After tough start, Weibring's game, outlook back on track

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COLLINGWOOD, Ontario, Canada -- The Nationwide Tour's grand design is really quite simple. The objective is to teach pros who aspire to greater heights how to handle their business, learn to travel, manage their games and, primarily, win.

Matt Weibring is proud of the way he handled a stressful start to his season. (Boehm/Getty Images)

Inside the Numbers

Weibring in 2008

Event Score Finish Henrico County Open -2 T48 South Georgia Classic -4 T13 Fort Smith Classic -8 T5 BMW Charity Pro-Am -16 3 Melwood Prince George's -8 T9 Bank of America Open -10 T13 Rex Hospital Open -1 T44 Knoxville Open -11 T14

Note: Nationwide Tour starts only

In layman's terms, it is better to make one gigantic splash than a string of successful, yet small ones. Speaking of which, welcome to Matt Weibring's world, the one with ripples on the water rather than resounding crescendos.

By all accounts, Weibring, who didn't make his first start until he Monday qualified for the Henrico County Open in late April, should be tickled pink about his first half of the Nationwide Tour season, one in which he made eight starts, eight cuts and accumulated $117,972 thanks in great part to three top 10s as well as three additional top 25s. He is 20th on the money list and stands to graduate to the PGA TOUR in 2009 should he duplicate his financial success in the second half, which begins today with the first round of Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung.

Still, nothing is guaranteed Weibring, the son of former PGA TOUR winner D.A. Weibring, nor anyone else in the dog-eat-dog world of professional golf.

"It's like my dad always says, 'Play better,'" Weibring said Wednesday, punctuating his father's words with a wry smile. "Consistency isn't always rewarded out here.''

Not unless you're consistently finishing among the top 10, that is. Winning, however, usually is. And winning this week in this pro-am format with a field of 160 professionals and a like number of celebrities and amateurs definitely will be. The purse is $800,099, the biggest offered in the 19-year history of the Nationwide Tour -- at least until the Tour breaks the $1 million barrier in two weeks. The Gretzky champion will take home $144,017.82, a handsome figure that will help construct a stairway to a player's idea of heaven, a.k.a. The Big Show.

It has taken a while but Weibring, a veteran of six seasons on the Nationwide Tour, finally feels like he is gaining on achieving his goal of graduating. The secret to his latest success sounds simple enough. He judiciously decided to get out of his own way.

Weibring knew something had to change about his approach to the game after he failed to make it through the second stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament in 2007. In November he enlisted the help of sports psychologist Neale Smith, an Australian based in Los Angeles.

"I needed a fresh take on things and I needed it to come from someone out of my circle,'' he said.

Together, the pair reached the conclusion Weibring was trying too hard, thereby putting too much pressure on himself. That's when Weibring runs afoul of technical difficulties or, as he is fond of saying, "interference between the ears.''

"I'm starting to mature and learn,'' said Weibring, 28, who played collegiate golf at Georgia Tech. "I understand you're not going to have a perfect round or play a perfect tournament. I used to beat myself up pretty bad.''

Now Weibring is staying in the moment, relying on his pre-tournament preparation and his routine, picking a club, picking a target and making the best swing possible. As a result, he is playing more confidently and more relaxed. And it shows in his performance chart.

There was a time earlier this season where staying in the moment wasn't easy. He was denied entry into events because of his conditional status, making it frustrating for a competitive guy. Weibring practiced and worked out hard, but admits he experienced more than his share of frustration. He broke the monotony by playing in the European PGA Tour's Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in the United Arab Emirates. He finished tied for 55th.

"I made a check and got some good experience,'' he said. "All of the top players were there.''

Weibring wrote a slew of letters seeking sponsor's exemptions, but he didn't receive an affirmative until the South Georgia Classic granted him one the first week in May. That prompted him to Monday qualify at the Henrico the week prior. He shot 64, qualified and tied for 48th, breaking the 2008 ice.

He tied for 13th at the South Georgia Classic the following week, playing his way into the Fort Smith Classic presented by Stephens, Inc. He led through 54 holes, but a final-round 75 dropped him into a tie for fifth, giving him another week's worth of action. A career-best solo third at the BMW Charity Pro-Am came next and after he finished tied for ninth at the Melwood Prince George's County Open he was conditional no more.

"You know, I'm really proud of the way I handled myself early this year,'' he said. "It was frustrating but I was patient. I didn't stress out. When I finally got the chance I was ready to go. I came out and got on a roll.''

That's where Weibring would like to remain although he understands he isn't promised good golf every week. Nevertheless he feels good about his game and that's a place a golfer must be if he is to perform at a high level.

"I feel like I've separated the future and the past and I'm staying in the moment,'' he said. "I'm not forcing anything and I have confidence I will play well. And I don't feel those expectations that create pressure.''