New Zealand golfer Tim Wilkinson finished just short of $2 million and pronounced himself satisfied with surviving his first year on the US PGA tour.
Wilkinson was 92nd on the money list with $US1,167,607 ($NZ1,974,644), placing him comfortably inside the top 125 players who automatically return to the tour next year.
The 126th ranked golfer won $US841,248 in prizemoney.
In his debut year, Wilkinson easily eclipsed his winnings from the four preceding years on the second-tier Nationwide tour, which tallied $US352,397.
The Palmerston North left-hander told Radio Sport that good form early in the year gave him confidence, while making the cut in each of his last five tournaments swept him home in a stress-free manner.
His late run included a second placing in the Texas Open a month ago and a 33rd in the year-ending Disney Classic in Florida today.
The Texas Open earned him $US336,000 while his biggest pot was $US421,600 from third place in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in March.
He made 17 of 29 cuts.
Wilkinson said keeping his card in his first PGA season was a significant achievement, as debut golfers aren’t eligible for every tournament.
Meanwhile, none of the New Zealanders on this year’s Nationwide Tour have done enough to earn automatic promotion to the PGA.
A top-25 finish on the money list is needed but Bradley Iles was 91st in the final count today with $US70,733, Grant Waite 109th with $US45,887 and Phil Tataurangi 149th with $US19,859.
Waite and Tataurangi are both past PGA tour winners.
Iles and Richard Lee remain in contention to qualify for the PGA via the Tour School.
They recently qualified for stage two of the journey to qualifying school — the route Wilkinson took last year to the main tour.
NZPA
