Fleming pursuing his dream
As former B.C. amateur champion Fleming will tell you, the life of a professional golfer on the minor circuits is far from glamorous
Driving across the entire continent, Riley Fleming has continued his pursuit of the dream.
For those outside of the PGA Tour but still looking, scratching and clawing for that big break and enough earnings to move up the orders of merit in the feeder circuits, such a dream can in many cases involve a long, gruelling, unglamorous road — sometimes travelled in a car or an RV, and involving stays in more, um, financially thrifty accommodations.
And there is no guarantee of a substantial payday at the stops along the way.
“People ... they laugh and say, ‘Oh, you got it made. You get to play golf for a living.’ It’s like, yeah, it’s awesome. I absolutely love what I do. I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Fleming said.
“But most people have no idea. I’ll drive (from) Texas to Calgary in a few days and I’ll stay in an absolutely awful motel, a Motel 6 in Kansas. Some of the things I’ve seen in motel rooms … because you like to save the money.”
Fleming is 23 and has been on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada for the past three seasons. In 2015, he earned just under $17,000 in prize money, making the cut in seven of 12 events.
To add some perspective, tournament winners on the Mackenzie Tour last season made $31,500 in prize money for their victories. The exception was a $36,000 cut for the winner of the Freedom 55 Financial Championship — the final event of the season. A tie for fourth at the 2015 Syncrude Boreal Open — his best career finish on the Mackenzie Tour — earned Fleming $6,890 and change in prize money.
“I’m not really in the position where I have disposable money,” Fleming said. “In my mind, I don’t want to give up golf because I don’t have the money, so with the money I do have, I’m going to stretch it as far as possible.”
As for those motels along the way? The perception of the dark, dingy and unkempt room, it seems, is on target.
Fleming said he’s encountered rooms with blood stains on the floor. Bed bugs and cockroaches, too.
“That’s just nasty,” he said. “I’ve opened up the fridge and I’ve had old food sitting in there. Nothing like super, super bad. But just like ... the bed bug stuff, that was pretty gross.
“When I go into a motel now, I pull up all the sheets, look through the pillow cases.”
Fleming is back on the road. Born in Calgary, he was planning to make the drive from Alberta to the Lower Mainland for a shot at playing in the Freedom 55 Financial Open at Point Grey Golf and Country Club, beginning Thursday.
Fleming asked for a sponsorship exemption into the tournament, the first stop on the Mackenzie Tour schedule, but was denied. In order to compete at Point Grey, he must now earn a spot by going through a Monday qualifier at Swan-e-Set Bay Resort and Country Club in Pitt Meadows.
Only 10 players from the qualifier will gain entry into the Freedom 55 Financial Open. Fleming admitted he’s never competed in a “one-and-done” Monday qualifier before.
“There’s no sense going out and shooting 72. If you’re even par on 15 and you’ve got a Par 5 and a chance to go for it (in two shots), you don’t lay up and play it safe,” he said.
“If you don’t shoot 69, you may as well shoot 99. That said, if you’re five-under par on 13, you don’t do anything stupid, either.”
Fleming has tasted success at Swan-e-Set in the past. He won the 2012 B.C. Amateur Championship at that course, winning by three strokes with a final score of eight-under par.
Fleming said this season isn’t a make-or-break year for his professional golf career, but that tag is appropriate when talking about his future on the Mackenzie Tour.
Fleming made the cut in only four of 10 events last year. He earned $4,958 in prize money and finished 90th in the order of merit. The top five in the money rankings earn status on the Web.com Tour, which is one step below the PGA Tour. Part of his season was hampered by a pinched nerve in his neck, which adversely affected his right arm to the point where holding a can of beer became difficult, he said.
“To have something fluke like that happen is just too bad,” he said, adding he has recovered from that injury.
Fleming now has the chance to start his 2017 Mackenzie Tour season off on the right foot with a strong showing Monday. Qualify, and it’s back in the car to continue the pursuit.
I don’t want to give up golf because I don’t have the money, so with the money I do have, I’m going to stretch it as far as possible