John Mallinger Is a new face on the PGA Tour, and the 27-year-old rookie seemingly came out of nowhere to finish third at Pebble Beach in just his eighth career start. But when you consider what the Escondido High product had in his corner last week, maybe it's not such a shocker after all.

For starters, Poppy Hills, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach are short courses by tour standards and favor a guy like Mallinger, who's known more for his accuracy and short game than his long-bombing brawn.

Then there's Mac McCauley, Mallinger's veteran caddie who knows Pebble Beach -- his home course -- probably better than he knows himself considering he has covered the track some 1,800 times in his life.

But most importantly is the confidence that has been steadily building in Mallinger for almost a year, stemming from a 2006 season of steadfast perseverance in which he played his way on to the Nationwide Tour through Monday qualifying and earned two top-10 finishes, qualified for the U.S. Open, and successfully negotiated all three stages of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.

Add all that up -- oh, and throw in a partisan gallery of about 20 friends and family who made the trip north -- and it's no wonder Mallinger earned $374,000 for the best finish of his career.

"It's a little overwhelming and it still hasn't sunk in too much," Mallinger said by phone on Monday. "It feels good to be able to compete with some of the best players in the world. It's proof that I belong here."

Playing with major winners Davis Love III and Corey Pavin in the second-to-last group on Sunday, Mallinger certainly held his own with a 1-under-par 71. He hit 14 greens in regulation and although his usually reliable putter let him down -- he missed four putts within six feet -- he was in contention until a sloppy bogey at the par-5 14th sealed his fate.

Still, Mallinger can take solace in the fact that he made just four bogeys all week and held his own throughout.

"When you're a rookie, you don't know a lot of the guys and you don't know how you're going to react in that situation, and to play well under the circumstances was real important for me," said Mallinger, who moved to 24th on the FedEx Cup points list. "The money's great, but when you play well that's what matters.

"I think it will make my year a little easier having that little cushion."

As for his balky putting, Mallinger didn't beat himself up too much. He chalked it up to final-round nerves and is confident the butterflies will subside over time.

"When you win tournaments, you make pressure putts, and that comes with experience," said Mallinger, who averages 28.93 putts per round and ranks eighth on the tour in three-putt avoidance. "Hopefully next time it will work out differently."

McCauley has only seen a few minor hiccups since teaming with Mallinger in the summer of 2005. In their first tournament together, Mallinger finished ninth in a Nationwide event in Wichita, Kan. The next week, Mallinger took third. It was an indication of good things to come.

"John has lots of skills when it comes to short game," McCauley said recently. "He's a real treat to work with."

McCauley, who met Mallinger on the Canadian Tour a few years back when he was working for current Nationwide Tour player Peter Tomasulo, has been around the game long enough to recognize a solid short game when he sees it. Then again, it's really not hard for him to figure out since Mallinger has been known to empty the wallets of his tour mates during friendly money games that occur early in tournament weeks on the practice greens.

"John tends to walk away with some cash," said McCauley, who most recently looped for Patrick Damron and Bubba Dickerson. "Those games are pretty indicative."

And despite Mallinger's latest windfall, don't expect those putting contests to end anytime soon. He's the first one to say he hasn't won anything yet.

"I'm just gonna roll with it," said Mallinger, who got in the field for this week's Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club thanks to his showing at Pebble Beach. "Things might change a little bit, but the bottom line (is) you still have to play golf. That's the most important thing."

- Marc Figueroa covers golf for the North County Times. E-mail him at marcfig@aol.com. The Golf Gallery appears every Wednesday.