Vegas event key in local’s PGA quest

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 | 2 a.m.

The ball barely moved, and no one saw it anyway.

That’s what Bill Lunde remembers most vividly from the 1998 NCAA Golf Championships in Albuquerque, where he led UNLV to a national title.

Lunde drove a ball into a ravine. It landed under a tumbleweed. When Lunde set up for his next shot, he accidentally moved the ball less than inch.

No one was near him, but he still called a penalty on himself.

“That’s one thing that I’ll always remember,” Lunde said. “That’s what golf is all about — being honest.”

Honesty is a theme as Lunde prepares for the start of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open today at TPC at Summerlin.

Four years ago he quit golf altogether. To get back to the tee, Lunde had to rediscover his love of the game.

“I wasn’t enjoying myself or any aspect of the game,” Lunde said. “So I was done.”

He took a job with the Las Vegas Founders, which used to put on the city’s PGA tournament. Eventually, he got into sales and marketing with a local company but lost that job when the economy started to tank.

With nowhere else to turn, Lunde reluctantly signed up for the upstart Butch Harmon Las Vegas Golf Tour.

“I thought maybe I could play and at least try to earn some kind of money over the summer playing golf here in town and not having to travel,” Lunde said. “In the back of my mind, I thought I might like it again. But it was more about something to do until the next opportunity came around.”

Everything changed for Lunde on the Butch Harmon Tour. Instead of agonizing over every bad shot, he stayed positive. He enjoyed himself.

He went to PGA Tour qualifying school and missed the cut by two strokes, so he spent last year on the Nationwide Tour. He finished fifth on the Nationwide money list and qualified for the PGA Tour in 2009.

His play has been mixed so far this year. He’s made 13 of 24 cuts and has one Top 10 finish. He’s earned $579,461, ranking 126th on the money list.

The problem? Only the top 125 players earn PGA Tour cards for 2010.

Lunde needs to finish strong in Las Vegas and in the other three events remaining to retain his tour card.

“I always tell people you never know what life is going to bring you,” Lunde said. “One minute, I’m out. Next minute, I’m on the PGA Tour.”