Nick Dougherty makes first cut of 2013

Nick Dougherty was hailed as the heir-apparent to Sir Nick Faldo, England's most successful golfer with six majors.  After a glittering amateur career, he gained his place on the European Tour in 2002, where he finished 36th on the Order of Merit and was awarded the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award.  He won his first Tour event in 2005 and, after a sub-par '06, had his most lucrative season in 2007 when he won the prestigious Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and finished seventh in the U.S. Open, en-route to earning close to €1.4 million (11th in the Order of Merit).  He looked to be a contender for Faldo's 2008 Ryder Cup team, but the sudden passing of his mother in 2008 caused his play to suffer and he failed to make the 12-man roster.  The following season was somewhat of a bounce-back for Dougherty, as he delivered an emotional win at the BMW International Open.  Unfortunately, it's been quite the struggle since then on the course.  After making one cut out of 34 events in 2011, he lost his card.  He rediscovered some semblance of form on the second-tier Challenge Tour last year, finishing 39th on the money list after posting four top-10s.  This season has been another struggle for the 31-year-old Englishman.  In ten events, he's missed every cut (Six on the Challenge Tour and four on the European Tour).  However, after taking three weeks off he's finally made the cut in the Finnish Challenge, an event where he finished T5 last year.  He fired his first under-par round of the season with a first-round two-under-par 70 and followed that up with a 72 to make the cut on the number.

Dougherty's 2013 scoring average, excluding this week, is a mind-boggling 75.77.  While this week's performance will see him earn his first paycheck of the year, he only has eight Challenge Tour events left before the season-ending "Grand Final," where the top-45 on the money list will gather.  The top-15 on the season-long rankings list at the conclusion of that event will earn 2014 European Tour cards.  This is a change from previous seasons where the top-20 would earn Tour cards, but the main Tour  wants to give more playing opportunities to Challenge Tour and qualifying school graduates, thus the decrease from 20 to 15.  Dougherty is exempt into the final stage of q-school courtesy of being a European Tour winner, so he has another way of making his return to the big stage if he doesn't find himself among the top-15 come season's end.  While this season's struggles may be a result of trying to juggle being a husband and father, and also trying to perform on the course, he seems to have turned the corner this week.  There are a lot of golf fans who want to see Dougherty regain his best form and return to competing against the world's best.