Elgin's Sainz ready for PGA Tour challenge

Staying in one place for very long isn't easy for a golf touring pro. Carlos Sainz Jr. was able to do it from Thanksgiving through New Year's, when he spent most of the holiday season with family and friends in Elgin.

Now, however, the PGA Tour rookie is on the road again and looking forward to the opportunities immediately ahead.

Though he's calling Ponte Vedra, Florida, his home base now - it's where the PGA Tour headquarters are located - the 29-year-old Sainz made a stopover to visit his younger brother Michael in Phoenix last week before heading to what he expects will be his first tournament of 2015, the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Michael, 25, also has tour aspirations, and he's playing on the Arizona mini-tours now.

Carlos knows all about that grind. The Larkin High School graduate succeeded in the small pro tournaments after finishing college at Mississippi State, then moved through the smaller tours.

Now, he's qualified for the PGA Tour, although he isn't able to play every week.

"For me, it's all about being ready to play whenever I get in a tournament so that I can establish a schedule for the rest of year," said Sainz. "I'm trying to do my job, like everyone else. I'm young, working hard, looking forward to what I do and cherishing it."

Sainz has a history of playing good at the right times. He closed out 2013 with a win in on the Canadian PGA Tour, a runner-up finish in the Illinois Open and a victory in the Chicago Open. Those events led to him earning playing privileges on the PGA's Web.com Tour.

In 2014, he had just one top-10 finish on the PGA Tour's satellite circuit, but finished strong in the Web.com playoffs to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2014-15 season.

Under its new split-season schedule, the PGA circuit started with six events before the New Year. With his limited playing status, Sainz got into three of them and missed the cut in two. However, he had a strong showing with a tie for ninth in the Sanderson Farms Championship in early November in Mississippi.

That finish earned him $100,000 - more than he had earned in the entire Web.com season. That one tournament boosted his playing position on the PGA Tour's eligibility list from No. 49 to No. 35.

New players are subject to reshuffling of their tournament eligibility based on their immediate play, and the big jump in status means Sainz can get his PGA Tour career off to a fast start. He plans to play in the Sony Open (Jan. 15-18) and will get into the first three events of the circuit's California swing - the Humana Challenge (Jan. 22-25), Farmers Insurance Open (Feb. 5-8) and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Feb. 12-15).

There's also a chance he can get into the Northern Trust Open, the fourth and final stop in California, if the Chicago-based tourney sponsor grants him an exemption.

The second invite reshuffle of new players will be made after the Northern Trust Open.

The PGA's top players usually fill the field at Phoenix (Waste Management Open in February) and then turn out in big numbers for the Florida tournaments in March. Sainz may find it difficult to get into those events.

"I'm not sure which tournaments I'll get into by then," said Sainz.

Nevertheless, he knows he'll get into plenty of them if he plays well the next two months. There's also a more long-range incentive to consider. It's not unrealistic to think he could compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil when golf returns to the Games.

Sainz's parents are from the Philippines and Bolivia. As "a token of respect," he acquired dual citizenship in the Philippines when he played in a tournament there, and he plans to apply for similar status in Bolivia. That would make Sainz eligible to play for those countries, neither of which is rich in golf touring pros.

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By the numbers

Here's a look at Carlos Sainz Jr. and how he has performed in his first three tournaments on the PGA Tour:

Age: 29; Size: 5-foot-11, 185 lbs.

Born: Nov. 7, 1985

Hometown: Elgin

High school: Larkin

College: Mississippi State

Turned pro: 2010

PGA tournaments: 3

Missed cuts: 2

Made cuts: 1

Top 10 finishes: 1

Money earnings: $100,000

FedExCup rank: 145

Scoring avg.: 71.54

Driving distance: 295.3

Longest drive: 346

Driving accuracy: 58.93%

Greens in regulation: 73.61%

Sand save%: 66.67

Putting rank: 163

Source: PGA Tour