With the poise of a playful veteran, former ASU golfer Joey Snyder III entertained a crowd of more than 30 fans at this year's FBR Open.
It was just the second PGA Tour event for Snyder, but the Scottsdale native didn't hesitate to bounce a ball off the head of his driver, demonstrating a Tiger Woods-like stage presence.
After a nine-year journey from the top of the college golf world to the PGA Tour, Snyder had finally returned home.
Hundreds of golfers graduate every year with dreams of turning pro. Snyder learned earning a spot on the PGA Tour can be tricky.
"It's not like college baseball or any other sport where you get drafted out of college," Snyder said. "A lot of them [ASU golfers] would have been drafted straight out of college and be on the PGA Tour, but you have to prove yourself."
In 1996, Snyder turned pro on the heels of ASU's second national championship. He found the transition more difficult than other former Sun Devils, such as Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey.
"On any given round, you could put Phil and Joey together, and Joey would probably beat Phil three out of 10 times," ASU men's golf coach Randy Lein said. "In a 72-hole event, Phil is just more comfortable because he has been there more often. He's seasoned, he's a veteran and he just has a lot more experience. In this sport, experience plays a big part in your success."
Lein arrived at ASU after Mickelson graduated but watched him win three national championships while serving as head coach of the USC men's golf team.
"I've been coaching 25 years, and Phil is probably the only player I can honestly say who dominated the sport at the college level," Lein said. "When you're winning tournaments and you've had his success ... he's teeing it up knowing or believing he's going to win, and that's huge."
Starting the journey
Snyder never won a tournament outright at ASU. He lost in a playoff at the 1995 Mauna Kea Collegiate Invitational in Hawaii.
Bad luck followed Snyder when he joined the pro ranks.
Snyder missed the cut at PGA Qualifying School for six consecutive years after graduating from ASU. Lein said it would have been easy for Snyder to give up his dream.
"It's very difficult because you only have one opportunity during the course of the year," said Lein, who keeps a close eye on all his former golfers. "That's the only way you are going to get on the PGA Tour."
The first round of Q-School might be a hurdle, but Lein said the level of competition dramatically increases in the second and third rounds, as many golfers who have recently played on the PGA Tour are thrown into the mix.
"In the final stage, you are with a lot of players who just had their tour cards and might have been [Nos.] 127 or 128 on the money list, and they've got a lot of confidence and a lot of credentials," Lein said. "There is so much pressure because you are playing that week knowing that if you fail to make it, then you have to wait 12 months before you have that opportunity again. It's very much a mind game, and it's tough. It's one of the toughest things to do in sports."
After spending a year on the Asian Tour, Snyder advanced to the third round of Q-School for the first time in 1997. He didn't shoot low enough scores to earn his PGA Tour card, but he was given exempt status on the Nationwide Tour.
Snyder finished in the top 100 on the Nationwide Tour money list in 1998 and '99. He then tried the Canadian Tour.
Going Gateway
Having spent more than $24,000 in Q-School entry fees, Snyder became one of the first members of the Grey Goose Gateway Tour, founded in 2002 by former ASU golfer Chris Stutts.
Stutts started the Gateway Tour for golfers like Snyder who needed to hone their game through quality competition.
"I saw a void in the West Coast for developmental golf," Stutts said. "I had a lot of friends who were trying to play but didn't have a place. If there is no place for them to compete on the PGA or Nationwide Tour, then we want to be the best alternative."
In an attempt to bolster the Gateway Tour's reputation and attract high-caliber players, Stutts turned to respected members of the golf community like Mickelson and Lein to serve on the board of advisers.
Lein insists the Gateway Tour can be a steppingstone for young players who need to sharpen their skills.
"It's like tuition," Lein said of entry fees that can cost as much as $17,500. "I look at it, and young people should look at it, as just continuing your college education. You're paying money up front, and then you are playing 72-hole events pretty much weekly and gaining experience.
"What it really helps you do is feel comfortable shooting low numbers. If you aren't, then you are missing cuts, and you're not making any money."
ASU senior Jesse Mueller has decided to join more than 150 golfers on the Gateway Tour after he graduates this spring.
"I'm a local, and it's a good mini-tour," Mueller said. "I won't be spending a lot of time traveling, so I can spend more time playing. It will be a good way to get ready for Q-School."
Unlike Mueller, ASU senior Pat Moore, whose first collegiate victory came Sunday in the U.S. Intercollegiate at Stanford Golf Course, plans to remain an amateur after graduating.
"I just decided that I can get all the major amateur events, which is just as good as playing on the Gateway Tour," said Moore, noting that he'll likely compete in several Gateway Tour events after finishing his amateur schedule.
Lein contends that it's important for aspiring golfers to compete in tournaments.
"You have to be competing in something," Lein said. "You can't just practice, and then tee it up in tour school and hope to have success playing your way though."
Adding to the difficulty of landing a spot on the PGA Tour is golf's growing popularity across the world.
"For a lot of athletes in high school, golf was just kind of a recreational thing that they did," Lein said. "Now, because of Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan and having some other well-known professional athletes playing golf, it has become a cool sport."
Stutts said Snyder matured on the Gateway Tour.
"He played our tour for three years from Day 1," Stutts said. "We watched his game progress, and he really took it to another level in 2004."
Last year, the Gateway Tour's three series paid out more than $4.9 million, doubling the money awarded in the inaugural season. The Gateway Tour has expanded the last three years, most recently adding the Beach Series to West Palm Beach, Fla.
Reaching his potential
Snyder placed fifth on the Gateway Tour Desert Series money list heading into his ninth attempt to qualify for a PGA Tour card.
"Joey is a very sensitive person," Lein said. "He has been at it a long time. He could have packed it in five years ago, a year ago. But he just stuck through it."
With thoughts of abandoning his dream, Snyder finished tied for 13th at Q-School to earn a full exemption on the PGA Tour. Snyder was one of eight current or former Gateway Tour members who landed PGA Tour cards.
"Joey ought to be an inspiration to everyone," Stutts said. "He worked hard and got a little better each year. As long as a player is improving every year, they should never give up."
Snyder will turn 31 on June 7. Even though it took Snyder nearly a decade to arrive on the PGA Tour, Lein figures Snyder has plenty of time to make a name for himself.
"It used to be a sport where you didn't reach your prime until about 35 and you had about a five- to seven-year window to play," Lein said. "Now, you are having players who are 21 and 22 years old winning and players who are 50 and 51 years old winning, so there's no urgency to get out there."
Snyder already has marked four top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour. He ranks 67th on the PGA Tour money list, having collected $398,977.
Stutts expects Snyder to get better.
"I think he's going to be on the PGA Tour for a long time," Stutts said. "I think he is going to win on the tour."
Snyder's best finish came at the FBR Open. Snyder was overshadowed by Mickelson but fired a 7-under 288 to finish tied for 11th place.
Snyder might never have played in the FBR Open had it not been for an entrance exemption granted by the Thunderbirds, the event host. The announcement came as a wedding present on New Year's Eve.
"You can't help but root for him," Lein said.
Snyder admits there's a soft spot in his heart for ASU. He still uses a Sparky head cover to protect his driver.
"I think it helps me that it has taken this long," Snyder said. "It has definitely made me appreciate it a lot more."
Reach the reporter at mark.saxon@asu.edu.
