Bangor native Jesse Speirs said there was a sense of “relief” when he leaned over to pick his golf ball out of the hole on the 18th green at the PGA National Resort and Spa’s Champion course on Sunday in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
He had shot a three-over par 74, but that was irrelevant.
His four-day total of five-under par 281 left him in a 14th-place tie. The golfers with the top 45 scores among the 155 entrants earned the right to play in all of the tour’s events this coming season.
By qualifying through the first two stages for the first time after four unsuccessful attempts, the 29-year-old Speirs had already earned the right to play in a select number of Web.com events.
This past weekend’s tournament was stage three.
“I was happy I did it, and I was glad it was over. I always had the game to do it, but I had never been able to capitalize before,” said Speirs.
He had some valuable moral support during the tournament, which was played over two courses, the Champion and Fazio layouts.
“My brother Don came down from Georgia, and [longtime friend and Greater Bangor Open caddy] Ed DePhilippo surprised me by coming down for the whole week. It was good to have them there. We went out to lunch and dinner and did some relaxing things. It was a fun week,” said Speirs.
Speirs shot a pair of 4-under par 68s on the “easier” Fazio course and an even-par 71 at the Champion layout before finishing with his 74 on a blustery final day.
He had a pair of double bogeys on the back nine Sunday, but he sandwiched a birdie in between them and notched pars on the final three holes.
“I didn’t want to play too defensive, and I did a good job changing up my club selection off the tee. I did a real good job sticking to the game plan. Pars aren’t aren’t going to kill you. It wasn’t easy. I had never been in that situation before,” Speirs said.
“There were some [bad] shots that were simply a case of nerves. But it was definitely a learning experience, and I will build off it and use it going into next season,” he added.
He put in some valuable work with his swing coach, John Tattersall, before the tournament and said, “I’ve received a lot of support from my friends and family who helped me along the way financially.
“Without their help, I wouldn’t be here. It has required a lot of work, but it has finally paid off. There is still a long way to go to get to the PGA Tour, but I’ve got a great opportunity ahead of me next year,” said Speirs.
Speirs is going to take a “week or so” off from the course and is in the process of lining up some sponsorship deals with golf equipment and apparel companies.
The Web.com Tour begins the end of January, and the first five 0tournaments will be in South America, according to Speirs.
This past season, 122 golfers played in at least 15 of the tour’s 21 tournaments.
The top 25 money-winners, including the regular season tournaments and four Finals tournaments, will earn their PGA cards as will the top 25 finishers in the four Finals Tournaments who hadn’t already earned a PGA card.