Leaving the game was best medicine for Lunde

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In a word, Bill Lunde was miserable.

He despised his job and all the interminable hassles it entailed -- the drudgery of airports and security checks, the lines at rental car counters and shuttle rides, time spent languishing on the computer chasing cheap hotel deals and far too many meals eaten in quiet solitude.

Bill Lunde has already banked nearly $40,000 in just two starts in 2008. (Wireimage)

By the Numbers

Lunde's career statistics:

Nationwide Tour Events Money 2008 2 $37,750 2007 1 -- 2005 22 $39,942 2004 25 $114,000

As if that wasn't enough, Lunde was doing something even more troubling, something that made all of the above seem like a picnic in the park with a Playboy bunny on a crisp, sun-splashed day. He was failing at his day job on the golf course, making bogeys in the same manner that an IHOP line cook made pancakes on an all-you-can eat Sunday morning. That is, stacks and stacks of them that became increasingly harder to swallow.

Caught in a vicious circle, Lunde took a giant step back late in 2005. He had gone through the motions at PGA TOUR Qualifying School, just like he had played -- passionlessly -- for an entire season on the Nationwide Tour. Eventually he came to the conclusion he had quite enough of the whole professional golf shebang.

So Bill Lunde, the captain of the 1998 national champion UNLV Runnin' Rebels, changed horses.

"The way golf is, if you're not having fun doing what you're doing, you don't have much of a chance,'' said Lunde, who packed it in after playing in 48 Nationwide Tour events and two PGA Tour events, including the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields. "Every Sunday before I left for a tournament, I wasn't happy about getting on a plane. I couldn't go hit a bucket of balls without looking at my watch. I'd think, 'Okay, that's a half an hour, that's probably enough.' ''

Lunde let out a sarcastic laugh.

"I was doing just enough to maintain playing bad. I was just going through the motions. I was just doing what I had to do out of habit, but I wasn't enjoying it. It was just time to get away.''

Lunde, 32, became much too acquainted with the vagaries of the real work-a-day world. He took a 9-to-5 job with the Las Vegas Founders, the group that runs the PGA TOUR event. That lasted 10 months.

Next he moved to a Las Vegas title company, where a friend was a vice president. A downturn in the housing market soon followed. Lunde's friend mentioned the possibility of cutbacks, where last in, first out carries more significance than it does in Nationwide Tour weekend pairings.

"Me being the new guy, and even though I was his friend, he wouldn't be able to justify keeping me,'' Lunde said. "He let me know ahead of time that I needed to have a game plan. Once he said that I started thinking, 'Now what am I going to do?' ''

All of a sudden a return to professional golf didn't seem like such a horrible option. What's more, Lunde re-discovered something about golf when he competed in a few work-related scrambles or played 18 holes with friends.

The game actually can be fun, provided you don't over club yourself mentally, provided you accept that no matter how skilled you are, you'll never find the center of the clubface with every swing.

The comeback started in May of 2007 with a better attitude, with more acceptance and understanding that a bad hole isn't the end of the world. Lunde made his way to the Butch Harmon Vegas Tour. Feedback was as immediate as it was positive. He won his first event, building confidence that carried him to the finals of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, where he missed making it to The Big Show by two strokes but earned an exemption on the Nationwide Tour.

Again, feedback was immediate and positive. Lunde finished solo fifth at the season-opening Movistar Panama Classic and followed with a tie for 11th at the Mexico Open presented by Corona. He's in eighth place on the money list.

"Those first two tournaments were a good test about where I am mentally,'' he said. "It was a great reassurance that I can compete. I never got down. I kept on pushing. Golf feels natural. So, for richer or poorer, I'm a golfer.''

Now long slights and airport hassles be darned, Lunde is eager to play in this week's HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship and then hop to Australia for the Moonah Classic.

"Here I am,'' he said. "This has been bizarre, but things happen for a reason. I honestly believe I have the ability to stay positive and upbeat now.''

Lunde paused, reflecting on the often turbulent water that rushed under his professional bridge.

"I needed the break, there's no question,'' he said. "I couldn't keep going like I was. I was miserable to be around. For me it was a great decision to take a break and be at home and have a normal life for a while. It puts everything in perspective a bit.

"When I went back out I didn't know if I'd ever play again and when I decided to try it I had a different outlook on things. Having a taste of the real world wakes you up a little bit. You find out how hard it is to make a buck, especially with no job experience!''