Ex-Rebel regains PGA Tour card

It's never been a question of talent. A failure to maximize that talent has prevented Andres Gonzales from making a splash on the PGA Tour.

The 29-year-old former UNLV star from Olympia, Wash., gets a second chance to prove he has what it takes to compete with golf's best. Gonzales, who played for the Rebels from 2002 to 2006, earned his Tour card for 2013 after his top-25 finish on the Web.com Tour, golf's Triple-A circuit.

Gonzales won the Soboba Classic in April, finished second at the Pacific Rubiales in February and had three top-10 finishes overall. He wound up in 14th place with $235,505 in earnings. The top 25 from the Web.com Tour earned their PGA Tour card.

"I think it's going to be a really good experience for me," Gonzales said. "I played (the PGA Tour) last year, and I'm excited to get back."

Gonzales had a tough time going head to head with the big boys. In 21 starts in 2011, he won $186,847 and made the cut only nine times.

"Last year was my first year being out there, and I kind of felt like a deer in the headlights," Gonzales said. "After my experience this year on the Web.com Tour, I'm really excited to get back, and I'm more prepared."

Gonzales might have shown signs that he's ready to play better on the big stage. In May, he played the Byron Nelson Championship outside Dallas, one of the PGA Tour's more competitive stops. He finished tied for 19th and made $78,780.

Had he not bogeyed the par-4 18th, Gonzales would have been 15th. Still, it was a sign Gonzales belonged with the likes of Jason Dufner, who won the event.

"I think I proved to myself I can still play at a high level with the way I played at the Byron Nelson," he said.

He'll get more chances to show he can perform with the best. The question is whether he can take advantage. He'll have to perform better than he did down the stretch on the Web.com Tour, where he missed the cut in five of the last nine events he entered.

"No excuses; I just didn't play well," Gonzales said. "That's golf. You go through ups and downs."

Gonzales said he will take a different mental approach to playing on the PGA Tour this time around.

"I think I had the feeling like I belonged out there, but I didn't act like it," he said. "This time, I'm going to take care of my business, concentrate on playing good golf every week and not worry about whether or not I belong out there."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.