Bruce Vaughan is on the comeback trail and progressing quite nicely.
Vaughan currently leads the Heartland Tour money list and has qualified for the upcoming British Open.
But, it hasn't been an easy road back.
Ravaged by serious left knee ailments which have required six surgeries, Vaughan, a pro since 1982 on the PGA and Nationwide Tours, chose the Heartland Tour as a vehicle to return to the big time.
"My goal is to get to the Champions Tour," said Vaughan, who turns 50 in September. "There's five tournaments in September and I'm going to try to Monday qualify for those, but my main objective is to get on the Champions Tour next year."
After losing his status on the Nationwide Tour, Vaughan was allowed a medical exemption for a couple of years.
"I couldn't take advantage of it because I couldn't walk," he said. "For the first time in three and a half years, I'm able to walk. Then I got into a lot of bad swing problems trying to play hurt. It's (the knee) never going to be great because I've had a partial knee inserted, but at least I'm able to play and it's coming around. I've really been working hard rehabbing it and trying to get my swing back because I compensated so long for the knee."
As the knee strengthens, the swing improves and his competitive urge intensifies, Vaughan has one small regret. He would have relished the opportunity to compete at the recently contested U.S. Senior Open at Prairie Dunes Golf Club in Hutchinson, Kan., his hometown.
"That was kind of hard to swallow," he said, "just being two months away (from his 50th birthday). I played with a lot of those guys."
But for right now, it's the Heartland Tour for Vaughan.
"It doesn't matter whether you're playing here or wherever, it's still a matter of getting it (ball) into the hole and playing under tournament conditions," he said. "The Heartland Tour allows me an opportunity to play and still work on my knee."