When golf's four-tournament post-season began last month, Streelman, without a career victory, was 112th on the points list that qualified 125 players. From there the Duke grad with a sociology degree inched up the standing each tournament, surviving the whittling-down process to play another day.
Now, all of a sudden, he's part of this week's 30-player Tour Championship field, while Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Stewart Cink and three of the season's four major championship winners are not.
That accomplishment alone earns Streelman the unexpected reward of invitations into next year's Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. And after Thursday's even-par 70 at East Lake Golf Club, he's on the leaderboard four shots behind first-round leaders Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Geoff Ogilvy.
"I'm playing well and I'm putting well," he said. "I want to compete and win this golf tournament."
Do you believe the nerve of this guy?
By one line of thinking, Streelman's climb is like underdog Butler bounding through the NCAA basketball tournament. Another opinion is it cheapens the previous nine months of play like foreclosures destroy a neighborhood.
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