How winning will change Leggatt's life

Ian Leggatt's life is about to change - both on and off the golf course. After winning his first-ever PGA title on the weekend, the native of Cambridge, Ont., has a guaranteed spot on the tour through 2004, another half-million bucks in the bank and he's about to become a father for the first time. What more could he ask for?

Leggatt beat Loren Roberts and David Peoples by two shots to win the Tucson Open on Sunday, a victory that will allow him the freedom to choose what tournaments to enter.

It was a different story last season, his first on the tour, when he just missed making enough money to keep his card and had to return to qualifying school.

"Now, I can afford to take two or three weeks off when I want to," the 36-year-old said Tuesday during a media conference call. "I can play the events I enjoy playing and that I feel fit my game.

"I played a lot last year and think that's going to be good for me because I saw most of the golf courses and I can pick and choose the weeks that I feel the best."

He can also plan his season around the birth of his first child.

"We're having a baby in May, so I'm going to be able to spend a little more time at home," he said.

Sunday's win, which was worth $540,000 US, also gives him a berth in the PGA championship. And if he's high enough on the money list, he'll be eligible to play in two of golf's most prestigious tournaments. A top-10 placing will earn him entry into the U.S. Open and a top-five standing will land him a berth in the British Open.

Currently he's 13th with $635,229 after six tournaments.

It's a long way from his years of playing on the South African, Asian, Australian and Canadian tours.

"I've waited a long time for this," he said. "It's a lot of hard work that's evolved into doing what I knew I could do all along.

"It's all the more special after all the hard work and all the miles I've travelled."

In fact, it was just three years ago that Leggatt contemplated quitting the game altogether. He just didn't know if all the travelling was worth it.

"I was tired of playing on the Canadian Tour and going to Asia and doing the same thing over and over again and wanting to be out here seemed a bit of a struggle."

But that all changed when he qualified for the Buy.com Tour in 2000. He went on to win a tournament on the second-tier circuit, and finished fifth on the money list in his rookie season. That gave him an exemption for last season's PGA Tour.

"That (making the Buy.com tour) sort of changed everything," said Leggatt, who now lives in Arizona.

Sunday was a milestone day in more ways than one for Leggatt. He tied a career-low with a final-round 8-under-par 64 and had a 72-hole total of 20-under 268, the lowest score at Tucson since David Frost's 266 in 1988.

But it was also a milestone day for Canada as the men's Olympic hockey won the country's first gold medal in 50 years. He may have been playing one of the most pressure-filled rounds of his golf career, but that didn't stop Leggatt from getting frequent updates on Team Canada's progress from a Golf Channel representative. He's still Canadian after all.

"As I headed to 18th, Jerry said 'Canada's up 5-2 with less than a minute left in the game' so getting it in the fairway on 18 was a double victory, I guess."

Leggatt doesn't feel slighted that his success Sunday was overshadowed by the gold-medal heroics of the Olympic hockey team.

"It doesn't take anything away from what I did," said Leggatt, who had a celebratory dinner on Monday with fellow Canadian golfer Mike Weir. "I've got something to think about now.

"First time in 50 years, I win my golf tournament and Canada wins a gold medal. It was a pretty awesome day."

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