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With plenty of potentially huge paydays ahead as the meat of the Nationwide Tour season approaches, Dustin Risdon of Strathmore, Alta., says he is currently living off dividends he earned on the Canadian Tour.
Risdon is 30th on the Nationwide Tour money list and is currently the best Canadian not on the PGA Tour, although Belleville's Jon Mills has shaken off a wobbly start and recently moved into 35th on the money list after a tie for sixth at the South Georgia Classic in late April.
Risdon says the transition to the main development circuit for the PGA Tour has been smooth since earning exempt status at qualifying school last year.
"The Canadian Tour is a great starting ground, a good stepping stone to get to a higher level," said Risdon, who finished sixth on that tour's money list, including a playoff win at the ATB Financial Classic at home in Calgary last year.
"The tournaments are run very professionally, pretty similar to the Nationwide events. I believe the Nationwide Tour just has bigger crowds. It's run pretty much the same (as the Canadian Tour)."
"We play great courses (in Canada) and obviously it gets you prepared. It's proven every year -- there are at least 10 guys every year that move on (to the next level)," he said.
After graduating to the next level himself, Risdon went into the 2009 season with more immediate goals than long-term, especially after a chat with his agent, Kevin Canning, who emphasized the importance of a fast start to avoid being shuffled down later in the year and possibly having to qualify for tournaments.
"I went down to Panama and, basically, I just wanted to get a good start there," Risdon said. "I finished tied for 10th and, when I got back to the U.S., I called my agent and I said: 'Well, is that good enough?' and he said: 'Yeah, you're good to go for the full year now.'
"That was basically the first goal I wanted to get done."
Just more than a month ago, he helped his cause again by shooting a course-record nine-under 62 in the third round of the Stonebrae Classic in California, tying for 15th.
"I think I hit every green that day, so I had 18 looks at it and made half of those," said Risdon, whose transition to the Nationwide Tour hasn't been on his own.
"I actually got lucky and got a really good caddie (Dan Schlimm) that has been out there for probably 10-15 years and he knows all the courses like the back of his hand. So we've been really working together since we got back to the U.S. (from Panama) and he's a huge help for me."
With eight tournaments behind him, Risdon has missed just two cuts so far and is flirting with the top 25 on the money list and a move on to the PGA Tour at the end of the season. But that is too far away to even consider, according to Risdon.
"I actually feel like I haven't even played well yet this year," he said. "I've put three out of four rounds together a few times, but once I get all four rounds together, I think I might be pretty tough to beat out there.
"I'm not putting any pressure on getting a win. Me and my caddie talk about just playing winning golf, not necessarily winning a tournament. And wherever that puts us at the end of the week, that's where we're at."
The same theory holds true in his quest for the top 25 and a PGA Tour card in 2010.
"I'm trying not to even look at that money list," Risdon said, admitting that it is tempting. "A lot of veteran guys have told me: 'Don't even look at that thing until about the last five events of the year and then, look at it and see what you've got to do and see what you can do,'" he said.
Risdon also will take a run at qualifying for next month's U.S. Open. Last year's top-10 finish on the Canadian Tour money list earned him a direct entry into sectional qualifying for the Open, which he will play after the Melwood Prince George's Country Open in early June in Maryland.