On the eve of his daughter's first birthday, Quigley wants to qualify
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
HUMBLE, Texas -- One day he was wearing all black to honor his Augusta National practice-round partner Gary Player, the next he was sprinting off the course and running for an airplane to be there for the birth of his first child.
Two days later, he was teeing it up in his first Masters. And, yes, his wife had to shoo him back onto the plane and tell him to go. Play well. Have the time of your life.
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Brett Quigley calls that week the best of his life. Lillian Sage Augusta Quigley joined the family. He played four rounds at the cathedral of golf. And yes, he smiled through both 76s, the third-round 79 and the closing 75.
Don't even think about asking if he wants to get back.
No-brainer.
Lilly turns one on Friday, and dad would like nothing more than present her with that first trip to Augusta. Forget that she would consider smashing her face in a cake more fun. She's not even sure what mom Amy and dad mean when they tell her she's got a new brother or sister -- they'll find out which next week -- due to arrive in early September.
But dad? He knows what next week means. Lord, how he knows.
"It's funny, I came here Monday and saw the condition of the course and really got me thinking about Augusta and the chance to get back there again,'' Quigley said.
So far, so good. Quigley, who's still coming back from knee surgery last fall, threw out an opening 4-under-par 68 in the gusty conditions at Redstone and got himself into the mix at the Shell Houston Open.
It was his second-best start of the year. An opening 67 at the windy Honda Classic led to his only check this year -- a 24th-place finish. He's missed the cut in five other events.
"I think for me, (the wind) makes me focus a little more,'' he said. "Makes me play a certain shot. The more difficult the conditions, the more focus.''
Something he needs right now.
Quigley underwent surgery in September to repair the torn medial meniscus in his right knee. He was back playing two months later and itching to get back on TOUR. Even if he wasn't ready.
"I wanted to come back the end of last year, but (PGA TOUR player) Craig Barlow kept telling me to look at the big picture," Quigley said. "It's hard for me to step back and do that.''
But he did.
It's equally hard for him to be patient now, as he knocks off the rust, and pushes -- like most of the field -- to win on Sunday and get that bonus-final spot in the Masters field.
"I was off for five months,'' he said. "I was joking the other day that I don't take five days off in a year.''
He says the knee is about 80 percent right now, but he still doesn't have full range of motion, which means he's not able to read putts the way he wants.
"It doesn't hurt when I'm hitting the shots,'' Quigley said. "It's sore when I get done. I can't bend down. I can't do a full squat like I want to. It'll be maybe another month.''
Thursday, it wasn't much of a problem. Although he did three-putt the 13th hole, he also "made a few that he shouldn't have made" on his way to that 68, which left him 5 shots behind defending champ Adam Scott and Johnson Wagner.
"I played nice, steady,'' he said. "It's been that way the last couple of weeks, but haven't gotten much out of it. It's been frustrating for me.''
He wanted to win in New Orleans last week but missed the cut. And now, on the anniversary of Lilly's birth, he wants back in the Masters, and there's only one way to do it -- win what would be his first PGA TOUR event.
And, yes, he's putting pressure on himself. Pressure his caddie John "Cubby" Burke tries to ease.
"I always have to try and take a step back,'' Quigley said. "And this is the last week (to qualify) ... But I'll just do what I've tried to do for 11 years out here -- win.''
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