Brandt Jobe has been a regular on the PGA Tour for the last decade, but the end of that run may be at hand.
In fact, the Kent Denver High School graduate is facing a very high hurdle in his next Tour event in order to remain a full-time player on the world’s top circuit.
Jobe is down to one remaining start on the Major Medical Extension the Tour granted him in the wake of a freak accident that happened in November 2006. That was when Jobe, while sweeping his garage, severed the tip of his left index finger and the base of his left thumb as a broom handle broke in his hand.
Jobe played in five tournaments in 2007 before undergoing season-ending surgery on his left hand, then was given the medical extension for 2008. To remain exempt on Tour, he had to earn at least $774,164 in 23 events. But because Jobe competed in only 19 tournaments last year, he carried over four events into 2009, needing $480,950 in prize money to keep his Tour card for the rest of the season.
While Jobe has played decently in the first two months of the Tour season — he finished 21st at the FBR Open, his best performance on Tour since July — it’s now “three tournaments down, one to go” for the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer.
To stay exempt on Tour for the rest of 2009, Jobe must earn a whopping $401,324 in his next Tour start. In other words, a first- or second-place finish — or possibly third, depending on the purse — is what Jobe needs. He isn’t entered in a Tour event this week, meaning it likely will be next month before the issue is settled.
For the record, Jobe has posted five top-three finishes on Tour in 260 career events. The longtime Coloradan — he lived in the state from 1970 to ’99 before moving to the Dallas area — has yet to post a victory on the PGA Tour.
This isn’t to say that Jobe won’t play again on Tour this year if he doesn’t earn the $400,000-plus in his next event. Some sponsor exemptions are still a possibility, and a top-10 showing in an open Tour event would earn him a spot in the next similar event. In addition, qualifying tournaments of various types are options.
But a likely scenario should Jobe fail to keep his full exemption would be playing primarily on the Nationwide or Japanese tour. The former Colorado Open champion established himself professionally with 12 international victories, including six on the Japanese tour, the last coming in 1998.
If things had worked out differently on any of three crucial final tournament days on the PGA Tour in the last seven years, Jobe would have a better fall-back position at this point. A victory on any one of those occasions not only would have landed Jobe a two-year exemption on Tour, but would put him in the “past champions” category, which would land him spots in some tournaments down the road.
These were the pivotal tournaments for Jobe:
— At the 2002 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill, Jobe held a one-shot lead going into the final round, but finished in second place, two shots back.
— At the 2005 BellSouth Classic, Jobe earned a spot in a five-way playoff, but a shot in the water eliminated him on the first extra hole. Nevertheless, the $330,000 he won allowed him to keep his medical extension and remain exempt for the rest of the year — a fact which no doubt gives Jobe at least some hope in his current situation.
— And, in the case that hurts the most and resonates with Colorado golf fans, Jobe placed second at the 2005 International in Castle Rock after taking a nine-point lead into the final round of the Modified Stableford tournament. Playing at Castle Pines, where Jobe lived from 1997 to “˜99, he shot a 4-over-par 76 in the final round, skulling two bunker shots in the process. He finished one point behind winner Retief Goosen.
Asked afterward about another chance at victory getting away, Jobe said that a Tour win would come eventually. “This stings a little, but you’ve got to keep knocking to get there,” he said. “”¦ One of these times I’ll get it done, hopefully more than once.”
But at 43 years old and with his situation on Tour being what it is, the question is, will the window of opportunity open again?
