They are a collection of wanna-bes and never-wases, castoffs looking for another shot at the big-time or up-and-comers getting their first taste of success. Some are waiting for PGA Tour qualifying school this fall, others counting the days or months or years until they hit the big 5-0 and pull the cord on golf's golden parachute, also known as the Senior Tour.
They are members of the Nike Tour and, for many, Tom Lehman is their personal god.
It was only seven years ago that Lehman was one of them, a $40,000 failure in three seasons on the PGA Tour who needed seven years to get back his card and his confidence. Lehman went from Player of the Year on what was then called the Hogan Tour in 1991 to PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1996.
Dave Schreyer is just about the same age that Lehman was when his career began to skyrocket.
"I'm 31, but I look like I'm 18," Schreyer said last week before the Nike Tour's Dominion Open in Glen Allen, Va. "I'm still growing."
Schreyer's growth spurt as a player includes five victories in seven years on the Hooters Tour -- think of it as the Double-A level of professional golf -- and a fleeting moment on the periphery of the spotlight cast by Tiger Woods in last year's U.S. Open.
Tied for fifth after 36 holes and in the same threesome as the then-reigning Masters champion for the third round at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Schreyer took the fast lane back to oblivion with a 12-over-par 82 that included seven three-putts.
"I wasn't ready for it," said Schreyer, who recovered some of his pride, if not his putting stroke, with a final-round 74. "But I think I learned a lot from it. I'll be better prepared if I'm in the same situation this year. And hopefully I'll find myself back on the PGA Tour someday."
Schreyer played the PGA Tour one year -- 1992, the same year Lehman made it back after a hiatus during which he played several backwater tours in this country as well as overseas -- and made it to the weekend only three times in 23 events. The brother of LPGA player Cindy McCurdy, Schreyer's career has been sidetracked by illness and injuries.
There was the elbow surgery that nearly ended his career after college. There were bouts with fainting caused by low blood pressure. And there have been the freak accidents the past two years before and during the Tour qualifying school.
