Luke Buttigieg at Coolum, Sportal
When Paul Gow finished his second round at the Australian PGA Championship on Friday he thought he'd missed the cut so he returned to Sydney but by the time he got there the scores had blown out enough for him to survive so he had to turn around and go straight back.
That meant not only did he leave his wife and kids disappointed because he had to cancel dinner plans with them but he also had to cop the wasted expense of the two extra flights and a cleaning charge to get back into his room at the Hyatt.
The 39-year-old, who won the 2000 Canon Challenge and is a three-time victor on the Nationwide Tour in the United States, takes up the story: "I had four over, when I left I was 105th and one over was the cut."
"So I went and packed my stuff, had a Jim Beam and drove back to Brisbane and got a 4pm flight which got me in at 6pm."
By the time Gow boarded his flight to Sydney his position had improved to 66th overall but he still didn't think he'd make it and his bags had already been loaded onto the plane so he remained on board.
When he got off the plane in Sydney a shocked Gow was informed by his caddy that he was now equal 59th and had made the cut with nothing to spare so he got back on the 8pm flight and returned in time to put his head on the pillow in the same room at Coolum by 10pm.
Gow didn't consider staying in his home city, as a couple of pros were forced to when they took a private jet four hours back home from an event and wouldn't have been able to return in time in the US. As a result, he wasn't too popular with his family.
"My wife was 20 minutes away with the kids and they couldn't wait because we were going out to dinner somewhere over near the beach and they had their togs (bathers) and they were ready to go for a swim and then Dad just ruined it," Gow added.
"So they couldn't go, what an idiot (I am)."
Currently 52nd on the Australasian PGA Tour money list but hoping to shoot a low enough score on Sunday to sneak into the top 50, Gow will divide his time in 2010 between the Nationwide Tour and Sydney where he breeds racehorses.
Gow and a mate, who is a mortgage broker, have been breeding horses together for five years after forming a company called 'Dream Run'. They now have 20 at Reihnwood Stud at Mittagong.
Sitting 64th overall after shooting a 73 on Saturday that leaves him on plus six, Gow needs a spot in the top 50 to force his way into the New Zealand Open and Moonah Classic early next year, events that are co-sanctioned with the Nationwide Tour, as he aims to make a big start to the year and gain berths in more tournaments later on.