Rozner: British Open dream come true for Schnell
When the Web.com Tour was here at Ivanhoe in early June for the Rust-Oleum Championship, Brady Schnell did not have his mind overseas.
Sure, it would have been easy to think about the Open Championship at Carnoustie in mid-July, but when you're grinding away on the Web there's no weeks off spent dreaming.
"I've been ultra-focused on this Tour," Schnell said in June. "That week (at the Open) can change your life, but any week out here can change your life, too."
Schnell was sixth at Ivanhoe, his best finish on the Web since a second in May 2016, and a sure sign he was headed in the right direction, and when he won in a three-man playoff at Wichita two weeks later, it wasn't a shock.
But it was huge.
A single win on the Web is nearly a guarantee of being top 25 on the money list when the season concludes and that means PGA Tour status for the following year.
And that truly is life-changing.
There are players every year who win on the Web, collect a victory in the fall on the PGA Tour and by the first week of January they're in Hawaii at Kapalua for the Tournament of Champions.
From rental cars, cheap motels and small purses to the good life on the PGA Tour in a matter of months - or even weeks.
For Schnell, there's also the fact that the 33-year-old Nebraska grad and one-time Quad Cities resident has a wife and baby boy at home in Arizona, and making a living under that kind of pressure is no small matter.
"It felt like it was my turn (at Wichita) even though I'm battling two guys that have spent time on the PGA Tour," Schnell said of defeating Brandon Hagy and Scott Pinckney in a playoff. "I just felt good about the day and I think that translated into not being as nervous over shots.
"It was an odd sense of calm. I felt about as good as you can feel on the greens. I was fairly calm on all of my (birdie) putts on 18. I guess that's all you can ask for.
"It's confidence and momentum out here. You see putts rolling on the line you want, and it can make things a lot more comforting. I have a feeling that's what happens to most people when they win."
The victory rocketed the Iowa native up to No. 12 on the Web money list, making it easier to skip a few Tour events while he plays in the Open Championship this week at Carnoustie, a spot earned with a victory at the Open de Argentina last November.
"I had to go back to final stage of Q-School (in December) so I was just looking to play in something," Schnell said. "There were two events down there (in Argentina), so I was like, 'I'll just go down there and play,' and ended up playing pretty well and winning."
But, of course, it wasn't easy.
"I had a 2-shot lead with 2 to go. I made par on 17, and both the guys chasing made birdie on a really hard par 3," Schnell said. "On 18, I hit a wedge that landed about 4 feet from the hole and rolled all the way to the back fringe.
"I 3-putted and had to go into a playoff. I was devastated. I knew the Open was on the line, but you just have to try to come back from that.
"Played the same hole again and I drove it perfectly in front of the green, and hit one of the best pitches I've ever hit and I shook mine in there for birdie.
"It's surreal. Throughout the week I was thinking about it a little, but when it actually happened it's all you can think about, that you're going to the Open Championship. It's something you dream about."
When he returns from the Open, Schnell will be back grinding on the Web, working to ensure his spot in the top 25 and collecting that PGA Tour card for the fall wraparound.
But at least for the next few days, he'll be living out a dream come true.
At Carnoustie.
brozner@dailyherald.com
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