Steve Wheatcroft didn't win a tournament in college at Indiana University and hasn't won a tournament as a professional since winning a mini-tour event on the Gateway Tour in 2005. In four years on the Nationwide Tour, he had never finished better than third in any tournament.

But, there he was Monday, one week after winning the largest paycheck of his career ($68,000), standing on the 16th tee during the final round of the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open, just one shot from the lead.

"I was very, very calm the whole day through 15 holes, and that's when it kind of started to hit me," said Wheatcroft, a Washington, Pa., native who went to Trinity High School. "I'm looking at the leader board going, I'm only one back here, the leader [Derek Lamely] is already in the clubhouse so he's not going any lower, and of the two guys I'm playing with, only one has a chance.

"If I'm watching on TV, I'd be saying, 'This is a three-horse race.' The worst I would finish is tied for third if I didn't have a train wreck."

Wheatcroft, 32, did not have a train wreck, but, with his adrenaline churning and, in his words "the testosterone flying," he bogeyed two of the last three holes to finish tied for third -- only the second and third bogeys he made in the 72-hole event.

He finished at 16-under 272 and won $168,000 -- more than half of what he had earned in 34 career appearances on the PGA Tour -- but the bogey at the final hole did more than drop him out of a tie for second behind Lamely, the winner. It cost him $140,000, the difference between second and third place.

For a player who had earned $333,036 in four years on the Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour, that was a costly bogey.

"I'm afraid that bogey will stay with me for a while," Wheatcroft said. "I'll remember it right down to the penny."

Still, the finish by Wheatcroft moved him to No. 91 on the PGA Tour money list and earned him a spot in the Transitions Championship that is being played this weekend in Tampa. With the reshuffling of the eligibility list, he figures he will earn a spot in the Shell Houston Open a week before the Masters and still has a shot at qualifying for The Players Championship in May.

In his past seven starts -- six on the PGA Tour -- Wheatcroft has earned $303,393. In his previous 89 starts -- 60 on the Nationwide Tour, 29 on the PGA Tour -- he earned $443,188.

It began when he finished third and won $58,000 in the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship last year, allowing him to finish No. 20 on the money list and gain automatic promotion to the PGA Tour. Two weeks ago, he shot a final-round 71 and finished tied for 17th at the Honda Classic, winning $68,000.

Then came Puerto Rico.

"It didn't feel like the big PGA Tour stage I'm used to feeling," Wheatcroft said. "That was a nice feeling. That's a good thing. That's where you want to be. You want to be comfortable in that situation. I've never been in that situation before. I can learn from it."

What is Bubba Watson's real first name? Answer at end.

The North Coast Golf Show at the Monroeville Convention Center last week was more proof it definitely is a buyer's market when it comes to golf packages, travel and places to play.

Consider these two membership opportunities that were on display:

St. Jude Golf Club in Chicora, which converted from a private club to a daily-fee course in October 2007, is hoping to stimulate play by offering a special membership for $50 a month ($600 a year) that includes unlimited golf on weekdays only. The only additional cost is for a cart. The regular weekday greens fee at St. Jude is $42 ($32 before May 28).

Rocky Gap Resort in Cumberland, Md., about two hours southeast of Pittsburgh, has a corporate package of $5,000 a year that can include 30 players (cart fee not included). It offers unlimited golf every day, including weekends, on the resort's Jack Nicklaus signature course. If you round up 15 golfers to go in on the package, that is $333 a year per player for unlimited golf. If you get 30 players, it is $167 a year. At $70 per round weekday ($95 weekend), you have made your money after three rounds.

• Kevin Shields has been named director of instruction at Sewickley Heights Golf Club.

• The golf dome at the RMU Island Sports Center is now open all day for golf. The facility was closed for several hours each weekday because of lacrosse.

• Olde Stonewall in Ellwood City, one of the top public courses in the state, is offering 50 memberships at $5,000 for the 2010 season. The offer includes unlimited golf and no cart fees, dues or monthly minimums. The fee is reduced to $4,500 for golfers who are members at other clubs.

Bubba Watson's real first name is Gerry.

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