Rags to Riches: Golfer on Verge of $1M

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Kevin Streelman is 31 years old and playing his second season on the PGA Tour. After college golf at Duke, it took five years of mini-tours and other assorted minor-league labors before, in 2008, he advanced through all three levels of qualifying school to earn a place in the big leagues.

"Just four or five years ago, I didn't have much at all," he said. " About $400 in my bank account and pretty much ready to stop playing."

But on Sunday afternoon Streelman can become an instant millionaire. He'll get a freshly printed check to prove it.

"Definitely exciting," he said.

Streelman played in 28 PGA Tour events this year, making 18 cuts. He has only two top-10 finishes -- a third and a tie for eighth -- and ranks a respectful but unglamorous 89th on the season money list.

But he played some holes extremely well.

How convenient several of them are part of a new PGA Tour promotion called the Kodak Challenge, a season-long bonus competition that concludes with Sunday's final round of the Children's Miracle Network Classic being played at Walt Disney World.

Before the season started, 30 holes were selected by an advisory board for their picturesque beauty. During the year golfers had to play at least 18 of the holes to be eligible for the bonus. A player's lowest score relative to par on his best 18 holes are counted.

Now just the 485-yard par-4 No. 17 on Disney's Magnolia course remains.

The only way Streelman cannot win is for Bo Van Pelt, who is two shots back, to eagle the hole. There is almost as much likelihood Space Mountain in the nearby Magic Kingdom will come alive with volcanic activity than Van Pelt knocking in a shot from the fairway. The long par 4 has given up a total of four tournament eagles since 1983, and none since 1998, a year it played 427 yards.

If Van Pelt does force a tie, tournament officials are prepared to place lights on the hole to allow for a nighttime playoff.

"It's a dream come true," Streelman said, careful to point out the check is not yet his, but obviously on his mind. "It really has been a culmination of my American dream just getting on the PGA Tour. So this is obviously icing on the cake and would be a huge blessing."

What makes Streelman's bonus success such a bonus is that he's not one of the tour's captain's of industry. To a degree, the Kodak Challenge was designed that way. Since golfers were required to play at least 18 of the designated holes, the more a player played, the better his chances.

For a guy still clawing his way along to grab the big check makes the perfect story.
And speaking of stories, Streelman has plenty of them -- like the time, when, as a mini-tour player, he was abandoned by sponsors.

"I was playing everything from the Hooters Tour, Gateway Tour, U.S. Pro Golfers Tour, any state open I could get into just to try to play for a couple hundred bucks," he said. "Then I had a group approach me from Chicago that said, 'We will sponsor you.' "

So Streelman goes west to take a shot at PGA Tour Monday qualifying, and a few weeks into the adventure, calls back to Chicago.

"They didn't pick up the phone," he said. "And to this day I've never heard a word from them. They'd promised me a bunch on money for that year to get me through, then totally left me stranded in California."

That was almost the last straw. Streelman remembers being ready to quit. But he didn't.

And Sunday can be the payoff.

Picture that.