Unearthed and planted in field, Maggert takes advantage

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Jeff Maggert's gardener in Houston had another appointment Wednesday and couldn't handle the last-minute heavy lifting the PGA Tour veteran had in mind.

Jeff Maggert earned his card in Q-school but didn't finish well enough to be guaranteed entry into every tournament. (Getty Images)

Then again, we're not sure that a backhoe, bulldozer or blasting caps would have provided enough backup, given what Maggert had planned.

So in lieu of hired help, Maggert took matters into his own hands -- and he's lucky he doesn't have blisters to show for it.

"To be honest," Maggert said Thursday, "I'm a little bit sore today."

Maybe those guys spending hours in the gym have it all wrong.

A day after he spent the entire day in his Texas yard felling dead trees because he couldn't get anyone to do it for him, the last man into the field at the Transitions Championship shot a 4-under 67 on Thursday and is within two shots of the lead.

Interesting storyline, given that for most of the week, Maggert's position on the list of players seeking a spot in the Tampa field was like those decorative palms themselves.

Dead and buried.

Seventh on the alternate's list on Monday night, Maggert began moving up as players withdrew for various reasons. By Wednesday night, after having spent the day in the yard with a shovel in hand, Maggert elected to hop on a plane for Tampa just in case.

He arrived at his hotel around midnight, still very much doubtful he had a crack at making the pairing sheet, though he had moved up to first alternate by then and felt it was the responsible thing to do.

"To be honest, I didn't expect to get in, I just came because I was first alternate and I figured I needed to be here," the 46-year-old said. "Normally, when you get that many withdrawals earlier in the week, you feel like you have lost your chance.

"So I was going to hang around here and hit some balls and practice, and if I got in, great. If not, I was going to fly home this afternoon."

He didn't get much chance to do any of the above. Knowing that a player could pull out at any point in the day, he arrived at the Innisbrook Resort at 7:15 a.m. Thursday. Within 15 minutes, a PGA Tour official informed him that veteran Vijay Singh was experiencing back issues.

Maggert bolted to the range and began to get loose. But Singh did not formally WD until 20 minutes before his 8:27 a.m. tee time, so Maggert had been in complete limbo.

"Kinda on standby, yeah," he said.

It was somewhat unusual that he got his foot in the door to begin with. The PGA Tour event in Puerto Rico last weekend ran long into Monday because of bad weather, and five players in the field gained access to the Transitions field because they finished in the top 10, an automatic provision for the following if they elect to use it. As a result, as of Monday night, Maggert was a distant seventh on the alternate's list.

Which is why Maggert elected to go ahead and grab a shovel.

"We finally had some good weather in Houston," he said. "It's been kind of a rough winter, and with all the hard freezes, we had lost some palm trees, so my wife said, 'Your job today is to go work in the yard.' So that's what I did."

Maggert could not recall being in similar straits, awaiting word as to whether he was going to play. At least not lately.

"Not in about 25 years," he laughed.

He hasn't been on tour quite that long -- this is his 20th year. But like his yard work, he had some digging to do in the offseason after finishing outside the top 125 in earnings the past two years.

Maggert put his head down in the offseason, swallowed his pride and went back to Qualifying School, where he finished T23 to get his card back, although finishing that far back at finals hardly guarantees a spot in every tournament.

A steady player not particularly prone to huge pyrotechnics, Maggert didn't really need a practice round on the Copperhead Course -- he's played the Tampa event seven previous times. But his performance underscores his recent troubles in that he has missed four of his last five cuts at Innisbrook.

"This golf course really suits my game," he said. "I have enjoyed coming here in the past and I wanted to get in this week, but I was kind of far out on the alternate's list. I am just thankful for the opportunity.

"It just worked out."

He worked out Wednesday, too.

"Those palm trees were dead," he said, "but they were tough to get out of the ground."