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By Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.com Correspondent

Kresge, Kresge, Kresge.

Ciff Kresge won $75,000 at the Canadian Open for his biggest check since January. (WireImage)

You say the surname over and over again, if only because it sounds so familiar. But some reason, you just can't place why or where you heard it.

Kresge, Kresge, Kresge.

Hmmmmmmmmm.

If truth is told Cliff Kresge doesn't mind a little anonymity -- until he does something truly memorable, rather than unforgettable -- on a golf course other than, sort of, well, taking an unceremonious bath.

Kresge and golf, you think.

Wait a minute. He's the guy.

It's the final round of Q-School, 2000. An intent Kresge goes to read a putt. Backs up until it's too late and rinses himself in a greenside pond rather than his golf ball.

See, it is impossible to write about Kresge, a 2006 Nationwide Tour graduate, without repeating the story of his making a big splash near the ninth green when he moon-walked until he tumbled into a pond.

"Every time I do anything good, somebody is going to bring it up,'' Kresge said resolutely.

It happened like clockwork when Kresge shot 65 and grabbed the first round lead at the PODS Championship.

A few pedestrian queries about his round set up the inevitable.

"Um Cliff, you had something happen at Q-School a few years ago, how much have you been asked about it?''

Imagine that sort of claim to infamy sticking to you like industrial strength adhesive tape. Kresge would love nothing more than create some bigger and better memories in his fourth full season on the PGA TOUR.

Until then he'll answer the question patiently and provide a soggy-side-up, happy ending to the accidental dunking story. Kresge toweled off as best he could, slipped on his rain suit, gathered himself and qualified for his rookie season in The Big Show with three shots to spare.

"If that thing did anything, it hardened me a lot,'' Kresge said. "I just was determined to not let the fact that I fell in the water keep me from getting my card. For once in my life, I really didn't get in my way. I stepped on the gas and played the last nine holes like you are supposed to.''

Despite the fact that he is 38 and a veteran of 16 professional seasons, Kresge is, in many ways, a work in progress. Unlike so many of his peers, no one in Kresge's family played golf. And unlike so many of his peers, Kresge is self taught, even to this day.

His introduction to the game came when he was 8, when the Kresges moved to Orlando into a house bordering a fairway of the original Dubsdread Golf Course. The youngster started hunting for golf balls to sell. Eventually he started hitting them and a love affair was born.

Kresge attended Indian River Junior College and eventually became accomplished enough to earn a scholarship to the University of Central Florida, where he earned All American honors in 1990. He turned pro in '91 and beat golf's back bushes for more years than he'd care to recall. But he kept working and working until he got his game where he wanted it to be and now he's where he wants to be, competing on the best circuit in the world.

So here's Kresge in 2007, following up on a stellar season on the Nationwide Tour in '06 when he racked up his third career victory at the Oregon Classic presented by the Kendall Automotive Group. He had three other top three finishes and a career-best 14 top 25 finishes in 26 starts.

Kresge parlayed the confidence gained in 2006 with a nice start to the 2007 season, finishing in a tie for sixth at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. What's more, he made his first eight cuts -- with two more top 20s -- before falling into a mini-slump with three consecutive missed cuts.

"I just need to learn to stay out of my way,'' he said.

Kresge has righted the ship, playing the weekend in eight of last nine events. He could be much higher on the money list (111th with $610,896) and the FedExCup standings (105th with 2,700 points) had he been able to finish off tournaments.

A final-round 69 at Angus Glen at the Canadian Open presented by Franklin Templeton Investments represented just his second sub-70 Sunday round since mid-February. He will need to play better on payday if he hopes to maintain his PGA TOUR playing privileges and keep on trucking in 2008.