Brett Wetterich (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Brett Wetterich swung his first golf club at age 2. Dreams of making the PGA Tour followed within a few years. So when he finally made the tour but then suddenly couldn't swing a club, he struggled with this thought: “What's going on here?”

        Wetterich, a 28-year-old Oak Hills High graduate, is back after a wrist injury that sidelined him nearly 18 months. Having regained his PGA Tour card, he is enjoying his finest season and will play this week in his first Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.

        Wetterich's belief that he one day will be a tour fixture wasn't shaken by the injury, and now he's getting results as confirmation of his confidence.

        “I know my game's good enough,” he said. “I've just got to keep healthy.”

        Wetterich has made the cut in four of his last seven events, including a breakthrough performance in mid-March, tying for eighth at the Honda Classic in Coral Springs, Fla. He made $101,500 that week and has totaled $132,350 for the year, ranking 144th on the money list.

        “That's a lot of money,” Wetterich said of the Honda paycheck. “It was pretty amazing.

        “I hear my brothers say, "It takes me four years to make that.' They give me a guilty conscience. But I didn't go out and buy anything with it. It just makes it easier, not worrying about having to make money this week.”

        This is the segment of the professional realm not often publicized. The number of guys like Wetterich — who toiled for six years on various Florida mini-tours, playing for rent money — far outnumber those who get rich in the sport.

        Even those with PGA Tour cards don't all live easy. Having come out of the tour's qualifying tournament, Wetterich is in a group of 50 pros behind the tour's 125 fully exempt players on the pecking order for tournament entries.

        Every pro pays for his own travel and accommodations.

        “For a year, it'll cost you between $40,000 and $60,000 (to travel), depending on your lifestyle,” Wetterich said.

        Wetterich has made 12 events this year. He's in the midst of a 10-week stretch away from his Jupiter, Fla., residence.

        “The travel gets to be a pain in the butt, but I'm used to it,” Wetterich said.

        He earned his tour card for the first time at 1999 Q-school. He had closing rounds of 65-65 to gain the 35th and final spot.

        But in June 2000, Wetterich had to stop playing because of what turned out to be a torn tendon in his left wrist. Prescribed only rest by several doctors, he grew frustrated when he didn't improve.

        Finally he underwent surgery in January 2001, returning in time for Q-school last December. He tied for 13th to earn back his card.

        Wetterich had made the cut just once in his first 16 tour events before he broke through at the Honda.

        “It was a huge confidence-builder,” he said. “I knew I could play with the guys out there. I feel like I belong out there.”

        Flesch pursues first PGA win in Memorial
        Memorial Tournament Web site
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