Often billed as a chance to “catch arising star,” the Nationwide Tour also includes those who have fallen from grace. Their stories are often the most compelling.
Thursday in the opening round of the inaugural Melwood Prince George’s County Open, Jay Williamson shot a 6-under-par 66 to tie Jimmy Walker and Jon Mills for the lead. Among a group of eight players a stroke back are three of Williamson’s former compatriots on the PGA Tour — Steve Pate, Scott Dunlap, and Greg Chalmers. Play continues today through Sunday at the Country Club at Woodmore in Mitchellville.
Williamson, 40, a fixture on the PGA Tour for 10 years, is playing his first season on the Nationwide. He won the Fort Smith (Ark.) Classic two weeks ago.
“I’m trying to suck up my pride and work on my game,” said Williamson. “It’s kind of a lonely place, but it’s a great opportunity for me to get back where, not necessarily I feel I belong, but where I want to be.”
Williamson made six birdies and no bogeys. He never won on the PGA Tour. One of his best opportunities came when he led the 1996 Kemper Open after three rounds, but finished with a 79 and dropped to 23rd place.
“I’ve seen you before in other circumstances. This isn’t the way I wanted to see you again,” said Williamson. “When I play the way I did today, it shows I still have it.”
Mills, 29, and Walker, 28, both were on the PGA Tour last year, but made the cut in only nine and six events, respectively. Both have won on the Nationwide Tour.
Dunlap, 43, and the left-handed Chalmers, 34, are two of the more recognizable faces on the Nationwide Tour. Chalmers, who is from Australia, has bounced back and forth from the PGA to Nationwide the last four years.
“It all comes down to the putter, here or on the PGA Tour,” said Chalmers. “I had nine one-putt greens today. That was certainly the difference today.”
With long putter, Pate is in control
Leading the Melwood Prince George’s County Open Thursday morning, Steve Pate chunked a utility wood short of the green and it splashed into a pond. In his younger days, the man known on the PGA Tour as the “Volcano” might have erupted.
But Pate, who turns 46 Saturday, has mellowed. Hounded by a swollen knee (gout) and a balky putter, the former Ryder Cup player has lowered his expectations.
So after hitting his approach into the water on No. 8, Pate calmly followed a wedge to within eight feet and made the putt to save par en route to a 5-under-par 67. It was the first time this season Pate broke 70. He did it using a long putter for the first time in his career.
“I haven’t putted well for four or five years,” said Pate. “If I missed one more putt with that short putter, my head was going to explode, so I took the long one out.”
On his first tournament putt with his new stick, Pate drained a 50-footer for birdie. On the next hole, he followed with a 15-footer. He followed with a 15-footer for eagle at No. 18.
Pate won six times on a PGA Tour and played in the Ryder Cup as recently as 1999, but his fall was precipitous. In the last four years, he has missed the cut in 42 of 61 PGA and Nationwide events.
“If I start putting it pretty well with this long putter, I’ll start taking it a little more seriously,” said Pate. “Another good thing about the long putter, it’s really hard to throw.”
