Stankowski's random Twitter decision pays off at Disney

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Stankowski met his caddy for the Children's Miracle Network Classic on Twitter.

It was a leap of faith.

Certainly not the first one in Paul Stankowski's life. Just the latest.

And quite possibly the most intriguing.

He picked up a caddy for the week... wait for it... on Twitter.

Seriously.

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Stankowski, you see, started out as the 11th alternate for the Children's Miracle Network Classic and it just wasn't fair to ask his regular caddie, Mike Mollet, to fly across the country and hang around on a what-if. So he reached out to one of his tweeps -- Orlando resident Matt Olsen -- who had offered to caddie for him in the area. For free.

By Monday, things were looking good for Stankowski and Olsen -- @T_Setter on Twitter -- was booked for the week. Why didn't Stankowski just use a part-time PGA TOUR caddie? They want the assurance of a full week. Alternates can't promise that.

@PaulStankowski Orlando bound. 2nd alternate. Hoping a few of the senior tour guys in the field decide to go get their PSA checked or something like that.

Stankowski did have one of those "holy crap" moments before they met in the Disney parking lot. What if the guy walks through lines? What if he stands in the wrong place?

"It was random, but, you know what? I've brought friends out to caddie for me before,'' Stankowski said. "I knew I would have to talk him through some things. But, yes, I was nervous.''

But he knew Olsen had made a similar offer to Lee Janzen and that Olsen knew Jonathan Byrd from Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Clemson. So he pressed on.

All the way to a closing 66, a top-20 finish at CMNC and a bump up to 137th on the money list. Yes, that still means a trip to q-school finals, but every step up the ladder is a good one for a guy who has struggled with injuries -- surgeries on both shoulders, two surgeries on his right hand -- over the past eight years.

Stankowski has been pain-free for two years now and has relied on his strong faith to help him smile through the good and the bad. And get him through the rare weeks when he has a tweep or buddy on the bag.

He's a hands-on player anyway, so he just works a little harder when he has a friend on the bag. He does his own clubbing and yardages and reads his putts.

"When I bring a friend out, I don't really trust them,'' Stankowski said. "I just went in trying to be patient with (Olsen). There's so much stuff going on during a round, it's easy for someone to panic.''

Most of his friends need six to eight tournaments to feel comfortable when they caddie, so he wasn't expecting a lot from Olsen. He did the job. Cleaning clubs, fixing divots.

"A few times, I could see he wasn't sure on the greens,'' Stankowski said. "He stopped and looked around and figured it out."

And, once he knew what Stankowski's favorite breakfast order -- sausage, egg and cheese sandwich -- was from the caddie truck? He was waiting with a pair of them each morning.

"That alone made him a great caddie,'' Stankowski laughed.

The last two seasons have been difficult for Stankowski, whose last win came at the 1997 United Airlines Hawaiian Open. He's gone back to q-school both years and found himself in the 126-150 world where he never knows where he'll be playing. He got in 18 events this year, but a few left his head spinning.

After finishing up The McGladrey Classic, he was flying to the Frys.com as second alternate -- Jacksonville-Dallas-San Jose. He got in and tied for 18th. Then there was the five-state trip last spring. An alternate for the Zurich Classic, he flew from San Francisco to Dallas to do his laundry and see the family. Then he flew to Tallahassee and drove to Valdosta, Ga., for a Nationwide event. Wednesday morning, he finds he's in Zurich and he and Mollet drive to 467 miles to New Orleans.

Frustrating? You bet. And not just on the course. He can't make plans with wife, Gina, or 8-year-old Katie and 11-year-old Josh. "I leave telling them I might be back in a week, I might be gone three,'' he said. "That's hard for a dad.''

What's made it easier is working with a new coach this year -- Mike Abbott. After spending time with Abbott in Cabo -- he's moving to Dallas -- Stankowski had four good tournaments in a row earlier in the year.

"From the first lesson,'' he said, "I was blown away.''

He sees improvement in his stats, too. If you didn't know any better, he said, just looking at them, you'd swear he was safely inside the top 100.

It sounds hokey, he said, but "it's been one day at a time this year.'' He feels like he's close to where he wants to be, close to playing the way he needs to in two weeks. His tweets -- and life -- are peppered with Bible verses, pictures of the kids and positive messages.

No matter what happens, Stankowski is confident he'll walk into 2011 ready.

For a good season or another leap of faith.

This time around? Well, he's still laughing about hiring a caddie on Twitter. "Has to be the first time, doesn't it?"

Indeed, we believe it was. This whole gig was a leap of faith for Olsen, too. He'd been downsized from his job just before the tournament.

"And, he had an interview that week that he moved to this week, so he could caddie,'' Stankowski said.

In case you're wondering, Stankowski didn't accept Olsen's offer to do it for free. He paid him standard rate, which meant Olsen collected about $4,000 for the week.

It turned out to be a great week all around. Not to mention a random moment in Twitter history.

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM and can be reached at melaniehauser@gmail.com. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.