Jonas Blixt won his second PGA Tour event last weekend at the Greenbrier Classic. He won his first title last year at the Frys.com in October.
Although the 2012 Frys.com does count as an official win on the PGA Tour and the money looks very good on his bank statement, it did not earn him an exemption into the Masters Tournament.
His win at the 2013 Greenbrier Classic will correct that and he will get a chance to drive down Magnolia Lane to walk the hallowed fairways of Augusta National next April.
Blixt has demonstrated a steady progress to his current success. He turned professional in 2008 after a fine collegiate career at Florida State.
He finished No. 37 in the 2008 PGA Tour Q-School. That did not get him onto the PGA Tour, but earned him a spot on the 2009 Web.com Tour.
He learned the rigors of life as a member of the Web.com Tour, missing 11 cuts and earning just $144,000 in 2009. The next year furthered his education, he missed 12 cuts and only earned $116,000.
Things began to turn around in 2011. He posted eight top-10 finishes and only missed six cuts. He finished in The-25 on the Web.com that year and earned his PGA Tour card for 2012.
He did not have a great start to his rookie season in 2012 with five missed cuts in his first nine starts. A T-13 in New Orleans, a T-9 at the Wells Fargo and a T-3 at the Byron Nelson in successive starts gave him a ton of confidence and also earned enough money to guarantee his tour card for the 2013 season.
The win at the 2012 Frys.com validated his hard work and steady progress up the ranks of professional golf. He finished the year with $2.2 million in total earnings and at No. 101 on the FedEx Cup rankings.
Perhaps experiencing some hangover from his good play last year, the win at the Greenbrier Classic was his first top-10 finish this season. He had missed eight cuts in 17 starts and only earned a little over $300,000.
How quickly things can change on the PGA Tour. This win moves him to No. 51 on the Official World Golf Rankings, gets him to No. 39 in the FedEx Cup and earns an invite into the Open Championship in two weeks, as well as, the Masters Tournament next year.
Jonas Blixt has steadily progressed through the ranks of professional golf. He has a wonderful short game and now has two PGA Tour wins before the age of 30. He has a two-year PGA Tour exemption and has gained entrance to the majors, as well as, the lucrative World Golf Championship events.
The doors are open for Blixt. If he keeps up the hard work, who knows what could be next for him.