For Blanks, future is now -- right now, in LaSalle Open finale  PGATOUR.com Correspondent GLENVIEW, Ill. -- The Nationwide Tour has a catchy slogan that fits it like a golf glove. You've heard the promos. "The Nationwide Tour, where the future is playing now'' is how it goes.  Kris Blanks is among the leaders in greens in regulation this week. (Hunter Martin/WireImage)
That certainly is apropos for its members, the pros with status who are guaranteed entry into Nationwide Tour events during the 32 weeks it hops across four countries and touches base in 23 states in America. But it doesn't hold a droplet of water for, say, a guy like Kris Blanks. "Playing for Your Future Now'' is more like it for Blanks, 35, a former teaching professional who decided several years ago to chase an elusive dream. The final round of the LaSalle Bank Open at The Glen Club on Sunday will represent the most important one of his life. Here's why. Blanks, who has no Nationwide Tour status, Monday qualified for last week's Melwood Prince George's County Open and birdied the 72nd hole to finish in a tie for 25th. The top 25 gain entry into the next event, the reason Blanks finds himself in this northern suburb of Chicago. And this is where his story gets interesting. He shot a 5-under-par 67 Saturday for a 10-under total of 206 through 54 holes. He rests in a tie for seventh place, three strokes behind co-leaders Jason Day, John Riegger and Tag Ridings in this $750,000 event, the richest of the regular season. Another solid round not only will get him into The Rex Hospital Open next week, but also will guarantee a nice payday. If he can parlay this hot streak into $82,714 in earnings, he'll become an exempt player for the remainder of 2007. "I can't get wrapped up in the outcome of one round,'' said Blanks, who played on the Nationwide Tour in 2005 and currently is playing on the Hooters Tour, where he has two seconds and a third this season after he finished second on the money list in 2006. "I'd be lying if I said I won't be thinking about it. "I do have the chance to do some good. I just have to keep the same attitude I've had this year and go out and play the way I've been playing.'' Blanks laughed. Then he shrugged. "But even if I shoot 100 tomorrow, I'll still be playing in the U.S. Open qualifier Monday,'' he said. And should Blanks not fire a good score Monday and make it through to Oakmont to compete in golf's toughest test, he'll finally be able hush his wife Tami, who always asks her husband how many majors has he played in whenever he begins bragging about his exploits. Blanks met the former Tami Dougan while both were competing on the forerunner of the Golden Bear Tour in Florida in the mid-Nineties. She played in the 1994 U.S. Women's Open at Indianwood Golf and Country Club in Lake Orion, Mich. "That's the only thing she trumps me on,'' Blanks said. "And she never lets me forget it.'' When the two pros hooked up, the plan was to get Tami out onto the LPGA Tour and then Blanks hoped to parlay her success into her sponsorship of him. But Tami never made it past the Futures Tour. The pair moved to Myrtle Beach, S.C., where they worked at Wild Wing Plantation for six years. Kris thought he might attract some potential sponsors with his play, but struck out. In 2002 they relocated to Savannah, Ga., where Kris began working at The Landings and competing in the Georgia Section of the PGA of America. A taste of success convinced him to take a shot at Monday qualifying for a Hooters Tour event held in the area. Not only did he make it into the field, he won the event, whetting his appetite for bigger and better things. So on he went to the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament in 2004, where he sailed through the first two stages. But a double bogey on the opening hole of the finals set the stage for his week. "I played like (...),'' he said. "But I made a little run late and got conditional status out here.'' The season turned into a blur of different cities, strange golf courses and stiff competition the likes of which he was unfamiliar. There were many other things for a teacher who pulled double duty in the golf shop. "I didn't really know what it took to warm up properly,'' said Blanks, who was used to rushing to the first tee whenever he spotted an opening at the club. Blanks also was hampered by his status and never was able to set a schedule. His play suffered as he missed 10 of 17 cuts, with a tie for 21st representing his best finish. "I left the tour with my tail between my legs,'' he said. Blanks decided against going to qualifying school in 2005, choosing to play the Hooters Tour in 2006, where he could set a schedule and work closely with instructor Hugh Royer III. "I needed to find out what it takes for me to play my best,'' said Blanks, a quick study who won twice. Blanks broke a rib the day before the first day of the first stage of qualifying school, dashing any hopes he had of giving either the PGA TOUR or the Nationwide Tour a try. But since his parents lived close to the golf course where Monday qualifying for last week's event was, he decided what the heck. Good play got him in and continued good play got him here, to the threshold of the most important round of his life, where Blanks will be playing for his future now. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
