DURHAM - On Sunday, David Mathis was kissing a big crystal trophy, accepting the keys to a new BMW X-5 and celebrating his first career Nationwide Tour victory.

A day later, he was straining to make it through local qualifying for the 2008 U.S. Open.

Mathis, who played his college golf at Campbell, was 20 under par in winning the BMW Charity Pro-Am in Spartanburg, S.C. It earned the Morrisville resident a check for $121,500 and the car from the tournament sponsor worth another $50,000 or so.

But his celebration was brief. Mathis drove home, getting back at 1 a.m., and had a 9:30 a.m. tee time Monday at Duke University Golf Club in the local qualifier.

Mathis posted an even-par 72, but it wasn't good enough. Only the low nine scorers advanced to one of the 14 sectional qualifiers, the final step in making it to Torrey Pines in San Diego for the U.S. Open next month.

The last of the 111 local qualifiers across the nation were held on Monday.

"No excuses," Mathis said. "We got in late [Sunday] night. But that's a good problem to have for that situation.

"I was trying to get out here and play as good as I can and get back in the moment. It was mediocre. I hit some good shots, but some squirrely shots, too, that I didn't hit last week."

Such is the nature of golf. It's fickle. It's a game of technique but also a mental grind, and the pressure of tournament golf can take a toll. Each day is a new day.

Kelly Grunewald also competed in the BMW Charity Pro-Am. The veteran pro from Arlington, Texas, was 2 over par and missed the cut -- his sixth missed cut in his last seven Nationwide events.

But Grunewald put up a 4-under 68 at Duke that earned him medalist honors along with Martin Ureta, a former North Carolina standout, and Ian Leggett of Canada. Former N.C. State golfer David Sanchez of Pinehurst had a 69, and UNC senior Barden Barry of Kinston shot a 70.

"It's a nice course, pretty straightforward, and it was nice to me," Grunewald said. "Not too many courses have been this year."

Told he was four shots better than a guy coming off a 20-under-par showing, Grunewald smiled.

"It's crazy," he said. "You just never know in this game. But David had to sign a few flags, pick up a trophy and drive his X-5 around. I wish I had gotten in at 1 o'clock for that reason."

Mathis, 34, graduated from Campbell in 1997 and has gradually made his way up the golf ladder. The Winston-Salem native played the Tarheel and TearDrop mini-tours. He spent five years on the Canadian Tour before reaching the Nationwide Tour, the PGA Tour's satellite circuit.

"Persevering," Mathis said.

While some players bounce between the two tours, Mathis has yet to reach the PGA Tour. His victory was his first in 126 career Nationwide events, moving Mathis from 44th to fourth on the money list. At year's end, the top 25 earn PGA Tour status.

"I always ask the guys who kind of go back and forth, what's different?" Mathis said. "It's obviously a bigger stage [on the PGA Tour] and a lot more distractions and more money. But the golf is the same, so what is it?

"Is it a mental thing? Are the golf courses more difficult?"

John Maginnes, a former East Carolina golfer who was a tour "bouncer," said it's being able to believe you can compete with the likes of a Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson. And then do it.

"Everything is on a grander scale, but there's a mental hurdle, more than anything, you have to cross to be successful," he said.

Woods was 19 under par and an eight-shot winner at Torrey Pines in the Buick Invitational in January. Think that might be a bit intimidating going into the Open?

"He'll be the favorite by, oh, 10 shots or so," Grunewald said. "But I've never played in the Open, and all the guys say how special it is. It would be fun."

Mathis will be back in the area in a few weeks for the Rex Hospital Open at TPC-Wakefield. He often practices and plays at the club but won't claim to be a Woods-type favorite in the event.

"I'm pretty comfortable there, but the pressure is more," he said. "You shoot even par, and people say, 'What happened?' "

Like Monday, in fact.