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--> --> 17-year-old Tryon on PGA golf tour WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Ty Tryon is just like any other 17-year-old in many respects. He is still growing into his size-13 shoes, his cheeks are pocked with acne and he has an English paper due Friday at his high school. "I still hang out with my friends at the mall," Tryon said. "It's just that this is my job, playing golf on the PGA Tour." Tryon's job application was met with resounding approval Monday in the final stage of PGA Tour qualifying school. He made one of the most gut-wrenching days in golf look like child's play with a 66, making him the youngest player in history to earn his card. "It's just unbelievable," Tryon said. "Tonight when I go to sleep, I'll know that I'm on the PGA Tour." He'll have to wait seven months. The PGA Tour adopted a new policy in September that players be 18 before they can become members. Tryon turns 18 on June 2. Until then, he can accept sponsor's exemptions to seven tournaments and play no more than 12. He will not show up on the PGA Tour money list until June. His next step - once he gets through rookie orientation and finishes that paper on "To Kill a Mockingbird" - is to convince anyone who questioned his decision to turn pro before starting his junior year in high school. "Hopefully, I have won a few people over doing this," he said. "I went through every stage and did it the hard way. Hopefully, people will warm up to me a little more." Tryon finished at 18-under 414, in a tie for 23rd and nine strokes behind winner Pat Perez. So concluded a rapid rise to the toughest tour in golf, one that started eight months ago at the Honda Classic. Tryon ditched school for a Monday qualifier, then at 16 became the youngest player in 44 years to make the cut in a PGA Tour event. In July, he was the co-leader after the first round of the B.C. Open, and the seed was planted that a professional career loomed - quickly. "I didn't know it would be this smooth, right through Q-school on the first try," he said. Tryon made it through all three stages of Q-school, with 12 of his 14 rounds under par. The only pressure he faced was on Monday, a final round with as much at stake as the back nine of a major championship. Only the top 35 and ties get their PGA Tour cards, while the rest go to the developmental Buy.com Tour. Tryon was cool from the start, ripping a 300-yard drive down the middle of the fairway and hitting a wedge into 6 feet for birdie. He stalled over the next five holes, then was informed that his threesome was being timed. It was only fitting the way Tryon responded, since he has been in a hurry to get to the big leagues all year. He birdied the next two holes, then sealed his spot on the Tour by hitting a 3-iron from 227 yards into a stiff breeze to 12 feet and making the putt for eagle on No. 3, his 12th hole. He gave himself breathing room on another par 5, his 15th hole, when his 2-iron from 240 yards sailed over the flag and stopped 20 feet away from a two-putt birdie. Tryon's two younger brothers and sister - none play golf - and his parents followed him, showing little emotion, as if they expected this all along. "I was very pensive watching destiny play itself out," his father said. "He's got a lot of heart. All he needed was someone to tell him he couldn't do it." Bill Tryon said he felt vindicated by those who criticized his decision to let his son turn pro after the U.S. Amateur, where Tryon failed to qualify for match play. He signed with IMG and picked up endorsements from Callaway Golf and Target Stores that are worth as much as $1 million a year. "It's easy to jump on the wrong side of this issue because it goes against the grain," Bill Tryon said. "I just knew that with this kid, what he had in his heart and mind ... I felt this could happen. You cannot underestimate the power of a dream." The dream was a long time in the works. He was born William Augustus Tryon IV, but his father began calling him "Ty" at an early age after his favorite character in the movie "Caddyshack" - Ty Webb. The family sold its business in North Carolina in 1993 and moved to Orlando, in part to let the oldest son's passion for golf flourish. Tryon went to the Leadbetter Academy in Bradenton for eighth and ninth grades. College was never a consideration. "Honestly, Ty couldn't even see the tunnel, let alone the light at the end," his father said. "He ramped up the food chain too fast. He's all about tournament golf, and that's what he is focused on." As Tryon lined up his birdie putt on the second hole, someone passing by the course in a car screamed out, "Tiger Woods." Not quite. What remains to be seen is whether a kid who can hit the ball with amazing power can eventually challenge him. "I've always said that Tiger's competition will come from the youth," Jack Nicklaus said after watching his son, Gary, earn his card. "This might be one of the kids." First things first. Tryon was worn out from six days of golf - the first two while battling a severe case of strep throat. Asked how they would celebrate his amazing feat, Bill Tryon said, "Shirley Temples." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing