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As an Indiana native and University of Indianapolis alumnus, you might be think Craig Bowden was all about speed. But despite spending his life in the state best known for the Indianapolis 500, Bowden is focusing more on steadiness as he tries to qualify for the FedExCup playoffs.

The next month will determine whether Craig Bowden makes the FedExCup playoffs. (Mike Ehrmann/WireImage)

After regaining his PGA TOUR card last fall, the 39-year-old Bowden began the 2007 season stuck in first gear, missing the cut in five of his first six starts. He's picked up speed lately, though, having missed only one other cut in his last nine starts, and his tie for ninth in the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee on Sunday marked his best finish of the year.

That ninth-place tie, which earned him a tidy $104,000, also is Bowden's lone top-10 finish on the season. But he's been steadily earning paychecks and picking up FedExCup points in recent months, and is now 160th on the money list with $249,352 and 165th on the FedExCup points table with 943 points. The top 144 players in the points will qualify for the FedExCup playoffs.

In Milwaukee, Bowden showed off his steadiness, with rounds of 66-67-71-69 in his 7-under 273 total. He wasn't near the tournament leaders in many of the scoring categories, but he was second in pars made, with 55. He had five bogeys on the week, but four came in a 10-hole stretch on Saturday en route to his third-round 71, his worst round of the week.

Averaging only 270 yards per tee shot, Bowden ranks 190th on the PGA TOUR in Driving Distance, but he is 14th in Driving Accuracy, hitting the fairway 69 percent of the time. Even from the fairway, his lack of distance puts pressure on his short game. He hits 63% of his Greens in Regulation, ranking him 89th on the PGA TOUR in that category, but he is an excellent scrambler.

Bowden also has proven himself a good closer, as he ranks 41st on the PGA TOUR in Final-Round Scoring Average at 70.63 and owns three career Nationalwide Tour titles. If he can continue his steady play and put himself in better position heading into those final rounds, he should be able to make a real run at qualifying for the FedExCup playoffs.