Hollister

Mitch Thomas wasn't nervous after he hit a 1-under 143 (71-72) in the first stage of the European Seniors Tour Qualifying School in Portugal last month. Nor was he anxious after he finished with a 5-over 289 (71-71-74-73) in the final stage.

The Hollister resident wasn't apprehensive at all when playing overseas in his second seniors Q-School in as many years, despite a pair of bogeys on the final round.

But he did get nervous, he said, when he was watching the other golfers finish their rounds.

"It was kind of neat just sitting around toward the end, knowing I needed to have a couple of guys finish not so well, which would enable me to get in," said Thomas, who added that he wasn't wishing "bad golf" on anyone. "Waiting for the other guys, that was the only time I was nervous ... When the club wasn't in my hand."

Thomas' score of 289 put him in 15th place among the top 17 to make the cut, but outside of fully-exempt status. He was one of 17 to graduate from Q-School, and is now eligible to compete on a 2008 European Seniors Tour that includes stops in Poland, Ireland, Turkey and, of course, Scotland.

Thomas, 50, earned his tour card on Nov. 22 - Thanksgiving Day, no less - on the Pinta Course at the Pestana Golf Resort on the Algarve in Portugal.

"It's easy to get nervous," Thomas said. "I just felt like I belonged."

On the European Seniors Tour, those who compete on the tour include the top 30 golfers off the Order of Merit rankings (Europe's top money winners) as well as the top six from the Q-School, who earned fully-exempt status.

Since Thomas sits outside of the top six, he must wait for notification on when and where he will play on the European Seniors Tour. Only until other golfers drop out does Thomas move down the list, getting closer and closer for a chance to compete.

The wait-and-see European approach, though, is a better deal than the U.S. Seniors Tour, Thomas said. The U.S. tour is not fully exempt yet, meaning golfers would still need to qualify for a particular tournament after receiving an invitation.

And while Thomas must now wait for an e-mail or a phone call to be invited to a tournament, he expects to play between six and 12 European Seniors Tour events in 2008.

"I'm not intimidated by anybody, so if I play, I'm just excited to go over there and compete and see how well I do," Thomas said. "Now I'm just sitting, waiting for the phone call. But I'm just happy to be in that situation."

Thomas won't necessarily be sitting around, of course. He recently took fifth place with an 8-under 208 (67-72-69) at the tournament championship for the Heartland Players Senior Tour in Phoenix, and he's only been in Hollister for a total of nine weeks since February, playing golf in seemingly every part of the world.

With his new ready-to-go approach, though, he'll need to fly to Europe nearly on a moments notice. That is why Thomas will be moving to Houston in March.

The Houston Intercontinental Airport offers daily flights to London, and Thomas will stay busy by competing in the Senior Professional Golf Tour in Texas and Oklahoma in between jet-setting to Europe.

"I'll be able to stay active, have a place to stay and practice, and then if I get the phone call, I should be close to get on a flight," Thomas said. "I'm excited about playing and I want to play, so, if I get the call, I'm going.

"Living in Houston, I'll be ready ... Just pack it up and run."

Thomas feels he needs to work on his putting, however, as he left four putts on the front lip of the final round of Q-School, which may have kept him out of fully-exempt status.

"I just didn't finish enough putts to get in the top six," he said. "If I can work on that, that should take me to the next level."

The 1975 Hollister High and 2007 Q-School graduate ("Once a 'Baler, always a 'Baler," he said) feels his first chance to play will come in April when the Seniors Tour heads to Turkey. Until then, Thomas will be working on his game and waiting for the call.

"It's such a big thing, you're either in or you're out," Thomas said. "I felt I should have made the top six, so I was happy, but a little down since I felt I could have been fully exempt.

"But trust me, the beers tasted good that night."

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