Columnist Victoria Sun: Aune aims to go from Zero to hero

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, March 8, 2000 | 9:34 a.m.

Victoria Sun is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Her golf column appears Wednesday. Reach her at 259-4078 or victoria@vegas.com

For aspiring PGA Tour player Chris Aune, there are no chartered planes to shuttle him to tournaments, nor are there any lobster dinners awaiting him in a luxury suite at the Four Seasons once he gets there.

The 31-year-old Las Vegas resident plays on the Zero Golf Tour and hits the road in his Mustang to drive four to 10 hours to various tournaments before heading to the Motel 6.

This year, it has cost him $11,000 to enter 16 tournaments on the mini-tour, because the players put up the money for the purses. His expenses also include a car note and insurance, fuel, food and lodging.

"I try to spend as little money as possible," he said. "Basically I'm trying to get $30 motel rooms where I can. If not, I've stayed in my car." He has sacrificed the comfortable lifestyle he was accustomed to so he can play the game he loves.

Aune was the Arizona state high school champion and played for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point before graduating in 1990.

In 1993, he started working at the Legacy Golf Club as an assistant pro. He remained there until 1998, when he left to play golf full time.

"It's something that I wanted to do since I was 10 or 11 years old, play on the PGA Tour," he said. "After working long hours at the Legacy, I still had a pretty sharp golf game.

"I figured if I could play golf full time, eventually I'd make it."

Last October, he played in the PGA Tour's Qualifying Tournament, but carded a 72, 70, 70 and 75, missing the second stage by two shots.

"The week before, I played in the PGA Tour School warm-up tournament on the same golf course and came in second place out of about 50," Aune said. "I was used to the course and felt like I could play it really well.

"I was confident going in. Going into the fourth round, I was three shots under the cut line, but going into the back nine, the pressure just started getting to me.

"I started thinking ahead, then hit three balls into the water on the back nine. I thought that I was experienced enough to hold my composure, but it's a pressure-filled event."

Because he didn't make the cut, Aune started playing on the Zero Golf Tour to save money. All of the tournaments on this tour are on the West Coast so he can drive instead of fly.

If he had the funding, he would like to play his way into PGA Tour events through the Monday qualifiers.

"One of my big problems is not having enough money to do this," Aune said. "A lot of the guys that play golf have sponsors with private parties or corporations and I haven't been able to come up with that.

"My wife works, so she's able to make enough money to pay our bills at home, but it's a struggle, being away from the family. I know that one day I'll get there. ... I've got the talent and determination to get there."

If you would like to sponsor Aune or talk to him, call him at 498-2699.

* LOCAL STANDOUTS: Two collegiate women golfers from Las Vegas have been ranked in the top 25 of the March 1 edition of the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings. Stephanie Keever, a junior at Stanford, was 11th and Arizona junior Christina Monteiro was 21st.

* MOUNTAIN WEST'S BEST: UNLV senior Jeremy Anderson earned the Mountain West Conference's inaugural men's golfer of the week honor. Anderson helped the Rebels to a fourth-place finish among 17 teams at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate Feb. 23-25 in the team's first tournament of the spring season. Anderson captured his first individual scoring title by carding a career-best 18-under-par 198.