Matt McQuillanJeff Gross
VANCOUVER - Before there was Nick Taylor and Matt Hill - young Canadians who became U.S. college standouts and can't-miss PGA tour prospects - there was Matt McQuillan.
An outstanding junior out of Kingston, Ont., McQuillan played at U.S. college golf powerhouses Oklahoma State and Georgia, before leaving after his junior year to turn pro. And there weren't many people in the game who doubted his chances of making it big.
McQuillan had at least a couple of qualities you needed in the pro game: poise beyond his years and a swing to kill for. He figured he'd have to pay his dues for a year or two on development circuits before he was ready to start collecting a regular cheque on big boys' tour.
Three years after leaving college, Matt McQuillan would be serving beer for a living.
There are lots of great young Canadian players to root for at this year's RBC Canadian Open. But McQuillan's story makes you want to cheer just a little harder for him.
As it turns out, McQuillan could barely make a living on the Canadian Tour after leaving college, let alone the PGA tour. Every week you'd check his name to see what was happening to the kid many expected to be the next great PGA tour player from Canada and every week, it was the same story: a missed cut or a lackluster finish that paid next to nothing.
In 2006, McQuillan had had enough. He put away the clubs and grabbed a serving tray at a restaurant called Forno. But a couple of years of doing that convinced him to give the golf thing another try.
"It made me realize that golf wasn't such a bad life," McQuillan said on the driving range of Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, where the Open is being staged.
McQuillan went back on the Canadian Tour and played other mini tour events with mixed success before he decided to take what he calls a "shot in the dark," and go to PGA Tour qualifying school last fall. Miraculously, he survived all three stages and ended up tied for 16th to get his card. After eight long years, he'd finally made it.
But he wasn't finished struggling.
McQuillan missed cut after cut this year before it all came together two weeks ago at the John Deere Classic. He opened and closed with 64s and finished tied for third. He made $261,000, a slight improvement from the only other cheque he'd cashed on tour, one for $12,705.
"It was huge for my confidence," said McQuillan. "I really believe that I'm heading in the right direction. I have a long way to go though, so I'm just trying to keep my eye on the ball."
McQuillan concedes now that he didn't work hard enough on his game when he left college, perhaps content to let his lofty reputation carry him to the big tour. He believes he's now putting in the kind of effort you need to not just make it to the PGA tour but stay for awhile.
McQuillan's journey certainly serves a cautionary tale. He wouldn't have been the first so-called can't-miss prospect to never get a sniff of The Show. Junior and college superstars like Matt Hill and Nick Taylor could end up struggling for years on the Canadian Tour as well. You never know.
Everyone coming out of the U.S. college system has a great swing and can hit the ball a mile. And if those were the only requirements to make it to the Tour then, well, you'd have a pretty crowded field of players. The swing, as it turns out, is the easy part. It's slaying the demons in your head that's difficult.
Canadian Sean Foley, who coaches Tiger Woods and who has watched Matt McQuillan since he was a young Ontario junior, couldn't be happier for the young player.
"With his finish last week his whole world just changed," said Foley. "I mean, Matt was just dreadful for most of his year and was really struggling and then he turned it around. He didn't have a swing lesson or a putting lesson. He just got out of his own way and played golf without conflict. Now the rest of the season has opened up for him."
Maybe Matt McQuillan knows he belongs on the tour now, that he's only now realizing the potential others saw him in years ago. He certainly knows that he's glad he gave up slinging beer for a living to give golf another shot.
"It's surreal," he said of playing on the tour. "To be able to play week in and week out with these great players is a dream come true."