Rookie McGirt brings new confidence to Fall Series

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

McGirt was the final player to qualify for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup at No. 125.

A few weeks ago, William McGirt found himself walking the line.

The autograph line.

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He was just loading his car. But every time he made the roundtrip from the TPC Boston locker room to the parking lot, a new bunch of kids were waiting with programs, flags, tickets, whatever. And, yes, they wanted his autograph.

Another week, another new experience. McGirt chuckled.

Yep, he signed them all.

"I signed anything that was put in front of me,'' said the 32-year-old rookie. "It's something I decided I'd do. As a kid I was snubbed a few times and I knew how it felt.''

One more thing. His signature is legible. Not just two initials and lines.

"One thing I wanted to make sure of is they could read my signature,'' he said. "Why are you going to take the time to sign something if they can't read it when you hand it back?

"At the Deutche Bank (Championship), I handed a flag back and the lady said, 'Hey, this is the first one I can read.' The flag was full.''

A little thing? Maybe. But McGirt knows that each piece of this PGA TOUR puzzle has a point and a purpose. Like his brain coach Dr. Morris Pickens preaches, "Play every round, every shot, every tournament for all its worth."

McGirt has done just that this year. His rookie year. After six years playing every mini-tour imaginable and a year on the Nationwide Tour, McGirt has embraced his first season in primetime. And, while it hasn't been without its bumps and bruises, he's heading into the Fall Series with a new-found celebrity and a solid chance to keep his card.

Chances are you couldn't have picked McGirt out of a lineup a month ago. You'd figure he was from the Carolinas when he spoke, but other than that? Not really.

He had missed 13 of 25 cuts and was ready to head from the Wyndam Championship in Greensboro to Knoxville for a Nationwide event when Justin Leonard missed a putt and McGirt grabbed the final spot in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. People noticed.

Then he played so well at The Barclays, he made it to the Deutsche Bank. More people noticed. Don't forget about his wife, who once went four months seeing him just 8 days during the stretch, signaling his position -- he needed to move up one spot -- from the gallery, too.

He didn't make it past Boston, but he didn't stop playing. Last week, he played anyway, finishing T42 at the Albertsons Boise Open. Now, it's four huge weeks in a row, starting at this week's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

McGirt enters this stretch run at 137th on the money list. By the end of it, he hopes to be nestled inside the magic top 125 -- hey, 125th will do -- and planning his 2012 schedule.

"It's more excitement than anything,'' he said before heading out for a practice round. "If you go into it dreading it, you're setting self up for failure. I've gone in embracing it every week. "

So why change it? When he did forget that for a bit earlier this year? He had to snap himself back.

Like every rookie, McGirt has faced the challenge of having just a day or two to learn new courses. He'd only played five of the courses on the PGA TOUR schedule prior to this year, so since he had the chance to get to Vegas early? He jumped on it, arriving at TPC Summerlin last Thursday afternoon. Of course, that came on the end of a Boise-Vegas-Atlanta-Vegas trip, so... he's pacing himself.

He might just play nine holes today. Depends. The point is, he finally has the luxury. Good planning.

"I kind of struggle with desert golf, mountain affect,'' he said. "At altitude the ball goes so much farther out here. All of a sudden you're hitting irons, 20, 25 yards longer."

And there's the terrain. "When I miss fairways at home, I'm in trees,'' he said. "When miss them here, you're down in the rocks with rattlesnakes and scorpions."

This season has been an adventure. His game has been thisclose and this . . far. . away. He's embraced it all and one reason is Sarah -- the two met at Wofford College and have been married seven years -- has, for the first time, been traveling with him.

"Last year she was still working and I couldn't wait to get home,'' McGirt said. "Now, we go home and after two days we're ready to go again. We've both had a blast."

Sometimes it has been little things, other times, big things like playing -- and winning -- a pro-am with Carlton Fisk as a partner or watching buddy Keegan Bradley throw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game. Yes, McGirt is a serious fan, too.

"I went to a game up there seven or eight years ago and I was hooked first trip up,'' he said. "Been a huge Red Sox fan since. It's just the whole atmosphere. Everyone is so into the game.''

And Bradley? "I could see him the whole time,'' he said. "I told (the people he was sitting with) he's so nervous. It would be easier for him to hit a 6-footer for par than throw out this pitch.''

He was right.

This year, McGirt has made an effort to play practice rounds with veterans like David Duval, Jerry Kelly and Rory Sabbatini. He likes to pick their brains and learn. "You can't,'' he said, "put a price on that."

Until the Playoffs, McGirt's season was up and down. The best example was at the Waste Management Phoenix Open where he made his first PGA TOUR cut. He was looking at a top-10 finish, too, until the last two holes. And two 3-wood shots.

At the 17th, he wanted to get it in front of the green and hit the perfect shot. "Then it bounces left, really hard, rolls off the green and off the front left part into the water,'' he said.

At 18, the 3-wood doesn't turn over. "So I fall from right around top 10 to 24th and ended up making half what I would have if par-par,'' he said.

"...The thing is, I've played a lot better every single week than where I finished and how I've scored."

What cost him at Deutsche Bank? A triple at the 14th in the final round. His tee shot hit and bounced into the rough. The marshal moved to avoid it and they never found the ball.

McGirt, who has only skipped one tournament he's been eligible for this year, can't do anything about the past, but he can bear down on his future. Four weeks, four chances to work his way into the top 125.

"Going in, I know what I need to do,'' he said. "I probably have to make little over $200,000, but that's just one good week out here. If can play well for a couple weeks, then everything will be fine.''

He's already entered q-school, just in case. He's prepared. But, like last year when he skipped a stage, he's hoping to make a nice call at the end of the year.

"Trust me, nothing more that I would enjoy than calling the TOUR office and saying, 'Hey, I need a refund.'

"I know how much I enjoyed calling them last year for a $500 refund. I'd love to call them for a $5,000 refund.''

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. Follow her on Twitter @melaniehauser.