Right approach, on and off course, pays off for Osborn

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McKINNEY, Texas -- Standing just off the fairway on the 564-yard, par-5 ninth hole Thursday, every fiber in Garrett Osborn's being firmly was telling him one thing and one thing only.

Go for it.

Garrett Osborn says he's learned a great deal about golf and himself this year. (Cohen/Getty Images)

Inside the Numbers

Osborn in 2008

Category Total Rank Driving Distance 303.0 yds. 12 Driving Accuracy 63.38% 114 Greens in Regulation 69.98% 44 Putting Average 1.809 106 Sand Saves 42.47% 94 Scoring Average 71.26 66 Money Leaders $129,309 47

Had this been January, February, June or July, Osborn, a professional golfer for all of 14 months, would have given in to temptation. He would have taken a rip with a 4-iron from 228 yards despite the presence of a creek guarding the entrance to the green. His aim was to reach the putting surface in two, make birdie and finish the front nine at TPC Craig Ranch in 3 under par.

But Osborn surveyed his lie and determined it was dicey. And still he had trouble pulling a club.

"God, I want to hit this thing,'' Osborn thought. "Let's go for it.''

Standing by Osborn's side, caddie Emmet Scott patiently waited for his boss' decision in the way a caddie can slow play him without the player even noticing. After Osborn deliberated, hemming and hawing some more, Scott finally thought it was time to speak.

"We can still make birdie if we lay up,'' he said.

Osborn took the hint, reluctantly grabbed a sand wedge and hit it 115 yards to set up a birdie that was the key to his five-under-par 66 in the first round of the Nationwide Tour Championship.

"I took the conservative approach,'' he said.

A pregnant pause followed.

"For a change,'' he said. "That was a big turnaround in my round.''

Osborn will enter Friday's second round tied for third with Spencer Levin, two shots leader Darron Stiles, who posted a bogey-free 64. The rookie is aware of what's at stake. This is a $1 million event with a $180,000 first prize and he must have a high finish.

"It's at that point,'' he said. "I came in here looking to win. There's pressure sure. But that's good. I feel like I perform better when my back is against the wall.''

Osborn entered the 2008 season finale ranked 47th on the money list with earnings of $129,309 in 25 events, a little less than $70,000 outside 'The 25,' the number of players who will graduate to the PGA TOUR in 2009. Osborn, who played his way through pre-qualifying and three stages of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament last fall, would like to be in that number.

"My dad always told me to aim high and miss high,'' he said. "I have dreams, so why not shoot for the stars.''

Osborn laughed sheepishly.

"At the very least I've gotten comfortable out here and that's good,'' he said. "I also have a job next year (for finishing inside the top 60). That's good too.''

His six-birdie, one-bogey effort in relatively benign conditions Thursday painted a vivid picture of how far Osborn, 23, has come in his first full season as a professional. He has been a veritable sponge, soaking up invaluable knowledge in practically every one of the 73 competitive rounds he has played.

"I've learned so much in the last nine months about golf and about myself,'' he said. "I don't think there is anyone out here who I haven't pickup something from, about the game, about the way they manage the course, about the things they do better than me.''

Osborn thought long and hard when asked if he could possible calibrate the angle of his learning curve.

"It's the same as the difference between my freshman and junior seasons in college,'' said Osborn, a quick study who didn't get serious about competitive golf until he was 18.

Osborn averaged 76 strokes per round as a freshman at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and showed slight improvement as a sophomore. The big jump came over the summer and fall of 2005. Osborn returned to UAB and started winning tournaments, rising to the nation's second-ranked player in the first semester of his junior season.

His journey has been exciting and fraught with pitfalls, like the time in 2007 when Osborn attempted to Monday qualify for a Nationwide Tour event. He three-putted from three feet on one hole to make a double bogey and stepped on his golf ball on the ninth hole to make another. That mistake prompted him to withdraw.

"That day was a combination of bad play and bad breaks,'' he said. "I took it on the chin.''

Osborn absorbed the punch and moved on through pre-qualifying and first stage. He birdied the final hole at second stage to qualify for the final stage on the number. He credited his older brother, Payton, who played on the Nationwide Tour in 2004, for helping him avoid the land mines in the final.

"I wouldn't be out here if he hadn't caddied for me,'' he said. "He saved me a lot of strokes.''

So here he is, in the Nationwide Tour Championship at Craig Ranch, near the top after 18 holes. When he arrived here Monday he realized he was about 10 minutes away from Stonebridge Country Club where he passed the pre-qualifying test last September.

"It's like I've come full circle,'' he said.

In more ways than one.