DATE: Friday, October 10, 1997              TAG: 9710100878

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG                      LENGTH:   73 lines

AFTER A 64 IN 1ST ROUND, MAKE THAT "PAY DIRT" HE'S THE GUY HIS FELLOW PROS LOVE TO TEASE - BUT HE'D RATHER BE FISHING

The nickname has undergone a multitude of restructuring. Upgrades have included ``Dr. Dirt' as well as ``Commander in Chief of All Dirt.''

But Brad Bryant still answers to ``Dirt.'' He has since fellow PGA Tour pro Gary McCord stuck him with that handle 18 years ago.

And he's proud of it.

``McCord thought I looked like a character on a gasoline commercial,'' said Bryant, who at the time was driving a supercab pickup with a hitch trailer and often looked like he'd slept in his clothes. ``I guess you could say I was out of touch with country club America. Now everybody's driving sports utility vehicles and smoking cigars. Maybe I'm a trend-setter and don't know it.

``Out here, if you get a nickname it means you're accepted and liked, and they think you'll be around for a while. I've just been around longer than they thought I'd be.''

Long enough to turn that nickname into a business deal. Bryant, 42, was sporting a patch on his shirt Thursday that read ``DIRT Bros. Quality Product.''

Seems while Bryant was working deep into what has become a 20-year playing career, there were three guys in the Northwest who tripped over a business idea.

Back in the mid-1980s, one of the threesome was down on his luck. The other two took him fishing. During the trip, they vowed that they were dirt brothers, because no matter how down on their luck one was, the others were there for him. So they made hats that read Dirt Brothers. People started stopping them on the street and asking what it meant and asking where they could get them.

One thing led to another and they started producing T-shirts. Now, they're working on a line of golf shirts.

Along the way, the Dirt Brothers decided they needed Dr. Dirt in their camp. Particularly since he still lives up to the nickname.

As Bryant sat down in the interview room Thursday after an opening 64 in the Michelob Championship at Kingsmill and bit into a sandwich, a tournament volunteer handed him a towel. It's standard practice. After coming into an air-conditioned media room from the heat, many players like to drape the towel over their shoulders to maintain body heat.

When informed, Bryant said, ``Oh good, I thought I might have some tuna fish on my mustache or something.''

There's a motto that goes with Dirt Brothers clothing: You can't be a Dirt Brother unless you help other people.

``Laugh hard, hang tough and lend a hand. That's a Dirt Brother,'' said Bryant, who has created a charity organization called the ``Lend a Hand Foundation.''

He is hoping his involvement with Dirt Brothers earns enough money for an early retirement.

``I've got two boys, 6 and 4, at home,'' said Bryant, who lives in Windermere, Fla. ``And I love to fish.''

Retirement, however, might be a little different for Bryant than what the average Joe envisions. He would like to curb his number of tournaments to 15 a year, selecting only the ones with good fishing holes.

His fishing exploits identify him on tour almost as much as his nickname.

Almost.

``I remember I was at the Tournament of Champions one year, and Ben Crenshaw was talking with a few guys in the locker room about how I'd turned into a really good golfer,'' said Bryant, whose only tour victory came at the 1995 Disney/Oldsmobile Classic. ``Steve Elkington was walking by right at that moment and said, `He's just a fisherman with a good golf swing' and kept walking. Never broke stride.''

Bryant's just too easy a target.

``I never get into it with 'em,'' he said of the friendly jabs. ``I'm just a dart board. Everything sticks. I can't fire back. I just take it and smile.

``My wife describes me as unpretentious. I'm just a gold ol' boy who ain't a redneck.''

Evidently, God made Dirt.

And Dirt don't hurt.

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