Dickerson making a name for himself on Nationwide Tour

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COLLINGWOOD, ONTARIO, CANADA -- He is golf's other Bubba.

He's a redhead, not to be confused with the long-driving brown-haired self-proclaimed new-aged redneck, who disdains hunting, fishing and NASCAR.

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Bubba Dickerson had five birdies and an eagle in Round 1.

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And he's a righty, not a lefty, like the Bubba.

That means he's Dickerson, not Watson. But Dickerson would gladly trade places with that other guy who grew up with the same nickname each received as children.

That's because Watson, who hails from the Florida Panhandle burg of Baghdad, works on the PGA TOUR. Jacksonville's Dickerson, on the other hand, has plied his trade on the Nationwide Tour for the majority of his six-year professional career. Save for the heartbreaking season of 2006, when Dickerson earned his way onto the PGA TOUR through the rigorous PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament only to finish 127th on the money list, just two places and $10,000 short of maintaining job security.

Dickerson may not be new, but his results from 2008 indicate he is improved, so much so that he is likely to be in the Nationwide Tour's race for "The 25," and a second trip to the PGA TOUR, until the very last putt falls in November. That would give the PGA TOUR all sorts of opportunities to coin new slogans on the order of "Two Bubbas Are Much Better Than One.''

"I do get confused with Bubba a lot, surely because of the name,'' Dickerson said, smiling. "But that usually ends when people see me set up to the ball and yell, 'Aren't you supposed to be left-handed?'

"But he's up there and I'm here. That's the way it is.''

Getting "up there'' certainly is Dickerson's goal and he took another small step toward achieving it in the first round of the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung. Dickerson opened with a could-have-been-better five-under-par 66 at the Georgian Bay Golf Club, one of two courses in the rotation in this pro-am that features 160 professionals, each teamed with a celebrity or amateur for at least two rounds in the $800,099 event that was delayed for more than an hour by an afternoon thunderstorm.

Dickerson, the 2001 United States Amateur champion, will begin his second round at The Raven at Lora Bay, trailing Aron Price by two shots. He reached Route 66 Thursday in what was, for him at least, a roundabout way. Normally a player who feeds off momentum -- good or bad -- Dickerson was able to put a rocky start behind him. The tournament format likely worked in Dickerson's favor after he three-putted the first hole for bogey and then missed a kick-in birdie from three feet on the second.

"Playing with amateurs relaxes you sometime,'' he said. "You have interaction and help read putts. That puts you in a place where it's like playing with your buddies. So I hung in there and turned the round around.''

Hanging in there best describes the first phase of Dickerson's career, where poor play in qualifying school led to a nomadic life on the Hooters Tour and the European Challenge Tour.

"The expectations put on me were a little too high a little too fast,'' he said.

Dickerson gained conditional status on the Nationwide Tour in 2005. A career-best solo third at the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic led to a 38th place finish on the money list. Then he sailed through qualifying school. He had his chances in The Big Show in '06, but arrived at the season's last event in 125th place on the money list. In a cruel twist, he was first alternate for the event and failed to get into the field.

"That was really bad, but I had my chances,'' he said. "If I started well I'd ruin the tournament on Saturday. I had some high finishes but I was never really in contention. I'd shoot a good round on Sunday and sneak into the top 10.''

The 2007 season was a lost cause as Dickerson as he held conditional status on the PGA TOUR and played the Nationwide Tour when he couldn't get into the bigger events. He made just seven cuts and $99,000 combined in 26 starts. Then he faced the unkindest cut of all when he missed making it back to the PGA TOUR by one shot in the finals of the Qualifying Tournament.

Dickerson then made a decision to return to swing coach Dan Campbell early in 2008. The reunion and some maturity on Dickerson's part started paying dividends. They had split after Campbell moved west and Dickerson allowed a few bad shots hit at inopportune moments to affect the relationship. Dickerson discovered he was still working on the same stuff he and Campbell worked on (specifically keeping his swing on plane in the backswing) so it made sense.

"I grew up a little too,'' he said.

Three top 10 finishes, the last coming in the Henrico County Open where Dickerson held a four-shot lead after 36 holes, are the reason he is well placed to make a big push in the second half of 2008. He certainly started it on the right foot Thursday and was brimming with confidence when he left the Georgian Bay Golf Club grounds.

"My ball striking is now better than it has been at any time in the last five years,'' he said.

It was a formidable parting shot from golf's other Bubba.