Many of the players showed up at FireRock for a practice round the day before this week's Great Lakes Tour event.

John Herbert Mike Woodcock finished out of the money at a recent Great Lakes Tour event at FireRock, but it didn't matter. His family and electronics business are his priorities. (MORRIS LAMONT/Sun Media)

Not Mike Woodcock.

The 42-year-old from Chatham was busy loading big-screen televisions from his store into his car to deliver the next morning to a store in London.

"I picked the wrong time to be moving TVs," a dejected Woodcock said after shooting a 78. "One wouldn't fit and I pushed, pushed and pushed trying to shove it into the car. I knew I shouldn't have been doing it. My legs are killing me.''

Woodcock didn't pick up a pay cheque for shooting 78, but he didn't care because it's not his primary reason for playing on the Great Lakes Tour. He plays for the sake of the competition to prove he can still beat the young players and if he gets paid, fine. It doesn't matter because Woodcock has a wife, two small children and an electronics business back home in Chatham called Absolute Sound, selling TVs, home theatre and sound systems and wiring home and offices.

"I just show up and play. No practice rounds."

Woodcock said it made perfect sense combining work and play by bringing the TVs to a client. He packed them the night before when the young players were playing their practice rounds and hitting balls or putting until dark. The next morning he got up early and arrived in London around 8 a.m. to drop off the TVs by 9 a.m. With two hours to kill before his tee time, Woodcock headed over to Alan McLean's home in nearby Oakridge instead of heading to the course.

McLean and Woodcock were roommates a few years ago on the Canadian Tour and they still travel together.

"I wanted to see his little boy Jake," Woodcock said. "Alan's away (playing in Europe), so I just wanted to say hello to his family. I bounced Jake around on my knee for a while. He's a cute little guy. He's about six months old.I played with him for 15-20 minutes to give Lori a little break. Jake looks so much like his dad.

"I guess I could have gone straight to the course."

That's the big difference between Woodcock and almost all of the other players playing week-to-week on the Great Lakes Tour.

Many of them are in their 20s, living on the small pay cheques, a budget, handouts from their parents or from part-time jobs. They carry their own clubs. Woodcock took a power cart.

The winner's share is usually $1,750. Shoot 72 or 73 and you win about $200. The prize money comes from the entry fees paid by players. A one-day tournament entry fee is $170. An entry fee to a two-day tournament is $600, but the purses are much higher, with $8,000 to the winner.

It's Woodcock's competitive nature that keeps him showing up week after week to play against the kids.

"Sometimes I wonder why I do this," Woodcock said. "I guess the reason is there's not a ton of amateur stuff I can play while running a business.

"There is less travel with the Great Lakes Tour than Ontario amateur events. The Great Lakes is a scheduled tour, so I know where I can play and when. The level of competition is higher and I enjoy that much more. In the amateur stuff, there's five or six guys each week, but out here there's lot of guys who can play."

Woodcock said he never likes to get too far from home -- and the store -- which makes the Great Lakes an ideal tour.

The tournaments also prepare him for bigger challenges in the summer. He likes to play in three or four major events, or at least try to qualify for them.

He will try to qualify for the U.S. Open in a couple of weeks in Detroit. He's made it twice past the first-stage qualifying. He's trying the Monday qualifying for the PGA Tour's Buick Open in Flint. He's come within a shot of qualifying four times over the last few years. He'll also try to play in the Canadian Open and a few Nationwide tournaments. He's played in three Nationwides in the past and made the 36-hole cut in one.

As an amateur, he won about 40 tournaments and played in the U.S. Amateur.

Woodcock's record makes it clear he's just not a field filler in a Great Lakes tournament. He knows he can win and has four times, including three in 2006. One of his wins came at FireRock that year.

"I've got to play these events (Great Lakes) to be ready and it's the only way to be ready," he said. "That's why I do it."

Great Lakes Tour founder Dennis Hendershott said he has admiration for players such as Woodcock, the older players.

"Guys like him are out there trying," he said.

Most of the players who play the Great Lakes Tour hope it is a stepping stone to the Canadian Tour and eventually the PGA Tour. Bryan DeCorso, who won a Nationwide tournament and $112,500 last week, was a regular on the Great Lakes Tour. McLean plays on it when he's home.

Woodcock knows there will be better days than FireRock this week. He was unprepared to play. But that's life for him.

John Herbert is a London golf writer.