Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

Gillis delivering under pressure

Former CCU golfer on verge of regaining PGA Tour card

CHARLESTON -- Tom Gillis knows desperation.

He's lived it in his career and on the golf course for many years since leaving Coastal Carolina University in 1990.

He may never experience that distress in the game again.

Gillis roamed the globe, playing in 26 countries, for more than a decade as a pro before reaching the PGA Tour in both 2003 and 2005, only to dejectedly return to mini-tours in 2007.

The 41-year-old will officially regain his PGA Tour card today at the conclusion of the $1 million Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island Club's Ralston Creek Course. The top 25 money leaders on the PGA Tour's feeder circuit following the season-ending event earn exempt status on the 2010 PGA Tour, and Gillis is sixth in earnings with $335,000.

"It means a lot considering I didn't have status a year ago," Gillis said. "I went from having [PGA] Tour status in '05 to Nationwide in '06 to nothing for two years. It means a lot to me because there was a lot of hard work and frustrating times involved."

Every time Gillis was about to run out of money between 1990 and 2002, he'd win a tournament and be able to forge ahead. When he figured his ninth attempt at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in '02 would be his last, he tied for 21st at the final stage to qualify for the PGA Tour. "You wonder how long you can keep doing it," Gillis said.

Most recently, Gillis played his way off the PGA Tour in 2005 and off the Nationwide Tour in 2006, and the same old doubts about his career choice entered his mind.

"I thought about it after '06 for about four months when I lost status out here," Gillis said. "I thought about everything. I thought about teaching, I thought about sales. More than anything I sat around and cleared my head for a few months. That's really what I needed to decide if I still was going to commit to it. Did I have it in me to fully commit."

Gillis and his wife of five years, Jennifer, have children Trevor, 4, and Aubrey, 2, and golf allowed him to put away enough money to cover their anticipated college expenses. If he continued to play in '07, he was risking the nest egg.

"I was planning on quitting and my biggest concern was leaving the game with nothing at all," Gillis said. "I had a [financial sponsor] when I played in Europe for five years from '98 to '02, and my biggest concern was losing that money and he knew that. He said, 'Why don't we start over. We'll go again.' So that's what we did for two years."

Gillis said his supporter got his money back this year with a chance to earn more next year.

He credits coach Jeff Leishman for his rejuvenated spirit and game. Leishman also instructs fellow Nationwide Tour winner and veteran Kevin Johnson, and was recommended to Gillis early in 2007 by friend and PGA Tour member Rick Price. Gillis said Leishman gives him a sense of purpose and direction, and believes his third stint on the PGA Tour will end differently, whenever it ends.

"I wasn't the player I am now," said Gillis, who was tied for 18th at 5 under after Saturday's round. "I was searching with coaches and bouncing around [in 2005]. I just didn't have any direction, and it wasn't going to happen.

"... I process things - good and bad - better than I ever have. You're your own worst critic in anything in life so it's real easy to just pile on yourself. I think I got a little bit better at not being so hard on myself and taking a step back and taking a look at the big picture."

Gillis' big picture includes two years at CCU, including one on the golf team. He was recruited from Oakland Community College in the Detroit area by former CCU golf coach Billy Bernier at a tournament in Arizona. He returned to the Grand Strand off and on until the mid-90s while playing mini-tours, practicing regularly at Prestwick Country Club. Current Prestwick pro Jay Smith was Gillis' teammate and roommate at Coastal, and he remains a friend of TPC of Myrtle Beach owner Chip Smith, who formerly marketed Prestwick.

Gillis' travels include four years on the European Tour from 1998-2002, and he's endured chronic fatigue syndrome brought on by a mononucleosis virus that shortened his 2001 season to six events, and a broken wrist in 2004.

He played the 2007 season on the Gateway Tour in Florida, and began the 2008 season on the Gateway and eGolf Tour based in Charlotte, N.C.

"Desperation is doing what I did the last two years. I played under the most extreme pressure you can play under," Gillis said. "I just kept trying to put food on the table more than anything. I got past the point of thinking, 'It was beneath me, or this is mini-tour golf.' Jeff helped me tremendously realizing that just because I'm here doesn't mean that I'm not really, really good. It was just a matter of time before things started turning in our favor."

Gillis took advantage of a sponsor's exemption at the Nationwide's Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship in April with a tie for seventh to qualify for the next week's event. He went on to record six top-20s in nine starts to finish 89th on the money list with $73,000 to earn conditional Nationwide status for 2009.

That didn't get him into an event until May's BMW Charity Pro-Am in Greenville, where he tied for 19th to begin a solid stretch of play that included a win at the Nationwide Tour Players Cup in late June. He later recorded six consecutive top-10s including a runner-up finish. "I felt like I was really playing well, so when [the win] happened I guess I wasn't surprised. I was like, 'It's about damn time.' That's how I felt."

Gillis won just over $400,000 in each of his PGA Tour seasons. He enjoyed the perks at every tournament, fan support and lucrative purses, but that isn't what drove him, or what drives him now.

"The most enjoyable thing wasn't the food and courtesy cars and all that, it was the opportunity every week to play against the best," Gillis said. " When I played out there both times I really enjoyed the opportunity, even when I wasn't playing well."

His approach and goals will be different in 2010. "Your state of mind is different," Gillis said. "You're thinking more positive things, things that are higher up instead of worrying about keeping your card and things like that. My goals are higher than that now. I expect more from myself."