LAKE BUENA VISTA — Robert Damron has won $368,499 in PGA Tour prize money this year.
But although that kind of cash would thrill most people attending this weekend’s Funai Classic, it’s cause for concern for Damron. He currently ranks 167th on the money list for 2006, and he needs to move up to at least No. 125 by the end of next weekend to keep his PGA Tour card for next year.
For Damron, the past two months have resembled a sprint, one sustained push to maintain his way of life. On Friday, he gave himself hope by shooting 7-under 65 on the Palm Course, putting him at 11 under after two rounds.
“I must need a little excitement in my life,” Damron said after he closed his second round with six birdies over his last eight holes.
“It’s not the way I planned it. And, to be honest with you, the year has been so frustrating, because parts of my game have been good.”
Just not good enough to ensure an 11th consecutive year on Tour.
From mid-March to mid-June, he played in 10 events and missed the cut in nine of them.
Midway through his round Friday, he seemed poised for more disappointment.
Justin Rose had shot 60 on the Palm Course a day earlier, and Damron said he put pressure on himself to keep pace.
Damron was at 1 under for the day through his first eight holes and found himself needing to make a 10-foot putt to save par on No. 9.
“I’m getting lapped,” he remembered thinking.
But the Bay Hill resident made the putt and then missed only two greens in regulation the rest of the way. He was so accurate with his approach shots that four of his birdies came on putts of 4 feet or less.
For golfers, those are gifts.
How fitting, then, that Damron — a three-time All-American at UCF — will turn 34 next Friday.
Whether he’s in the mood to celebrate might be determined by how he finishes these next two days and how he begins next week’s Chrysler Championship in Palm Harbor, the final full-field PGA event of 2006.
“I’m totally at peace with whatever happens,” Damron said. “If I don’t make a couple of big checks and keep my card, I don’t.”
He said he’s already sent in his money for PGA Tour Qualifying School.
But based on how he played on Friday, he might be in line for a refund.
