He didn’t even pick up a club and start to play seriously until he was 17.

And, yes, it was a heck of a lot more fun than school. But back then -- two decades ago -- Australian David McKenzie couldn’t quite pull the trigger on a golf career.

So, he went straight. Straight to a Melbourne bank where he swore that if he wasn’t a manger by the end of the year, he was outta there.

You can guess the ending.

He started out putting magnetic codes on the bottom of checks -- a batch clerk it was called in Australia -- and then he moved up to a teller. But no farther.

So, he turned pro. And that? Well, it’s another story altogether.

What started as three years as an assistant pro at Werribee Park morphed into a long and winding road that took him all over the world. Two decades of making ends meet and struggling with your game. Steps forward, then back. Your name in fields on every imaginable tour -- the Asian Tour, Australian Tour, the Pro-Am Tour (in Australia), the Challenge Tour, the Canadian Tour, Nationwide Tour and, now, finally, the PGA TOUR.

David McKenzie finished tied for ninth at the 2006 Buick Championship. (Cohen/WireImage)

A late starter? A late bloomer? Take your pick, but at the relatively old age of 38, McKenzie is starting to turn a few heads on the PGA TOUR. The rookie tied for ninth at the Buick Championship, which got him into the Cialis Western Open where he shared the first-round lead with a 66 before closing with rounds of 74-74-69 to tie for 40th.

A rags to riches story someone asked?

“Yeah, but it’s been a 15-year trip,’’ he said. “It’s just been a slow process of just improving, learning to compete on one level, then learning to compete on the next level. So now I’m learning to compete on the PGA TOUR.’’

And to contend. That he shares swing coach Dale Lynch with U.S. Open champ Geoff Ogilvy should tell you something.

“It’s come a long way,’’ said McKenzie, who started working with Lynch in 1990. “I’m very good friends with him and am godparents to two of his children. We’ve worked very hard.’’

A lot harder than he did at times at Werribee where he collected greens fees, sold and repaired wooden clubs.

“That wasn’t plumb,’’ he said. “There were no plums there at all. At that age -- I was maybe 18 or 19 -- you’re always going out drinking and that sort of thing. And I’d quite often arrive on a Saturday morning and only got home at 2 or 3 a.m. and would start work at 6 a.m. So all sorts of fun at that point.’’

Today, he’s much more settled. He won the 2005 Gila River Golf Classic Presented by Wild Horse Pass, earned his playing card on the PGA TOUR and bought a house. And he’s talking about his chances of getting into The INTERNATIONAL and PGA Championship -- not how he’s going to pay bills.

“I’ve constantly, apart from the last two years, constantly been down to having money on the credit card and not having a way to pay it,’’ he said. “I’ve had a lot of people that have helped me along the way, but not necessarily financially. I’ve had friends that have lent me a car to drive around over in Canada and the States, but realistically, I haven’t had any sponsors of any real kind apart from my endorsements with Cleveland.

“I remember a couple of times I’ve had credit card bills of $5,000-$10,000 and then had to get to the next tournament hoping I’d win the money to pay the credit card bill.’’

For the moment, that’s behind him. He’s no longer wondering if he needs to find teaching jobs in Australia and Canada to ensure a regular income. His tie for ninth at the Buick Championship earned him $101,828 and his 2-under-par finish here added another $21,000, giving him $157,417 this season. In addition, he’s earned $8,490 in two Nationwide Tour events.

McKenzie, who was runner-up in the 2004 Australian Masters, played in just 14 events this season, but he’s just happy to be high enough on the radar screen not to have to worry about where he’s going to play every week.

“That’s been the hardest thing,’’ McKenzie said. “The last couple years I’ve played the Nationwide Tour and been exempt or had good status and you pretty much can plan a schedule and know where you’re going to be. .. You basically play as many weeks as you can and get your money up and then you can take all the weeks off you want.’’

McKenzie can take a deep breath now. He’s come a long way from coding checks, a long way from Werribee. He’s a defending Nationwide Tour champion and a PGA TOUR contender.

“For a long time I thought I was good enough to do it, but at 37 or 38, I thought I was running out of time.’’

Instead, he found out here is pleny more in front of him.