Sim embarking on unprecedented journey

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Badz/PGA TOUR

Michael Sim has two wins and a playoff loss in just seven starts this season. One more win, and he's headed to the TOUR.

The record run that Australia's Michael Sim is currently enjoying was born in the middle of disappointment. Had he not suffered through a final-round disaster in Melbourne late last year, it is unlikely that Sim would be having his finest season as a professional and be on the verge of regaining his status on the PGA TOUR.

Last November, Sim was tied with Robert Allenby going into the final round of the Australian Masters. But a closing 77 dropped him all the way into a tie for 11th and caused him to make a few changes -- changes that paved the way for his unprecedented path of success on the Nationwide Tour.

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Following that performance, he decided to heed the advice of lifelong coach David Milne and place a new emphasis on his wedge game. That's also when he began to work with Angela Pampling, the psychologist wife of PGA TOUR player Rod Pampling, to help the mental portion of his game.

"We sat down and addressed the areas I needed to improve in," Sim said. "My focus was on the No. 1 spot. That was my goal at the first of the year, and I'm well on my way. It's a credit to myself and the guys I'm working with that everything is going in the right direction."

Things have really clicked since for Sim, 24, who may be the hottest player in the world over the last three months. He's played seven events on the Nationwide Tour and another on the European Tour and missed only one cut. His worst finish was a tie for 23rd in Panama. Otherwise he finished third in the Moonah Classic, tied for fourth at the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship, won the Stonebrae Classic, lost in a playoff at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic and won the BMW Charity Pro-Am in a playoff. Of those eight events, he's held the lead in six of them.

His Nationwide Tour numbers are staggering. In only seven starts, he's won $367,417, which is the 16th highest total for the Nationwide Tour for a complete season. There's a gap of $211,136 between first place and second place on the money list -- the largest difference in Nationwide Tour history. Sim is closing in on the single-season record of $495,000 won by Troy Matteson in 2005 -- a mark that could be a foregone conclusion if Sim maintains his average of $52,488 in earnings per event.

But will Sim be around the rest of the year to set all those records on the Nationwide Tour? Not if he wins again. In that instance, Sim would merit a three-win promotion to the PGA TOUR, and he would be the ninth player to accomplish the feat since it was instituted in 1997. The last was Nick Flanagan in 2007.

"I've set a goal to get another win in the next three weeks," Sim said. "That's been my biggest goal."

When Sim set a goal to improve his short game, he ordered a set of new wedges that would reduce his spin rate. They're working. This year, he's hit 78 percent of greens in regulation and has made 44.8 percent of birdie opportunities. He's No. 1 in putting and leads the Nationwide Tour with a 69.0 stroke average.

The result of his work with Angela Pampling is obvious, too. She helped him refine his pre-shot routine, which no longer deviates depending on the situation. "From the first tee to the 72nd hole, the pre-shot is the same," Sim said. "That's a big part of golf, and you have to be able to do it under pressure."

The emotions that close in around the leaders of a golf tournament no longer seem to affect Sim. Winning has helped remove much of that feeling. Seeing his name on the leaderboard no longer freaks him out. The way things have been this year, Sim's presence may now have an affect on his competitors.

"I definitely feel confidence at the top," he said. "That win at Stonebrae really boosted my confidence."

A bad back previously kept Sim from making the full-time jump to the PGA TOUR. He was the No. 1 amateur in the world in 2005, played the Nationwide Tour in 2006 and spent 2007 on the PGA TOUR; although a stress fracture in his spine limited his play and played a big role in preventing him from keeping his card. He now does about an hour of stretching and flexibility work each day to ward off future problems.

If he earns a three-win promotion, Sim will be conditionally exempt for the remainder of the season and fully exempt for the 2010 PGA TOUR. If he stays around on the Nationwide Tour and wins the money title, he'll also be fully exempt for 2010 and earn a spot in the 2010 PLAYERS Championship. He's in good shape regardless.

Now, if Sim could only continue to differentiate himself from fellow Nationwide Tour player Michael Sims...

A native of Bermuda, Sims currently ranks 39th in earnings. The two have played a practice round together but don't really know each other. That hasn't stopped an equipment company from delivering a box of Sims' wedges to Sim's house, though, or prevented a travel company from charging Sim's credit card for one of Sims' trips.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.