THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609120540
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 76 lines
With $1,574,799 already this season, Phil Mickelson has his eyes set on finishing atop the PGA Tour's money list.
Carl Paulson's goal is more modest: He just wants to finish No. 125th on the list.
With seven weeks remaining in the PGA Tour season, Paulson has $82,597 in official earnings, ranking him 159th. Should he fail to finish in the top 125, he'll be forced to return to the PGA Tour's Qualifying School to earn the right to stay on the tour full-time next year.
If his game continues to improve over the next six weeks as it has in the last two months, Paulson, 25, could avoid Q School.
The stretch run begins today at the Quad Cities Open where Paulson, a former Group AAA state champion while at Virginia Beach's First Colonial High School, will have the advantage of playing in a tournament the Mickelsons and Pavins of the world will be skipping.
With the Presidents Cup taking place this weekend, two dozen of the game's biggest stars will be in Manassas, Va., for three days of team and individual match play as the U.S. takes on Team International.
Paulson, however, doesn't know if there's any advantage in that.
``We had 50 of the world's best golfers at the Canadian Open last week and Scott Dunlap shoots 15-under for the first two days and has 'em all beat,'' said Paulson, resident touring pro for Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club in Virginia Beach. ``Who's heard of Scott Dunlap? There are too many Scott Dunlaps out there, needing to break through.''
Few, however, are playing with as much marked improvement as Paulson.
After failing to make the cut in 14 of the first 18 tournaments he entered this season, Paulson has made six out of the last seven, earning over 80 percent of his seasonal take over a two-month period.
Paulson posted a season-best finish at the rain-shortened Canadian Open last week, finishing tied for 12th and earning $31,500 after rounds of 67-72-70.
The Canadian Open marked the third week of a nine-week stretch in which Paulson will play in every event on the schedule.
After Quad Cities, the PGA Tour winds down with the B.C. Open, the Buick Challenge, the Las Vegas Invitational, the Texas Open and the Walt Disney Classic.
The PGA Tour Championship, the regular season's final event, is limited to the top 30 players on the money list.
``I'm looking at it like anyone who has a job and a deadline,'' Paulson said. ``I'm under some restrictions and have got to get it done.
``It's within grasp. I'm playing real well now. Maybe I have a knack for playing better when my back's against the wall.''
To put Paulson's task into perspective, he's $47,151 behind Charlie Rymer, who is holding down the No. 125 spot. A solo fourth-place finish at this week's Quad Cities is worth $48,000. Solo third earns $68,000.
``I'm in a lot better shape this season than I was last year,'' said Paulson, who had to tie for seventh in the Disney a year ago to earn a final paycheck of $31,276 and finish No. 183 on the money list with $64,501. ``Last year at this point I didn't have a chance.''
Paulson is talking about playing in Palm Springs, Calif., for a month prior to next year's tour start, figuring that could be the solution to his early season blues. He'd be able to acclimate himself to the California weather in preparation for the tour's West Coast swing.
Plus . . .
``Being in Virginia in the wintertime it's just too damn cold,'' Paulson said. ``Particularly this past winter. Even if I wanted to practice, I couldn't. There's a difference between could and didn't and wanting to and can't.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Carl Paulson hopes to be one of the top 125 players who earn the
right to stay on the tour next year.
Chart
Paulson's Drive Toward the Top 125
For complete information see microfilm by CNB