John Mallinger hopes never to return on "Conditional Status" on PGA as he kicks off the season with Sony Open
John Mallinger probably considers himself the most unfortunate of all when he decided to opt for the treacherous “Conditional Status” on the PGA Tour and is now adamant that he will never use the option that made him suffer for the whole year.
Conditional Status on the PGA Tour means that the player will and can be put on hold without citing any reasons and spend most of his time sitting on the alternate benches, not sure of making it in the field even at the eleventh hour.
If, in case, a player makes it in the field following a withdrawal from any of the players, he ends up bracing himself for the surprise inclusion at the last moment.
Mallinger said, "I had never been in that category before so I didn't know what to expect".
"It's probably one of the worst categories you can have. You don't know when you are going to play and most of the events you do play in are the smaller events so it's tougher to retain your card. If I had to do it again, I'd probably play Nationwide full-time," he stated.
The 32-year-old Escondido High School graduate lurked in confusion for most of the year, making appearances on the Nationwide Tour along with sudden inclusions on the PGA events.
Incidentally though, Mallinger managed to pull in six top-10 finishes on the Nationwide Tour last year, ending up in the top-25 money list, automatically qualifying for a playing status on the PGA Tour this year.
He will be making his appearance at the Sony Open in Hawaii and hopes to make it big till the end of the season.
Mallinger did well on the PGA Tour event, the Wyndham Championship in August last year, carding a strong joint 12th and moved over to the Nationwide Tour event, the Knoxville News Sentinel Open pulling in another third.
He posted two runner up finishes in the following events, jolting to the top-25 on the money list on Nationwide, thereby reserving a berth for the coveted PGA.
For the moment, Mallinger is brimming with confidence and is all set to make it big in the current season. "This year, I really feel like I'm ready to play. I know what I can do and that's what excites me," he added.
Mallinger has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from California State University, Long Beach.
He turned professional in the year 2002 after earning 2005 Canadian Tour Qualifying School medal.
He was nick-named “Monday Mally” for his constant return to the Monday Qualifying rounds on PGA, an embarrassment he is facing to this date.
He finished for gross earnings of $1,600,000 in his debut year on PGA Tour in 2007 and fell short of few points trailing Brandt Snedeker for Rookie of the Year accolade.
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