June 30, 2004

BY JOEL BOYD Staff Reporter

As he sat comfortably in the interview room Tuesday at Cog Hill, giving polished answers about his polished game, it was easy to forget that Casey Wittenberg is 19.

About the only outward indication that he has been a professional for less than a week was the lack of a sponsor's logo on his cap. Instead, Wittenberg sported the logo of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he tied for 36th in his final tournament as an amateur.

In the ensuing days, Wittenberg sat down with his family, his coaches from the David Leadbetter Golf Academy and his potential representatives from International Management Group and decided it was time to play for pay, even though he just completed his freshman season at Oklahoma State.

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"College was a great experience for me,'' said Wittenberg, who is making his pro debut this week in the Cialis Western Open. "It was something I needed to do for a year. But I felt my game would improve faster if I took this road vs. staying in college for three more years.

"We tried to view it from both sides, what was going to be better for me and my game. Ultimately I want to play the PGA Tour, so when we weighed the pros and cons, we felt like this was the best decision.''

Perhaps it's a sign of the times, what with Ty Tryon turning pro as a high school junior and Michelle Wie contemplating the same at 14, that no one batted an eye at Wittenberg's early exit from college.

Or perhaps it's more of a sign of his talent: American Junior Golf Association player of the year in 2001. Winner of the prestigious Southern Amateur and Porter Cup and runner-up in the U.S. Amateur last summer. Second-team All-America this spring, as well as low amateur in the Masters, where he tied for 13th to earn a return invitation.

Wittenberg, it seems, was bred to be a professional golfer. His father, Jimmy, played on the PGA Tour in the mid-1970s, and Casey left their home in Memphis, Tenn., while in high school to attend the Leadbetter Academy in Bradenton, Fla., before his brief stop at the Oklahoma State golf factory.

And unlike Tryon -- another Leadbetter Academy product who earned his PGA Tour card at 17, then suffered through two in-over-his-head seasons -- Wittenberg has proved himself on every level, following the Tiger Woods model of "learning how to win.''

"There's a lot of merit to that,'' said Hunter Mahan, a PGA Tour rookie who made his pro debut in last year's Western. "Playing as a junior and winning and knowing you're the best is a tough thing, and then doing the same in college. I was lucky enough to be No. 1 in both, and that was a nice step to have accomplished. I definitely wouldn't have been ready to turn pro out of high school.''

While Mahan said "nothing prepares you for tour life,'' players such as Mahan and Wittenberg -- as well as Charles Howell and David Gossett, others who left college early in recent years -- are battle-hardened at a younger age than previous generations, thanks in large part to the national AJGA tournaments.

"That plays a tremendous role,'' Gossett said. "They set it up like PGA Tour events. You're traveling during the summer quite a bit. For two or three months, you're pretty much on tour. It's great preparation.''

Gossett, who left Texas after his sophomore season, said there's no question his game progressed faster as a pro than it would have by staying in college, but he also acknowledged the importance of seasoning.

Luke Donald, for example, stayed at Northwestern for four years and stepped right into pro success. Bill Haas, the 2004 college player of the year at Wake Forest, also stayed four years and tied for 33rd last week in his pro debut.

"Any time you're mixing it up with PGA Tour guys, you're going to learn,'' Gossett said. "You may get your brains beat in, but it's the only place you're going to learn. It's just like people in business school. If they really want to be competitive, they go talk with businessmen or do an internship.

"But it's a double-sided coin. There's a lot to confidence, to doing well in college and winning a lot. That can do a lot for you, too.''

Wittenberg said he sought advice from other tour pros from Memphis, a group that includes Gossett, Loren Roberts and Shaun Micheel. They all preached patience.

"I realize there's going to be a learning curve,'' said Wittenberg, who also has sponsor's exemptions into the John Deere Classic and Greater Milwaukee Open. "I'm sure I'm going to get my teeth kicked in with one of these events.

"In a perfect world, I wouldn't have to go through Q-school, everything would fall into place. But I know it's going to be a long road. If I go through some hard times, I've just got to realize the big picture, that I have some time and I can use these tournaments as a learning experience.''