Print this page  |  Close Window

By Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.com Correspondent

The side of a milk carton is about the last place you'd expect to find the picture of a PGA TOUR rookie, at least in the early stages of his first season in The Big Show. But that was about the only spot, besides on page 2-246 of the PGA TOUR's voluminous annual media guide, you could locate the countenance of Michael Sim during the first three and a half months of 2007.

Michael Sim tied for ninth at the Ginn sur Mer Classic for his best outing of the year. (WireImage)

In fact, the first official sighting of Sim, a naturalized young Australian who was born in Scotland, didn't come until mid-April, when he made his first start as a member of the PGA TOUR in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Before that, Sim was at his home in Perth, Australia, where he was recuperating from a stress fracture in his lower spine.

The injury was diagnosed in November, but Sim reckons it happened in late July when he made a forceful swing with a driver while competing in the third round of the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open. He finished in a tie for 29th there and opened with a six-under-par 65 in the Cox Classic presented by Chevrolet before he was forced to withdraw.

Sim had a CAT scan that didn't show any particular problem, so he tried to play the next three weeks but withdrew and had two missed cuts before deciding to go home to Australia for treatment, shutting it down until mid-October.

"It was six weeks, but it felt like a year,'' said Sim, who turned 23 on Oct.23.

But in some ways, it was worth the wait. Sim made his year and earned his PGA TOUR playing privileges immediately upon his return, winning the PalmettoPride Classic in a Monday playoff against Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Ken Duke.

"The week after I won, I could barely move,'' Sim said.

The pain never felt so good though. His first professional victory propelled him to a finish of 19th on the final Nationwide Tour money list, allowing Sim to achieve his goal of playing on golf's biggest stage. But he was not out of the medical woods.

Sim returned to the doctor after heading home in early November. The prognosis called for three months of rest, while fish oil that resembled an anti-inflammatory vitamin was prescribed. A restless Sim waited five months before making his debut in the Crescent City.

"I think I played pretty good there,'' Sim said, pointing to his tie for 18th and his paycheck of $76,680. "Other than that . . .''

Sim's voice trailed off. He waited two months before making his second cut after he got lost in the PGA TOUR's status shuffle, never knowing when his next opportunity to play would come. He just never played enough to find his rhythm or get a fair shake.

Not to say the talented young Aussie didn't have his moments.

There just weren't enough of them in 17 starts to keep his playing privileges, necessitating that Sim compete in the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament if he wants to play in The Big Show full time in 2008. And he'll have to start at the dreaded second stage.

"I believe I'll get some sort of medical exemption, but I'm not sure if it will be major or minor,'' said Sim whose 2007 worksheet showed nine made cuts, one top 10, four top 25s and $399,900 in earnings, good for 162nd on the money list.

Sim earned his 2007 PGA TOUR card despite playing in only 17 Nationwide Tour events in 2006. (WireImage)

Nevertheless Sim, who pointed toward the day he teed it up professionally in America ever since his father first put a club in his hands shortly after the family arrived in Australia, was happy to gain experience that will be helpful when he returns.

"It's all about feeling comfortable out here,'' he said. "Overall it was a great experience and made me hungry for more. The worst part is I was feeling more confident about my game as the season wore on.''

And now it's over.

Sim was a casual golfer until he turned 13. That is, he said, when he became serious. He was a scratch player by 15 and enrolled in the Australian Institute of Sport, where PGA TOUR players Matthew Googin, Brendan Jones and James McLean also attended.

Sim began drawing notice in Australia when he won the Western Australian Amateur and finished second in the Australian Amateur at the age of 17. He zoomed through the ranks, becoming the world's No. 1 amateur in 2005.

He won three prestigious events, the New Zealand Stroke-Play, the Monroe Invitational and the Sunnehanna Amateur, where he followed luminaries like Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods into the winner's circle. He went back-to-back in the Monroe and Sunnehanna, the first player to score that double in successive weeks.

He made it to the Australasian Tour in 2006 through its qualifying school and expected to play there since he opted not to attend PGA TOUR Qualifying School after turning pro late in 2005.

"I just didn't go,'' Sim said. "I spent a lot of time hemming and hawing. Then it was too late.''

His Australasian membership got him into the Nationwide Tour's 2006 Jacob's Creek Open Championship, where he made an immediate splash, losing a playoff to Paul Sheehan in a finish that qualified him to come to America to compete.