Proud Uncle Dana Quigley excited to see nephew collect first

Brett Quigley made it 12 PGA TOUR Champions victories in the Quigley family with his first, at the brand-new Morrocco Champions in Marrakesh over the weekend.

Brett, 50, was making just his second start on PGA TOUR Champions. Paired with Bernhard Langer and leader Stephen Ames in the final round, it was the rookie who fired a 6-under 66 to beat Ames by a stroke.

Now Brett needs 10 more wins to catch his uncle, former PGA TOUR Champions stalwart Dana Quigley, who won 11 times between 1997 and 2006.

There is some serious game in the Quigley family. The chief difference between uncle and nephew is desire to play.

If there is a peg in the ground, Dana Quigley will be there to tee it up. At 72, he still plays every day at his home course, Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. And he has the ironman record on PGA TOUR Champions – 278 consecutive starts.

“I would never miss a tournament,” Dana said Monday. “You kidding, they pay you to play golf? That streak of 278 will never be approached. That took 9 1/2 years.

“I was dead broke when I got to the Champions Tour. I couldn’t get a sponsor. I didn’t have a bank account. Now I’m 72 and I’m playing every day because I love the game. It’s the greatest thing in the world. I get up every day and I know what I’m gonna do and that’s play.”

What Dana wouldn’t speculate on is how often Brett will play now that he has a victory under his belt. While it immediately makes him eligible for every event through 2021, his uncle said Brett likes his life at home and certainly didn’t expect him to approach a schedule anywhere near the one that saw Dana play, for example, all 119 rounds across all 38 official events in 1999.

“He hasn’t really played the last seven years,” Dana said. “He had a hurt leg. … I think he wanted an excuse to stay home. He loves his kids (Brett has two daughters) -- taking them to school, picking them up. To me it would be questionable even now whether he’ll go out and play full time.

“I think if he wanted to play out there he would have these last few years. He just loves being home. I thought for the last 15 years -- and I’ve told him -- he’s the best player I’ve played with. Easily one of 10 best players in the world. You can’t imagine. We just hang out and he shoots 61s, 62s. It’s uncanny. He probably has the course record at all of them around here (West Palm Beach).”

Dana said he texted his nephew shortly after watching him sink a 6-foot par putt to seal his playoff victory in Morocco, his first in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event since the 2001 Arkansas Classic on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour. He offered his caddying services for the 2021 Mitsubushi Electric Championship at Hualalai, the limited-field season opener.

Dana has quite the resume at Hualalai. He won it in 2003 and ’05 and had five other top-four finishes. So he definitely could be of some help to Brett.

“I called my wife and said, ‘We’re going to Hawaii.’ It’s our favorite place in the world,” Dana said. “I told Brett we’d be with him there and I’d be happy to caddie for him. I did pretty well there.”

Dana believes Brett can catch him if he does indeed decide to play more often. He says his nephew has such natural talent and power that he can become a force on PGA TOUR Champions.

“He’s not intimidated,” Dana said. “He was hitting it well past Langer and Ames. He can go long.

“I come away with my head shaking every time I play with him. I’m glad for him that he proved he can win.”