DeLaet Keeps Answering The Bell

Graham DeLaet hardly sounded at the top of his game on Monday evening as he spoke from Chicago about the day before, when he definitely was at the top of his game in winning the Sunshine Tour’s BMG Classic in South Africa.

“I went straight to the airport and flew to London, had a four-hour layover there and then, flew to Chicago and now, I’ve got a four-hour layover here,” said a groggy-sounding DeLaet, before leaving on the final leg of his journey home to Boise, Id.

“I don’t know what the flight is – two-and-a-half, three hours to Boise. I’ll be home finally before midnight (Boise time),” he said. “The good thing is I travel so much, I can come up into the lounge, so it’s better than just sitting downstairs.”

DeLaet could have sweet dreams not only of his victory in South Africa, but also about the World Cup qualifier he won with fellow Canadian Tour player Stuart Anderson of Vancouver, but even if he did fall asleep, there was little chance he would miss the plane to Boise.

The product of Weyburn, Sask., demonstrated on Sunday in South Africa that he is capable of answering the bell when necessary. DeLaet finished the second round of the 54-hole event at seven-under, tied for the lead going into the final day.

“It was kind of a sluggish start,” said DeLaet. “I birdied the second hole and then, gave it back on four and just made a bunch of pars.

“Our group – we were playing threesomes – we were all seven-under. There was one guy at six and then, a bunch of guys at five and I thought it was, basically, going to be just between our group all day.”

He quickly discovered at the sixth green that was not the case.

“There were a couple of guys who were already at eight and nine. At that point, you weren’t playing the guys in your group. You have to go out and shoot a number,” said DeLaet, who started doing just that when he struck for an eagle at the eighth hole.

“You get so caught up sometimes in trying to beat the guys in your group, you forget that there are other guys out there who can go out and take it low and jump ahead of you,” he said.

In the end, DeLaet finished 11-under-par at the Glendower Golf Club in Johannesburg, one shot ahead of Jeff Inglis of England. It was his first win on the Sunshine Tour after two-second place finishes and two 12th-place results earlier this year and DeLaet is now a leading candidate for rookie of the year.

Once he catches some shuteye, DeLaet won’t be sitting still for too long. After winning the Canadian Tour’s Order of Merit following a two-win season on that circuit, DeLaet has a pass into the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying school at Callaway Gardens in Georgia, Nov. 18-21.

Then, he’ll join Anderson at the World Cup in China, Nov. 26-29.

After all the success he has enjoyed this season, DeLaet says his season is still building towards a crescendo.

“I don’t really think my season will be complete, to be honest with you, unless I get through to the final stage of Q-school. That’s my main focus, but obviously, I’m playing with a lot of confidence and I truly believe this is the year for me,” he said.

Great expectations follow DeLaet in this country after his outstanding season, but he’s not getting ahead of himself and says he understands the education needed before a player gets to the PGA Tour.

“Obviously, going in, I want to get my PGA Tour card, but if I did get a Nationwide Tour card, it wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. It’s one more year of preparation,” he said.

“You can always play your way on to the PGA Tour from there. A lot of guys tend to have more success when they get their PGA Tour card off the Nationwide Tour, but obviously, I’d like to go straight to the tour.

“I truly feel like I can play out there week in and week out, but I’m patient,” he said. “If for whatever reason it doesn’t happen this year, it’s going to be really disappointing, but I’ll just try to keep improving and, hopefully, next year it will happen.

“If not, some guys, it takes longer to get out there and, obviously, I wish that I could have been out there by now, but I’ve learned a lot playing the Canadian Tour and traveling abroad,” he said.

“Winning on the Canadian Tour or Sunshine Tour isn’t like winning on the PGA Tour, but it’s still winning and being in the position come Sunday afternoon, being there more and more, it gets easier every time, so hopefully, I’ve learned to close the deal when I’m in contention.

“I’ve matured a lot as a player in the last couple of years as well and I’m not playing as aggressively as I used to play. I think my way around the course a lot better than I used to. I still have to get a little bit better at managing my emotions, but that’s also slowly improving.”

It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to expect DeLaet to at least be playing on the Nationwide Tour next year, but whatever happens, he will stay busy. After the trip to China, it looks like he will be heading back to South Africa for a couple of co-sanctioned events between the European Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Even though they are limited fields, DeLaet believes he has a pretty good chance of getting into the Alfred Dunhill Championship and South African Open just before Christmas on sponsor exemptions.

With that schedule, it’s little wonder why DeLaet is used to catching his zees in airport lounges.

Related Posts:

• All Systems Go For Returning DeLaet
• DeLaet Pledges To Pace Himself Better
• DeLaet Recalls Highs/Lows Of Q-School
• Q-School Proposal Benefits Canadian Tour: Janes
• One More Hill To Climb For Matt?