Grey Goose Gateway Tour
Desert Series money leaders
1. Brian Kontak $81,846
2. Ryan Dillon $72,173
3. Kendall Richfield $57,216
4. Mikkel Reese $49,466
5. Chris Thompson $45,917
6. Chad Saladin $43,731
7. Ryan Hogue $42,405
8. Nigel Spence $38,202
9. Jesse Mueller $37,090
10. Chris Botsford $35,027
The Grey Goose Gateway Tour’s Desert Summer Series concluded last week with Brian Kontak once again on top of the money heap with $81,846. Coupled with the money-leading $50,697 the former Scottsdale Community College All-American won earlier this year in the Desert Spring series, it was a “very nice season for me.’’
“The Grey Goose Gateway has been great, and not just from a money standpoint,’’ said the 33-year-old Kontak. “What it’s allowed me to do is, stay home, pay the bills, be with the family and still be able to work on my game full-time.’’
Now, Kontak hopes the consistency he’s built into his swing -- both on the fairways and greens -- will carry through to PGA Tour Qualifying School. That journey into no man’s land begins for Kontak on Oct. 18, when he travels to Dayton, Nev.
“Last year I didn’t go to Q-School because my mind wasn’t into it,’’ said Kontak, who has advanced to the final stage twice (1997, 2003) and ended up with conditional status on the Nationwide Tour both times.
“For one thing, my son Maxwell was born, and I wanted to be around for that. And, I just wasn’t playing all that great at the time.’’
This year has been different, as Kontak has dominated the Grey Goose Gateway with three wins, three seconds and 12 top-10 finishes.
“Without question the big thing for me has been the consistency,’’ he said. “Ever since I switched to the long putter this spring, I’ve been able (to score) because I know I don’t have to hit it (close) every time to make birdie.’’
The Desert Summer Series also produced several other players who elevated their game in hopes of making a good showing at Q-School.
Finishing second on the money list with $72,173 was Ryan Dillon, a pro from Aikens, S.C., who won the final two events of the season. Also making a big splash was former Arizona State player Kendall Crtichfield, who never was out of the top 10 during his last five tournaments -- including his first win as a pro -- on his way to the No. 3 spot on the money list with $57,216.
Kontak, Dillon and Critchfield can only hope their season ends like it did for Joey Snyder III, who last year used the Grey Goose Gateway as a springboard to his outstanding 2005 season on the PGA Tour. Snyder, arguably the No. 2 rookie on Tour behind yet another former Grey Goose Gateway player, Sean O’Hair, has won $860,496 and ranks No. 80 on the money list.
“If I could end up taking a similar route, that would be huge,’’ Kontak said. “Joey and I, we’re both about the same age, and we‘ve mixed it up a few times.’’
But either way -- the Tour or the Grey Goose -- Kontak said he’s looking at his future quite optimistically for perhaps the first time ever.
“Should I already be out there (on the PGA Tour)? I’d say, yes. But, realistically, I’ve had a few things to work out in my game, mostly on the mental side. I think the biggest problem has been I’ve took my talent for granted for a long time, and as a result, I haven’t worked as hard as I should have.
“But playing as well as I have for the past eight or nine months, and working the hardest I ever have, I feel like this is the year that, if it’s going to happen, it will happen. If not, I’m not going to quit because, really, I feel like my game is just getting better and better.’’
Kontak also has one more chance to cash in on the Grey Goose Gateway, as its Tour Championship takes place Dec. 15-18. For the past three seasons, the $500,000 event had been played in Scottsdale, but this year its set for Port Lucie, Fla. -- the tour’s second home after its merger with the Golden Bear Tour -- with a purse that has yet to be announced.
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