Kevin Streelman right at home at TPC River Highlands

CROMWELL, Conn. – Another round at TPC River Highlands, his 47th, was in the books, and another one colored red (3-under 67), his 35th, offered confirmation that Kevin Streelman had continued his love affair with the Travelers Championship.

Which may not have seemed to be a perfect segue into an anniversary story, but Streelman smiled and followed along. It was 20 years ago when he graduated from Duke and packed his car to go play the Dakotas Tour.

And just how many people were in the parade of believers seeing him off?

“Zero,” said Streelman. “Especially at that point in my career. I was a 22-year-old knucklehead who had some things to figure out in my life, for sure.”

OK, so there were supporters. His parents, Dennis and Mary Lou. They believed. Dennis especially gave thumbs-up, for good reason. Twice he was drafted as a young man, first by Major League Baseball, then by something that wielded more power – the U.S. Government.

“He went to Vietnam, instead,” said Kevin Streelman. “So, he never got a chance to pursue his dream.”

Thus, when 22-year-old Kevin Streelman, who arguably was only the third- or fourth-best player on his Duke team, said he was taking the plunge into pro golf, Dennis Streelman cheered loudly.

“He told me, go shock the world. He always said, ‘If you get the chance, run with it.’ ”

Twenty improbable years later, Streelman at 42 is running better than ever, arguably the most unheralded story of consistency and long-shot success on the PGA TOUR. At a time when there is a deeper pool of younger and dynamic players than ever before, Streelman has strung together a series of solid finishes in marquee tournaments: T15 last week at the U.S. Open, T13 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, T20 at the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge, T8 at the PGA Championship, T26 at the Wells Fargo Championship.

He’s 52nd in the FedExCup standings, presumably a lock to remain perfect in qualifying for the Playoffs – 14-for-14 – and while exactly no one in the summer of 2001 was predicting a future of more than $23 million in prize money, that’s the stature Streelman has earned with a decent amount of talent but unlimited grit.

And to think what was going through his mind in late 2007, sitting among other PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournaments, including a thoroughbred named Dustin Johnson.

“I just remember hearing about needing five years to be vested into the pension fund,” said Streelman, “and I’m thinking, ‘Holy cow, I don’t think I could ever do that.’ ”

He was wrong. He navigated through his first five seasons fairly well, then in seasons six and seven he won tournaments – the Valspar Championship in 2013 and his beloved Travelers Championship with an unforgettable performance in 2014.

Eight shots behind as he headed to the back nine that final round, Streelman did the unthinkable, running off birdies on each of the final seven holes to edge K.J. Choi and Sergio Garcia by one.

Years earlier, Streelman’s confidence had been bolstered by another Duke golfer, Joe Ogilvie, who had played the PGA TOUR and told his young friend that he had the game to do similarly.

“Joe told me, ‘I think you have a good chance to make it’ and that stuck with me,” said Streelman. “I think he saw my grit and determination.”

The Dakotas Tour. The Hooters Tour. The Gateway Tour. They may be galaxies unknown to many of today’s young studs, but that’s where Streelman honed his game and kept refueling a dream that others might not have understood, but he certainly felt was reasonable.

“I just always had the drive to be the best golfer I could be.”

He learned on the mini tours and he learned in the caddie barn at Whisper Rock in Scottsdale, Arizona, a job that he welcomed for two reasons – it provided money to travel and play golf and it afforded him the chance to watch brilliant young golfers like Paul Casey.

“He was 24 and had just joined,” said Streelman. “I just used to watch him murdering golf balls on the range. Watching great players, I saw what I needed to do.”

Delightful, how it has all turned out and while Streelman knows there are many more glamorous names that the public gravitates to, he is at peace. In his mind, he leads the PGA TOUR in “Strokes Gained: Not Losing Your Mind,” he said, and if you suggest that he could be a poster boy for golfers who have some talent, oodles of determination and a “willingness to hop in the car and play anywhere,” then that means the world to him.

“I’m very proud of my career,” said Streelman, who knows his career path out of Duke had folks scratching their heads. “But I didn’t want to do anything else. I just knew that I loved competing and playing this game.”