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Great Read: Oldest PGA Tour rookie is glad he kept in the swing of things

Byron Smith watches his approach at No. 16 during the first round round of the Web.com Tour Hotel Fitness Championship at Sycamore Hills Golf Club.
Byron Smith watches his approach at No. 16 during the first round round of the Web.com Tour Hotel Fitness Championship at Sycamore Hills Golf Club.
(Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
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There was just enough time — a minute or two — for Byron Smith to think. That’s not always a good thing in golf, but he could not help himself.

A morning sun rode low over the Napa hills, casting its sheen across a course still wet with dew. The fairway that unfurled before him ran long and straight, a ribbon of bright green bordered by darker oak and pine.

Smith pondered the unlikely journey that had brought him to this place. Dabbling in the sport as a young man. Quitting in college, only to find his way back.

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Now let’s see what you can do, he thought.

After more than a decade of grinding away in the sport’s minor leagues, a vagabond playing tournaments in such distant locales as Chile and Nova Scotia, the 33-year-old had finally reached the PGA Tour.

It did not matter that he was the oldest rookie when the season began at the Frys.com Open in Napa. Or that he looked his age — unshaven, thickly built — standing beside younger, leaner players in his threesome.

If he felt a bit jumpy, that was to be expected. He said: “You want to enjoy those nerves.”

A tournament official announced his name to the sparse crowd and Smith grabbed a three-wood, taking a few practice swings before approaching the ball.

His first shot as a big-time golfer started well enough, leaving the tee low and true. But his timing must have been off — maybe a little quick — because the drive began to hook, veering toward those trees.

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All three of the Smith boys learned to play at a young age. Their father, a civil engineer in Palm Springs, wanted them to share his love for the game.

“Byron would take a plastic club into the frontyard,” Bob Smith recalled. “A neighbor came over one day and said, ‘That kid has a nice swing.’”

But other sports called to the natural-born athlete, who lettered in high school soccer. Golf hovered somewhere between a passion and a hobby.

When Pepperdine invited him to join the team as a non-scholarship player in the fall of 1999, Smith suspected but could never confirm that a family friend, pro golfer John Cook, had put in a good word. Regardless, the college game demanded hours upon hours of practice.

“Byron had some talent and some upside,” said John Geiberger, the Pepperdine coach at that time. “But he wasn’t quite ready for the commitment.”

Smith recalled, “I was in the doghouse pretty quick.”

His college career lasted all of two seasons before he quit. Just like that, the game disappeared from his life — “Didn’t watch it, certainly didn’t play” — replaced by schoolwork and a job in the campus library.

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“He and a couple of friends had a place in Malibu,” said Amber Sutton, his girlfriend of more than a dozen years. “I wouldn’t call it a party house, but we had fun.”

The story might have ended there if not for a family vacation to British Columbia three summers later. Bob told everyone to bring their clubs.

Swinging loose, not really caring, Byron shot well under par. Though he labored through a pedestrian round the next day, the seed was planted.

“I finished college with a philosophy degree and had to figure something out,” he said. “I didn’t want to flip burgers.”

After graduation, he announced that he was turning pro. His father replied: “Pro in what?”

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A sharp crack broke the morning silence. That first drive had curved through the trees and smacked into a picket fence. Smith had no choice but to lay up short of the green and take a bogey.

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“You have to get over the jitters,” he said. “You have to settle in.”

Each tournament is precious to rookies because their hard-earned Tour cards do not guarantee them a spot in the field. Organizers can pick from hundreds of full-fledged members, giving preference to familiar names that attract fans.

At the opener two weeks ago, Frys.com officials did not add Smith until two days beforehand, when Tour veteran Alex Prugh’s wife went into labor. “I think I owe him a year’s worth of diapers,” Smith said.

A decent performance at the Silverado Resort here would earn him prize money and eventually nudge him up the priority list for tournament starts, but it wasn’t going to be easy. Smith struggled to find the fairway, often straying into the rough. Too many of his second shots missed the green or landed in bunkers.

His family followed each step of the way. Eric, a younger brother who used to be his caddy, reminded him to let go of mistakes.

“How bad was that shot?” Smith asked after a bogey. Eric said: “Go hit the next fairway.”

The advice made sense to a golfer with a naturally steady disposition. While his younger partners sometimes moaned or slammed their clubs in anger, Smith never showed so much as a wince.

“I don’t get overwhelmed,” he said. “It’s one of the good things about paying your dues like I have.”

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The hierarchical nature of professional golf has a way of weeding out young hopefuls.

Newcomers must claw through layers of mini-tours where the courses can be ragged and the prize money meager. Those who distinguish themselves in junior competition or college can skip the first few levels, but guys like Smith start at what he calls “the bottom of the barrel.”

There were tournaments where the sprinklers interrupted play and groundskeepers wandered through on riding mowers. There were times when Smith drove 12 hours to an event, failed to make the cut after two rounds and had to drive another 12 hours to the next stop.

“Plenty of cheap motel rooms with five or six guys on the floor,” he said. “I slept in my car a few nights.”

The worst part was relying on family and friends for money to cover expenses.

“People would always ask him about his Plan B,” his father said. “He never had a Plan B.”

It might have seemed delusional — even Smith suffered occasional doubts — but his tenacity rubbed off on the people closest to him. He explained: “I just knew I could do this.”

Though professional golf has trended younger with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler rising to the top, players can still compete well into their 40s. Smith figured he could make the Tour at 30 or so and enjoy a long career.

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Foreign tours offered a place to hone his skills. Starting in 2006, he began to climb the Canadian Tour earnings list, finishing second with $80,824 in 2009. Next came a string of encouraging results in Mexico and South America.

“I could see flashes of what might happen,” he said.

Still, he needed to do well back home at the dreaded Q-School. Rules for the annual three-part competition have recently changed but, at the time, top finishers earned PGA Tour cards. Year after year, Smith fell short.

Here we go again, he would think. Back to the Canadian Tour.

The big break came in 2013 when he missed getting a Tour card at Q-School but did well enough to qualify for the Web.com Tour, just one step below the big time. The following season, he finally got his card another way, by finishing in the Top 25 on the Web.com money list.

“He didn’t exactly jump up and down,” said Sutton, his girlfriend. “He has a sarcastic sense of humor and, when he’s telling a few jokes, you know he’s in a good mood.”

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Players at the Frys.com Open got plush accommodations, gift baskets and bottles of wine. On the practice range, an attendant set out pristine golf balls in bags arranged by brand.

“The locker room guys were incredible,” Smith said. “You can drop off your laundry and they’ll put it in your locker, dry-cleaned and folded, the next day.”

His fortunes had clearly improved, but no amenities could make that first round any easier. Halfway through, Smith had dropped well off the lead.

Time after time, he needed tricky recovery shots and delicate chips to avoid bogey. It helped to play beside 24-year-old Blayne Barber, a fellow Web.com graduate. Walking down the fairway, they allowed for occasional smiles.

“We were talking about how cool this was,” Smith said.

If there was a turning point, it occurred on the second-to-last hole with a slippery, downhill putt for par. The crowd applauded and Smith let loose with a grin — he had stood his ground at one over, not great but not awful.

“I could have shot myself out of the tournament,” he said. “I just had to get through the round.”

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The next day proved easier, with two chips finding the hole for eagles. Smith made the cut with room to spare and rode that momentum all the way to Sunday with an impressive tie for 19th place at eight under.

The $81,000 payoff equaled almost half of what he made in a full Web.com season, but it didn’t do much for his Tour status. Officials won’t reshuffle the priority list until later in the fall.

So the Shriners Open in Las Vegas this past weekend did not add Smith to the field until a day before play began, leaving scant time for learning the nuances of the course. On Sunday, he finished near the bottom of the field at one under.

“It’s kind of rough,” he said. “I’m taking it one step at a time.”

After all these years and a circuitous road to golf’s big stage, the rookie isn’t going to let a few more bumps get in his way.

david.wharton@latimes.com

Twittter: @LATimesWharton

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