Lunde tees it up in golf’s ‘fifth major’

When Tiger Woods tees it up today at the Players Championship, all eyes will be on golf's most notable -- and socially notorious -- player.

At the other end of the fan spectrum, Bill Lunde will play his opening round at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., in relative anonymity.

He's fine with Woods receiving all the attention. He just wants to have fun and hopefully stick around for the weekend.

"I'm excited. It's a tournament I watched growing up, and I've always wanted to play in it," the former UNLV standout said of competing for the first time in what is referred to as golf's "fifth major." "Now that I'm here, I want to treat it like any other tournament, which means I want to play as well as I can."

Lunde will play in a threesome today with Kevin Stadler and Oliver Wilson.

In addition to Lunde, a member of the Rebels' 1998 national championship team, UNLV will be well represented in the Players Championship with Chad Campbell, Adam Scott, Charley Hoffman and Ryan Moore.

But for Lunde, this isn't about rubbing elbows with friends from his alma mater. It's about getting his game back in shape so he can return to the tournament next year.

"It's been an up-and-down year so far," said Lunde, who earned an invitation to this weekend's event by finishing in the top 125 on the PGA Tour's money list in 2009 (No. 102 with $825,691). "I got off to a slow start, played well in Puerto Rico and thought I turned the corner. But then I struggled, and last week I played well, which is encouraging."

Lunde has played in 12 events this year and earned $157,519, good for 151st on the tour's money list. His best showing was in mid-March at the Puerto Rico Open, where he finished tied for 10th and earned $91,000. He's made the cut just five times and was hoping to be playing better overall, but he keeps reminding himself to be patient.

"It's a long season," Lunde said. "There are going to be a lot of opportunities."

He has made some adjustments in ball-striking, trying to improve his accuracy off the tee.

"I'm starting to hit it better," he said. "I drove the ball poorly early on and wasn't giving myself a chance to make birdies. It's hard to make fours from the bushes."

Last week at Quail Hollow, Lunde regained his touch. He kept the ball in the fairway, made his share of putts and picked up $15,296 by finishing tied for 51st. It was the first time in five events he had made the cut and gave him some much-needed momentum heading into the Players Championship.

"It definitely gave my confidence a boost to play well," he said. "Now, I need to carry it over to this week and build on what I did in Charlotte."

Lunde is excited about playing Sawgrass. During Tuesday's practice round, he knocked his tee shot onto the iconic par-3 No. 17 island green as the gallery cheered.

"It is a bit intimidating the first time," he said of the hole. "It's only 145 yards, but you see how small that green is and you can see why it's a tough hole.

"As I was coming up to the green, someone from the gallery yelled, 'It's easy on Tuesday.' Hopefully, it'll be easy the rest of the week."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.