When word spread he had declined his earned exemption into last month's Booz Allen Classic on the PGA Tour, Chip Sullivan found his phones ringing at a pace that rivaled the hot line of John Daly's divorce lawyer.

Chip Sullivan

Sullivan's longtime club pro buddies had his numbers locked on speed dial. They were starving for an explanation.

"Hey, Chipper, what have you been drinking?" he was asked.

"Yeah, a lot of my pro friends thought I was a little goofy in the head passing up a chance to win a million dollars at the Booz Allen and go play in a club pro event in which first place was worth $70,000," Sullivan said Monday. "That's OK. I had my reasons."

Forget the hard stuff that's housed at the nearest ABC. The only alphabet store that Sullivan thirsted for a package from was the one that had PGA stamped on it.

So Sullivan loaded up his sticks and headed north to Verona, N.Y., for the U.S. Club Professional Championship where the top 20 would be guaranteed a spot in the Aug. 17-20 PGA Championship at Medinah, Ill.

Did Sullivan down his PGA shot?

You betcha.

Shoot, the Ashley Plantation head pro slam dunked it, chipping in twice for birdie on his final four holes -- the last one from 75 feet on the second hole of a seven-way playoff for five spots -- to earn his third invite to the PGA since 2003.

No wonder everybody calls him Chip.

"Yeah, yeah ... that's funny," said Sullivan, who apparently had heard the same line once or twice before. "Seriously, though, I just wanted to have another chance to get back there."

Talk about a gimme. After all, it was at the PGA in Kohler, Wis., two years ago when Sullivan enjoyed the biggest highlight of his pro golf career.

Refusing to go quietly on Pete Dye's trouble-laced Whistling Straits course that sent a horde of the biggest names in golf packing early, Sullivan grinded his way to a tie for 31st place. His 1-under 287 for 72 holes was the lowest score in relation to par recorded by a club pro in the PGA since 1969.

"That's why I opted to skip the Booz Allen ... so it all worked in the plan I wanted and now I'm getting to go back," said Sullivan, who finished six shots behind winner Vijay Singh and earned a career-high paycheck of $34,250.

Unlike the majority of his club pro pals, who grind through a life of giving rudimentary lessons to 30-handicap hackers or sell clubhouse apparel to deep-pocketed members instead of honing their swings, Sullivan had a sobering swig of the big tour in 1997.

After finishing third in the PGA Tour's 1996 Qualifying School, a fully exempt Sullivan and his new bride, Roanoker Kari Hall, hit the big circuit running in '97. Lots of great destinations, courses, resorts, courtesy cars and VIP treatment, for sure.

Great golf? Not exactly.

The wide-eyed Sullivan struggled to keep up in the fast lane, earning only $41,019 in 27 events and quickly losing his tour card.

"You know, I've played in plenty of tour events and I've played in two PGAs," Sullivan said. "And a lot of these club pro buddies of mine haven't been there. So I realize the significance and the difference between a regular tour event and a major, and that's pretty special. This is going to be the highlight of my summer."

Sullivan, who ranked among the circuit's longest hitters in his short stint on tour, will need all the power he can muster at Medinah's storied No. 3 course. The par-72 layout, which has played host to three U.S. Opens (1949, '75 and '90) and the 1999 PGA, was recently renovated by famed architect Rees Jones. It will play to a length of 7,561 yards, making it the longest course in major championship history.

"Whistling Straits [7,536 yards] was the second-longest, so heck, man, that was long," said Sullivan, snickering. "But I'm excited about it. I can move the ball, so I don't mind it. Heck, I'm comfortable with it ... the harder the better, I say."

Certainly, it will be hard for Sullivan to generate the volume of news he did two years ago. In addition to his fine play, Sullivan garnered a lot of national publicity for the off-course storylines that shadowed him. Somehow, Sullivan persevered through a week in which his oldest sister was only days short of her death in a New Orleans hospital.

Compounding matters, Kari, was back home in Troutville, due to deliver the couple's third child, son Colby, at any moment.

"Sure, all that was a lot to deal with. While playing on the weekend of a major is something every golfer dreams of, it was sort of hard to concentrate on golf at the time," said Sullivan, a native of Albany, N.Y., who migrated to the Roanoke Valley in 1993 to take an assistant pro job at Hanging Rock.

"Now, I want to convince myself that I can do that again. Heck, I've got to go for the stars. I know I can make a cut in a major. I know I can compete at that level. Now it's just going to be a matter of thinking smart, pulling off the shots and staying focused."

Reprinted with permission from The Roanoke Times.