Needless to Say, Matt McQuillan Could Use This

Matt McQuillan is a 30-year-old professional golfer out of Canada. Admit it, you've probably never heard of the guy. He played at Oklahoma State and then transfered to Georgia. He never finished his degree and turned pro. He got his spot on the PGA Tour this year by knocking out all three stages of Q-School, highlighted by a final round 66.

You're not supposed to know who McQuillan is. But after just one round at the John Deere Classic, he's tied for second place with Davis Love III and in a position to change all that stuff upstairs you see. Yep, that would be 10 missed cuts in a row after making a check in his first event of 2011, and a lonely, lonely feeling.

You see, it's something that touches close to my heart. When I decided to turn pro back in 2007, I signed up for a full season of mini tour golf. You have to send in a big check to do that. The only way you get that back is by earning that money. It's tough.

So I went out in my first event and shot a 68. Boy was I proud of myself. That's a damn good round when you're shaking in your FootJoys for 18 straight holes, and I did that by making birdies on my last two holes. "Hell, this will be cake," I thought. That was, until the next day when I shot 74 and missed the cut by two. And then missed another cut. And another. And another. And then you start forgetting about anything else but that cut number. You slave over it on the golf course. You worry about it.

You think about rent and food and life. You are embarrassed anytime you read a text because you don't want another friend or family member asking you how you did. It eats at you.

That's probably what McQuillan is going through right now. It's eating at him.

But it doesn't have to anymore. Hopefully he can sleep well enough tonight to come out tomorrow and follow that up with a respectable number. Then onto the weekend, and back to just playing golf and not thinking about all the bullshit politics that come with it. See ball, hit ball, smile when the putt goes in.

I'll be rooting for McQuillan this week. I sure hope you are as well.