DEAD SOLID PERFECT : Pappas brothers always supportive of each other
Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2008
These days, the Pappas brothers don’t get a lot of time to spend together. They made the most of it this weekend.
Brenden Pappas finished tied for 28 th, while Deane Pappas finished tied for 50 th at last week’s U. S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.
Brenden has PGA Tour status this year, currently ranking 181 st on the official money list. Deane doesn’t have status on any tours. That means he’s had to play in the Monday qualifier as he attempts to get in on both the PGA and Nationwide tours.
As a result, they don’t get to see each other that often.
“He’s been out here all year, and I’ve been on the Nationwide and been home most of the year, so I haven’t seen him much this year. But the last couple of weeks we’ve been together,” Deane Pappas said in the interview room last Thursday after he and Brenden were one shot off the lead after shooting first-round 64 s. “We’re staying together this week sharing a hotel room.” Deane beat the odds in the Monday qualifier two weeks in a row for his first two PGA Tour appearances this year. Both teed off in their first rounds at about the same time on opposite nines, and they kept a close watch on each other’s progress on the leaderboard.
“It was just a rush of adrenaline seeing my brother playing so well because, you know, he Monday-qualified to get in here,” Brenden said. “He Monday-qualified last week to get into the John Deere, so you know he has a lot to gain by playing well in these tournaments.” Deane, 40, and Brenden, 38, grew up in Phalaborwa, South Africa, before joining the University of Arkansas golf team. Deane graduated in 1992, while Brenden graduated in 1993. Since then, both have made a living playing golf on just about every available tour.
Brenden earned his PGA Tour card last year after finishing 22 nd on the Nationwide Tour money list. He’s made five cuts in 14 events on the PGA Tour this year, but is going to have to play much better to retain his tour card.
Deane played 22 events on the PGA Tour in 2004, but his best season finish on the Nationwide Tour since 2005 was 50 th in 2005. He’s played three Nationwide Tour events and three PGA Tour events this year.
“We pull for each other in a big way,” Brenden said. “I mean we practice together. We play together the practice rounds. We hang out and have dinner together. My brother’s really a nice guy, so it’s easy to get along with him, and there’s nothing but really positive that goes on.” Last week was the closest the brothers had come to contending together in a long time. A few years ago, they were near the top at the Nationwide Tour’s Fort Smith Classic before fading. And in 2001 on the Nationwide Tour in Monterey, Mexico, Deane won and Brenden finished sixth.
Brenden is back in the PGA Tour field this week at the RBC Canadian Open. Deane is waiting for his next opportunity. Both expect more from each other.
“Just playing isn’t good enough,” Brenden said. “We want to win our there and really compete at the highest level, so we haven’t really fulfilled our expectations to this point.” Regardless, they’ll continue to support each other.
“There’s enough guys out here that want to beat us up. We don’t need to do it ourselves,” Deane said.
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