Geoff Dean This is Me

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1. 1. thedesertsun.com | Local pro to take his shot at Nissan Open

   www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/21/2004   Last Visited: 2/14/2007

   Dean is 'ready to go' after SCPGA event qualification
   
   Geoffrey Dean tees off at his first Bob Hope Chyrsler Classic at La Quinta Country Club on January 21, 2004. Dean, who teaches at SilverRock Resort in La Quinta, is in this week's Nissan Open. Desert Sun File Photo Geoffrey Dean tees off at his first Bob Hope Chyrsler Classic at La Quinta Country Club on January 21, 2004. Dean, who teaches at SilverRock Resort in La Quinta, is in this week's Nissan Open.
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   LOS ANGELES - Geoffrey Dean is enough of a realist to know that when you get a chance in professional golf, you need to make the most of it.
   
   "Whoever I'm playing with, it really doesn't matter. The crowd doesn't matter. It comes down to the shot," said Dean, a desert teaching pro who played his way into this week's Nissan Open on the PGA Tour. "I feel very good about my game, where as three years ago I didn't have a clue about my game."
   
   Dean, 39, earned one of two spots in the Nissan field available through a 91-player qualifying tournament for Southern California PGA members two weeks ago at Glendora Country Club.
   
   This week's start will be Dean's second in the Nissan tournament at fabled Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. Dean also played in the 2004 Nissan event, one of three PGA Tour events in Southern California he played in that season as a result of his 2003 SCPGA section championship victory.
   
   Dean missed the cut in all three of those tournaments - the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, the Buick Invitational and the Nissan Open - but it was at the Nissan where he played his best golf. He missed the cut by a single shot and started feeling comfortable at a PGA Tour venue.
   
   "When I got to L.A., I was playing well and really had a chance to make the cut," said Dean, who now teaches at SilverRock Resort in La Quinta. "You know, when you go out there the first time, you are kind of thrown to the wolves. But after two weeks (at the Hope and the Buick), I felt more comfortable being there. I knew where to go Monday, where to go Tuesday."
   
   Dean's qualifying victory for the 2004 Nissan came more than five months before the Los Angeles event. This time, Dean qualified two weeks before the tournament, perhaps an indication that his game will be stronger coming into his return to Riviera.
   
   "I think in some respects having the four or five months is great to prepare, but if you are playing well two weeks out, that's good, too," Dean said. "Frankly, I am playing well. My game is good. My mind is good. I'm ready to go."
   
   One thing hasn't changed for Dean in the three years between Nissan starts. One of the few black playing professional golf in the SCPGA section or in California mini-tour events, Dean is still looking for sponsorship to fuel his dream of playing the PGA Tour full-time.
   
   > "I need to play well right now in order to continue my career as a playing professional," he said. "I have a number of people looking at me to perhaps take me on as a sponsor, so it is very important for me to play well."
   
   How the sponsorship deals work out could decide what Dean does after the Nissan event. He knows he can play on tours like the Golden State Players Series this year, but he'd like a chance to play Monday qualifying events for the Nationwide Tour across the country.
   
   As important as sponsorship is, Dean says it's also important for him to accept the challenge and the demanding nature of the game and just play well.
   
   "It's up to me now just to own up to the difficulty of the game," Dean said.

2. 2. www.golfnewsmag.com

   www.golfnewsmag.com/online/ind - [Cached]

   Last Visited: 1/3/2008

   Geoff Dean is a head golf instruction at SilverRock Resort.

3. 3. www.golfnewsmag.com

   www.golfnewsmag.com/online/ind - [Cached]

   Last Visited: 4/10/2008

   Geoff Dean is a head golf instruction at SilverRock Resort.