When Anchorage's Casey Cusack birdied five of his last six holes to become the first amateur to win the Eagleglen Open in September, his decision whether to turn professional got a little easier.
"That was pretty fun," he said. "That was kind of the turning point. It was time to move on."
In January, the 30-year-old began a professional career on the Gateway Tour in Arizona, a few months after dominating every major golf tournament in Alaska.
Cusack won his second straight Alaska State Amateur title with a 15-under-par 273 that torched the field by a record 21 strokes in the 72-hole event. He also won the state match play championship for the second straight year and beat the top professional by five strokes at the 36-hole Palmer Invitational.
The red-hot amateur career didn't carry into Cusack's professional debut. In his first of three Gateway Tour tournaments, a 54-hole event at The Whirlwind Golf Course in Chandler, Ariz., he shot even par for the first two days and missed the cut by a stroke.
"It was kind of a rude awakening," Cusack said. "I was surprised I didn't make the cut."
He bounced back to make the cut in his next Gateway tournament, a 54-hole event at the Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear, Ariz., where he shot 7-under par for the first two rounds. He finished with a 1-under par 71 on the third day to tie for 23rd place and earn $1,475.
About 150 golfers compete in each Gateway event, paying entry fees of $1,250 for a chance to win a first prize of $15 to 18,000, said Cusack.
He heard about the Gateway Tour from a friend in Arizona and said networking with other golfers is revealing new opportunities, such as Arizona's Pepsi Tour, which offers tournaments with smaller fields and smaller entry fees.
There are 20 to 40 golfers in each Pepsi Tour event, and entry fees are $250 for one-day events and $500 for two-day events. Cusack won twice in four starts on the Pepsi Tour and sits in 10th place on the money list with $3,570 in winnings.
Cusack is paying all his own entry fees and looking for possible sponsorship from golf equipment companies like Callaway or Titleist. He saves on expenses by living in his sister's house in Paradise Valley, Ariz.
"I probably wouldn't be able to do it otherwise," Cusack said.
Known as one of the longest hitters in Alaska, Cusack said his 300-yard drives don't set him apart in professional golf.
"There's a lot of guys who hit it that far," he said. "It's just mostly about putting. Fourteen or 15 holes per round, those guys are putting for birdie."
Cusack, a former high school hockey standout in Anchorage, compares playing the Gateway Tour to playing minor league hockey.
"It's kind of like a developmental tour," he said. "Mini tours in golf are like the (Alaska) Aces."
The biggest difference between professional and amateur golf is the high level of focus needed for each shot, said Cusack. Every mistake is magnified as each player fights to further his career.
A path is in place for mini-tour golfers to find their way to the big time. Players on the Gateway Tour can earn points toward exemptions in Nationwide Tour events, where they can then earn points toward exemptions on the PGA Tour.
The golf courses of the Gateway Tour are much longer and have trickier greens than anything found in Alaska, said Cusack, so he practices on the various courses early in the week and tries to play in tournaments that suit his evolving game.
"I kind of made some swing changes," he said. "I'll be working on it in the future."
Last summer, Cusack played a pronounced right-to-left ball flight on most shots, but he said he rarely shapes his shots that direction anymore. He calls his swing changes part of any golfer's natural progression and learning process.
Cusack credits much of his golf knowledge to time spent with Anchorage golf pros Billy Bomar, Rob Nelson and Bryan Anderson in recent years, absorbing different methods from each teacher and forming his own philosophy about the golf swing. He isn't currently working with a coach, but would like to find one who shares his views on the game.
Reaching the PGA Tour is Cusack's ultimate dream, but he said he probably won't chase the dream for more than a few years.
"Only time will tell," he said. "I'm not going to grind it out on the mini tours the rest of my life."
Reach Jeremy Peters at jpeters@adn.com or 257-4335.
By JEREMY PETERS
jpeters@adn.com