The Plan: Ex-WFU golfer ready to try luck on tour

Courtland Lowe has an itch to play pro golf at the highest level, but he realizes he's going to have to scratch his way up the ladder.

Lowe, a 2003 graduate of Wake Forest, has started the year off pretty well, making the first cut in his first PGA Tour tournament. After Monday qualifying for the Buick Invitational earlier this month in San Diego at Torrey Pines, Lowe played well enough to make the cut and earn nearly $10,000.

At age 29, Lowe had been in the golf business since graduation, spending most of his time at a resort in San Diego as a teaching pro. He was content at his job. thanks to one of his former teammates, Doug Manchester, whose father owns the resort, but that all changed late last year.

"At the end of November, I just kind of decided I was going to start playing, so that's kind of what I'm geared up for now," said Lowe, a native of Augusta, Ga., who admits he's more of an East Coast guy.

With no playing status on the big tours (PGA or Nationwide) Lowe's plan is to play heavily on the Tarheel Tour. He plans to move to Charlotte next month to continue to chase his dream.

Today, Lowe will try to Monday-qualify in Los Angeles for the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. He will try to qualify for various PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour tournaments all year, but his main focus will be on the Tarheel Tour.

Lowe is also close to fulfilling requirements to become a Class A professional, and he can also play in club-pro tournaments that could lead to spots in PGA or Nationwide Tour tournaments.

"Working in the business the last three years, I always loved to play, and I felt like my game has come together and I learned a lot in that time," said Lowe, who didn't win while at Wake Forest but was part of a team that won seven titles during his career.

In 117 career rounds for the Deacons, he averaged 74.3 and played on two teams that made it to the NCAA Championships.

Lowe says that feedback from Coach Jerry Haas and former teammate Bill Haas helped him decide that the time to try pro golf was now.

"I also heard from Billy Andrade and Webb Simpson, and they told me that I had what it took so here I am," Lowe said.

Lowe has known Charles Howell, another Augusta native and a PGA Tour veteran, for a long time.

"Hearing from those guys and Charles kind of gave me some confidence," Lowe said.

Lowe has got a few sponsors lined up to help defray the cost of roaming the country playing golf. But the nearly $10,000 he received for making the cut at the Buick Open gave him a nice cushion.

"I'm kind of doing this myself, but I've got a little help from family and friends with entry fees and things like that," Lowe said.

Lowe said he owes a lot to Jerry Haas, who has helped him navigate through the process of committing to play full time.

"I've never had a kid that has done it like he has," Haas said about waiting a few years after college before trying pro golf. "When he got out, he didn't feel like he was ready, but he got in the business and stayed around the game. He's always had the talent, and he's gotten better and better."

Lowe admits to being a little more mature than he was just out of college. He says that he used to worry about each shot as if it was life or death.

"In this game, you just can't do it that way or you won't last," Lowe said.

He is hoping to compete all season and in the fall try the PGA Tour Qualifying School. Lowe, who looked so young while he played for the Deacons that people wondered if he shaved, has a different look these days. Because he's not giving teaching lessons anymore, he doesn't shave as often.

"It's funny you mentioned that," Lowe said about his youthful look when he was at Wake Forest. "I've gone about a week without shaving. I guess I can do that now when I'm my own boss."

Wake women place second

Wake Forest's women's golf team, ranked seventh by Golfweek, placed second in its opening spring tournament in Palos Verdes, Calif., last week

Coach Dianne Dailey has one of her deepest and most talented teams in a long time. The Deacons had the lowest round of the final day to overtake UCLA and Southern Cal to finish second behind Arizona State.

What excited Dailey the most was the fact that the tournament had 13 teams ranked in the top 30 in the latest Golfweek poll.

"This just shows them that we can play with the best teams in the country," Dailey said.

Senior Nannette Hill tied for fourth with rounds of 76-74-75. Freshman Cheyenne Woods, a niece of Tiger Woods, had her second straight top-10 finish as she tied for ninth with rounds of 79-76-73.

Sophomore Natalie Sheary, who was medalist last year at the tournament, tied for 20th, junior Delores White tied for 34th and sophomore Allie Bodemann tied for 50th in the 84-player field.

"I think the finish will just give the students so much confidence heading into the rest of the spring," Dailey said. "We played well in a very strong field, and the players hung tough in some rough conditions early on."

Around the green

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David Mathis, a PGA Tour rookie at the age of 34 and a Winston-Salem native, headed into last week's tournament stop at Pebble Beach making his first three cuts. Mathis, a 1997 graduate of Campbell, made the tour for the first time, thanks to finishing 14th last year on the Nationwide Tour money list. By making three cuts on the PGA Tour, he had earned $53,442 and ranked 69th on the FedEx Cup points list before this past weekend's tournament.

■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.