news-record.com

GREENSBORO — You feel a little silly labeling a golfer who has already won $703,000 on the PGA Tour this year a "grinder."

In word and deed, though, Matt Bettencourt is such a man. He's the quintessential everyday tour player, laboring mostly in anonymity, toiling before small galleries, heading straight from the 18th green to the driving range upon completing a round to hit bucket after bucket of practice balls into the fading sunlight.

When Tiger Woods stunned golf's cognoscenti last month by announcing he would play in three straight tournaments — three straight! — nobody sought out Bettencourt for comment. Then again, Bettencourt may have been difficult to track down given he was busy playing in 16 of 17 tour events.

"I like to play," Bettencourt said. "It's tempting to take a week off, but then you figure you're playing good and there's so much money out there you hate to walk away from it. Besides, I've got to keep playing if I'm going to get better."

That, in a nutshell, is the operational theory behind grinding, which is the modus operandi for the vast majority of players on the PGA Tour. At the Wyndham Championship, which begins today at Sedgefield Country Club, you'll find a sprinkling of bona-fide stars and a far, far greater number of Bettencourts.

Grinders don't have to be aging pros still chasing the brass ring. They just need to play. And play a lot.

The Wyndham is Bettencourt's 26th tournament this year. He plans to play in five or six events through the fall — more if he does well in the FedEx Cup playoffs. If you're keeping score, Tiger has played in 14 events. He'll play the four FedEx Cup events before calling it a season.

Bettencourt is a tour rookie at the ripe age of 34. He spent six years on the Nationwide Tour before breaking out last year and finishing first on the money list, a feat that earned him his PGA Tour card this season.

He's been on the road since: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Houston, New Orleans, Milwaukee. He's taken a few breaks — mostly because he wasn't invited to the Masters and the PGA Championship.

Bettencourt enjoys his time between the ropes, meeting fans and acquainting himself with a new course each week. The rest of the time is a little less glamorous. Bettencourt lives in Greenville, S.C. He and his wife, Kelly, drive to tournaments when they can. When they fly, it's coach.

Grinders tend to be single or married without children. It's easier on the family that way.

Bettencourt and his wife got married March 14. Two days later, they were in Tampa, Fla. — not for a honeymoon but for the Transitions Championship. He finished tied for 52nd and cashed a check for $12,466.

The way Bettencourt sees it, there will be plenty of time for a honeymoon in the offseason. The couple plans to do just that in Cabo San Lucas. "So I guess I need to keep playing to pay for it," he joked.

Playing golf for a living, especially at the pace Bettencourt is playing, might sound like fun to some, but it can be rough. There's a reason they're called grinders.

"The heat, travel, the dejection ... It can all get to you," Bettencourt said. "It really is a grind, but you learn to manage yourself. Monday to Wednesday I'll get plenty of rest. That's what keeps me going."

Bettencourt is like a lot of first- or second-year pros.

"We probably try to do too much, but it's mostly fun and you need to appreciate it while you can," he said. "A few years from now, who knows, I may not be playing. I want to know I did everything I could when I could."

Sergio Garcia appreciates the guys who can play seemingly every week. But it's not his cup of tea.

"When you're a 'roll player' like I consider myself, you can't go around playing 25 events here and 20 in Europe. You'll die. It's just impossible. You can do it for a couple seasons, but then you get to the next and you're destroyed before the season starts."

Bettencourt understands where Garcia and Woods are coming from. Heck, he's even considering trimming his schedule next year by four or five events.

"I know I won't be able to play every week out," he said. "But I can now, so I'm going to play as much as possible."

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com