repeatedly given himself those chances this year. He has nine top-10 finishes, including fourth at the Canadian Open and third at the 84 LUMBER Classic in his last two starts.

“It’s obviously been a great summer for me,” Quigley said. “I’ve played very well, and I’ve gotten closer to winning so I want to just keep plugging away. … (I need to) keep putting myself in position and hopefully it will happen sooner rather than later.”

The red-hot Quigley finds himself in this London suburb this week, playing in the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship at The Grove. He joins five others here in making his debut in the prestigious global series.

“I’ve been to England but I’ve never been to this golf course, and I’ve never played in a World Golf Championships, so I’m pretty darn excited,” Quigley said Tuesday as he walked toward the practice range.

“This is a totally different (feel). It’s like a major championship. The golf course is perfect. The rough’s long. It’s going to be a good, tough week.”

Ironically, it was a tip from a tennis pro during the Verizon Heritage that helped turn Quigley’s season around. The two talked about the value of being focused on the shot at hand rather than dwelling on what has happened in the past.

“(It’s) being out there and not stressing over a couple of bogeys where before I think I tried too hard,” Quigley said. “Now I’ve taken a more relaxed attitude and know that I can make a lot of birdies. When I have fun or when I do that, they kind of go hand in hand.”

Quigley got his first top-10 of the season at Harbour Town, a tie for fifth, and he’s had eight more in the 18 events since Hilton Head. The former South Carolina Gamecock ranks 13th on TOUR in scoring average at 68.95 -- and fifth in the final round.