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RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Back to defend his title at the Reno-Tahoe Open, a lot has changed for Will MacKenzie since he claimed his first PGA TOUR victory last summer on the edge of the Sierra Nevada.

The rock-climbing, kayaking, surfer who once lived out of his van in Montana and sold Costa Rican hammocks door-to-door in North Carolina has a new car, a new condo in Florida and $879,965 in earnings already this year.

Will MacKenzie has the opportunity to defend his first PGA TOUR title this week. (Getty Images)

"I'd never driven anything but a van or a truck, so now I've got a little sports car," MacKenzie said Wednesday at Montreux Golf & Country Club, about a half-hour from Lake Tahoe.

Despite the bigger bank account, the 32-year-old free spirit from Greenville, N.C., sounds like the same character who shot an opening-round 63 en route to a 20-under-par 268 at Reno last August.

"It's nice to get out West again. I can already smell the sage," MacKenzie told reporters before his practice round Wednesday afternoon. "It's a good vibe for me.

"It's amazing to have been fishing in West Palm Beach yesterday and be out here now in the mountains. My girlfriend and I will probably go to Lake Tahoe one day and freeze our rear ends off in the 60-degree water."

Once a star on the junior circuit, MacKenzie burned out by age 14, hung up his clubs and spent nearly 10 years skiing and snowboarding in the West before returning to the game three years ago. Now, he finds himself unusually comfortable with the notoriety that accompanied his breakthrough victory.

"I want to be known out here," he said. "Whether I have 10 fans or 10,000 fans, I love it. I love to see kids come up and say, 'Willie Mac, what's up bud? Good playing.' Or, 'You wanna go surfing?'

"The state of my game right now? I'm not too sure. I've got a major tweak in my neck," he said. "But I definitely have some goose bumps. I'd like to play well. I'm the defending champion."

MacKenzie became the fourth player in the 9-year-old Reno event to claim their first TOUR victory at the 7,472-yard Jack Nicklaus-designed course, where a $3 million purse is at stake. Vaughn Taylor last turned the trick in 2004 and became the only player so far to successfully defend the title the following year.

Most Reno winners don't return to defend because they qualify for the Wold Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Akron, Ohio, where the top 84 players in the world are competing this week.

The top-ranked player at Reno is Lucas Glover (56th), who also is 10th in the Presidents Cup standings -- a spot that would earn him an automatic spot on the U.S. team should it hold up through next week's PGA Championship.

Glover claimed his only TOUR victory at Walt Disney World in 2005 but he's finished in the top 12 in three of his last four starts and likes his chances this week.

"Nobody has scored yet so everybody's even," said Glover, who is 46th on the money list with $1.25 million.

"You all know how deep the TOUR is," he said. "Even though those guys are in Akron, there's 132 great players in Reno this week."

Jeff Maggert has the most career winnings in the field, ranked 33rd among active players with $15.1 million. Bob Tway is next with $14.9 million, followed by Corey Pavin ($13.6 million), Rocco Mediate ($13.3 million), Steve Flesch ($13.2 million) and Steve Elkington ($12.7 million).

In terms of this year's money list, Jeff Quinney, who has five top-10 finishes this year, and Ken Duke, who has three, rank 34th and 35th respectively with $1.4 million. Anthony Kim, 22, the youngest rookie on TOUR, is 39th with $1.39 million and has four top 10s in 20 events this year.

Tadd Fujikawa, 16, who last year became the youngest player ever to play in the U.S. Open, is making his professional debut on the mountain course at an elevation of 5,500 feet -- quite a change from his native Hawaii.

"The grass is different. The rough is pretty thick and if you don't put it in the fairway, you're not going to be able to score out here," he said.

Asked what kind of advice he'd give a young player like Fujikawa, MacKenzie said, "Keep doing the things that got them here.

"Don't go out and party. Get a lot of good rest because there are a lot of hours spent out here."

MacKenzie said he still reminds himself to try to "keep a balanced head," stay humble and work hard.

"It's easy to get caught up in keeping up with the Joneses out here," he said. "You have to realize that it can be taken away from you at any time, and that you're not any better than anybody else."

Fortunately, MacKenzie said, he's good at scheduling down time, whether it is fly fishing on the Yellowstone River in Wyoming or snowboarding in Alaska.

"I'm really good at doing what I want to when I want to do it," he said.

"That's a blessing and a curse. I always make sure I show up at work and take care of business. But I'm a player. I like to play and like to schedule a lot of time for me to go do the pursuits that I love and enjoy."

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.