Today Rod Spittle will set out to defend his title at the AT&T Championship in San Antonio, his first win on the Champions Tour, and the one that has changed his life.
By now you know his story, a native of Niagara Falls, a standout college golfer at Ohio State who decided to take a job selling life insurance while he raised his family before taking the plunge after a stellar amateur career to try his luck on the Champions tour in 2004.
He Monday qualified and got some sponsor exemptions before his big break in 2007 when he finished tied for second at the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn to win $128,000 and get into the top 50 on the money list for the first time.
But his win in at this event last year gave Rod full exempt status this season and enabled him to plan ahead and the results are obvious.
He has 4 top 10s, a second and a third in 22 events. He has won $691,184 and is No. 19 on the money list, which gets him into the limited 30-man field for the Champions Tour finale at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, in two weeks.
I caught up with him by email and asked him about the change of venue from Oak Hill last year to TPC San Antonio this year.
"The TPC course will prove to be a very fair test, it is in terrific condition and I expect it to be very well received by all of the players.Being a new course, the fairways are a little more generous than Oak Hills and if the wind blows, the course will become very tricky.I am excited to be part of the new venue for the ATT event."
Last year he rallied with a final-round 67, featuring three straight birdies on Nos. 15-17, and won a playoff against Jeff Sluman. I asked him if there was any part of his game he was working on a bit more in preparation for the new course.
"I am always working on my game and working to improve. Particularly here this week, I have spent a little more time chipping and putting. The greens are firm and fast. And as always, the best putter for the week will be the winner on Sunday."
Spittle is just about to tee off, and Jim Rutledge is also in the field.
Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles
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