Nationwide Tour Insider: Ridings focused on attitude

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Armed with a new, more forward looking attitude, Ridings is finding success on the Nationwide Tour.

Tag Ridings has developed a nickname on the Nationwide Tour -- Mr. Consistent.

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He doesn't mind the nickname, especially the way he started this season in making his first nine cuts with five top-10 finishes. He's currently a solid seventh on the Nationwide Tour money list.

"Yeah, it was a good start, but now the hard part is keeping that up and that's what we are all striving for out here," said Ridings, 35, who will play this season on the Nationwide Tour after spending much of his career on the PGA TOUR.

Ridings says now that he's older the biggest change is attitude. It's something he didn't really focus on early in his career, but now says it's a big reason why he has been on such a good streak.

Instead of worrying so much about a bad shot, he's learned to look ahead to the next good one.

"There are a lot of the young guys out here who think that every shot counts so much but you really can't look at it that way," said Ridings, who has played in 63 Nationwide Tour events with one win, the 2002 Permian Besin Open.

Ridings played a full season on the PGA TOUR last year but finished 161st on the money list. He was encouraged by the fact that he lowered his stroke average, though.

"That really kind of set me up for this year because my stroke average was a stroke lower than in 2008," he said. "And with my swing coach, Mike Abbott, I've just really been working hard."

Abbott, who has been Ridings' coach for the last 15 years, knows his swing very well.

"I can usually call him and tell him what I'm feeling and he'll fix it," Ridings said. "He's like a mechanical guru and has really helped me through the years."

When Ridings, a 1997 graduate of Arkansas, was younger he remembers worrying about earning enough money to stay in pro golf. It was a constant concern and was unsettling at times. Luckily, he says he doesn't have that worry anymore thanks to earning more than $4 million.

Ridings looks around the Nationwide Tour and sees all the younger players and he marvels at their talent. He says that having a better attitude just might help him during the long season.

"You look at these guys that are on the Nationwide Tour and I could take 10 of the rookies and put them in a PGA TOUR tournament and you would be like 'Wow, they can really play,'" Ridings said. "The talent level out here is unbelievable. And I know I can play with them but with a better attitude I hope that gives me a little edge."

Another way Ridings says he'll stay fresh is quality time with his family. He and his wife, Brenda, have a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old, so when Ridings is home in Roanoke, Texas he doesn't grind away too much at practice.

"If I'm home for a week I'll put the clubs away for three or four days," he said. "My 3-year-old still likes to be carried around to places so they both keep us busy. But it's a lot of fun."

Ridings also likes the fact that he can recharge his competitive batteries.

"The family time is important and I've made a good living in golf and we've never over-spent so in that regards I'm very happy with the way things are going," Ridings said.

Since turning pro in 1997 Ridings has had consistent streaks before, but he says the one he had this season is one of his best.

He tied for fourth at the Moonah Classic, third at the Pacific Rubiales Bogata Open presented by Samsung and ninth at the South Georgia Classic presented by First State Bank and Trust Company. He tied for seventh in his next two starts, as well.

The stats are just as impressive. Ridings broke par 31 times In his first 36 rounds and was a combined 66 under.

With one third of the season in the books Ridings is comfortably inside the top 10 on the money list. But he isn't taking anything for granted as he tries to put himself into position to be in "The 25" at the end of the season to earn a TOUR card.

Ridings' best year on the Nationwide Tour came in 2002 when he won once and earned his TOUR card for the next season. So he's done it before, and now he can draw on his experience.

"I'm very excited about the start to the year and how consistent it's been," he said. "We're always trying to improve on each round but I'm pleased how it's turned out so far. It wasn't that long ago where I was only making about half the cuts in a season so I'm encouraged."

John Dell has covered golf for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina for the last 16 years. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.