Paying his dues

Imagine this: The setting is the difficult Bethpage Black golf course during the U.S. Open. In the first round of play, a player posts six birdies -- more than any other player in the field. His good play continues through the second round, he makes the cut, and this player finds himself paired with Greg "The Shark" Norman to begin Saturday's round. The player continues to shoot well, and he finishes tied with "The Shark" at the end of the day. By the end of the 72nd hole on Sunday, the player finishes ahead of such notable players as Norman, John Daly -- a PGA champion, Jesper Parnevik and tied with Jose-Maria Olazabal -- a two-time Masters champ.\nThis is the story of 32-year-old Craig Bowden, a Bloomington resident who has undeservedly gone unnoticed. \nCraig Bowden began his golfing play at the age of 5. His father got him started at the local Cascades golf course. He enjoyed playing several sports, including baseball, tennis and golf, but by the age of 13 he decided to focus mainly on tennis and golf. He played two years of competitive tennis and four years of competitive golf at the high school level, and he spent a good deal of time playing golf out of Otis Park in Bedford. \nIn college, he spent one semester playing at the University of Indianapolis and then played at Vincennes University once he transferred. In 1989, he worked at Bloomington Country Club and entered and won a few local tournaments. Then in February 1990, he decided to try his hand on the bigger tour. But this could only have been possible with the help of some willing sponsors, including Jim Hammond and David Elliot, to whom Craig and his wife said they are eternally grateful. \nBoth Craig and Bobbi Bowden (his wife, not the Florida State coach) hail from Bedford, and they both enjoy living in Bloomington at Eagle Pointe with their two dogs, Olivia and Lamb Chop. They met on a blind date six years ago, and at that time, Bobbi didn't care much for golf. \nBut her role in Craig's life changed the way she viewed the game. \n"I really feel I am helping to keep him calm," Bobbi said. "He's gotten better about coming back after a bad round, and I won't let him beat himself up after a tough day on the course. We sometimes go out to dinner, or go to a movie, just to get his mind off golf and keep his outlook positive. After all, Craig is doing what he loves to do."\nCraig and Bobbi's immediate families are both rooted here, and as they are contemplating beginning a family of their own, they said they would like to live closer to their relatives. Bobbi herself is an IU alumna, having received degrees as a B.A. in Criminal Justice and an A.S. in Optometric Technology. \n"I love this area, and the people are very real here," Bobbi said. "Sometimes when I am alone and Craig is touring I just love driving around campus, enjoying the scenery and taking pictures."\nIn addition, both are huge IU basketball fans.\n"We took the RV down to Atlanta to see the the final game," Craig said.\nSpeaking of the RV, that is the way that Craig, Bobbi and their two dogs traveled to Bethpage and the U.S. Open. For one, it supposedly helps keeps expenses to a minimum, and since it is familiar to the family, it provides a comfortable and regular surrounding in which to live and sleep. This is pretty important, especially when considering that Craig is playing in 35-40 tournaments a year.\nThat many tournaments can be pretty tiring, and Craig has been in seven straight tournaments over as many weekends.\nEven though his schedule might be tiring, Craig said he slept pretty well the week of the Open.\n"I didn't lose a wink of sleep," he said. "Even when I knew I was playing with Norman on Saturday."\nBut he did admit that the first hole on Saturday was a little daunting.\n"Playing with Norman on Saturday, especially on the first hole, was intimidating," Craig said. "Greg smashed his first tee shot down the middle, but I followed the tee shot, and hit one right next to his, and then I was fine."\nAnd the loud and boisterous crowds, which received notable press during the week of the Open, and were occasionally way out of line, actually helped Craig's game.\n"It was especially fun on Saturday because when the crowds were shouting for "Greg," I thought they were shouting "Craig," and I acknowledged them," Bowden said.\nBut it wasn't easy for Craig to get to where he is right now.\n"To have success on the tour, you have to be patient, and pay your dues," Craig said.\nAnd indeed, the Bowdens did and do have to pay their dues. To break even, the Bowdens have to make about $50,000 off the tour. They would normally have to make around $85,000 a year to play, but corporate sponsorships from Simon's and Natural Golf have helped to somewhat defray the costs.\nCraig will be playing later this month in the B.C. Open in Endicott, N.Y., having received a sponsor's exemption.\nAnd the sponsors have chosen a good man to bet on.\n"His strength is that he hits the ball so consistently straight," said Jon Hanft, a salesman at Tee-to-Green pro-shop.\nSecond in driving accuracy overall at the U.S. Open, a record six birdies in the field during the first round, a strong finish in Knoxville a week later, ending at eight-under par and tied for 16th -- that's a pretty safe bet. \nCraig is one of the only professional golfers playing on tour from Indiana right now, and from the same place where he learned and developed his golf game, he is eager to have some local support for his career.