So what's next for Dean Wilson?

Well, he'll have a few days this week to unwind and catch up with family following his 43rd-place showing in the Sony Open in Hawaii.

After that, things get a little fuzzy.

Wilson's earnings last year left him in a position where he'll have to wait around to see if his number gets called to fill out a tournament field, or play his way through Monday qualifiers. He could also bounce around to events on the Nationwide Tour or in Japan.

As such, Wilson had a lot riding on his weekend at Waialae after getting into the PGA Tour's first full-field event of the year on a sponsor's exemption.

He managed to get to the weekend, but couldn't make much of a move from there. His even-par 70 yesterday left him at 3-under 277 for the week, earning him $19,250 to open his season of uncertainty.

“;Just not being able to get anything going is a little disappointing, but it was fun to be in the mix and have the crowd out here cheering for me,”; said Wilson, last of the Hawaii contingent remaining in the tournament.

“;I still think I can play. I feel good, feel healthy ... just need to get in some tournaments and get my status back. That's my main goal for 2010.”;

Wilson is planning on playing Monday qualifiers for the San Diego Open in two weeks followed by the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles. He's fairly confident he'll get into the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico while much of the tour is engaged at the Accenture Match Play Championship.

“;One step is making the cut and another step is playing well,”; Wilson said. “;I've got to figure out how to go about doing that.”;

With his playing opportunities limited, converting on his chances on the greens becomes magnified. Wilson hit 14 greens in regulation yesterday, including eight on the back nine. But he needed 31 putts, his high for the week, in a round that followed much the same theme as Saturday's 69.

“;Same story. I hit the ball good, I had my chances, I didn't capitalize on making some of the shorter putts,”; Wilson said.

“;It wasn't that I putted bad, it's that I misread some. The greens are fast and you have to have precise lines. I hit good putts, but not on the exact correct line, so I kept burning the edges.”;

He made an 11-foot putt on the par-5 ninth and put his approach on the 10th to inside of 3 feet of the cup for back-to-back birdies to get to 4 under. He gave back a stroke with a three-putt bogey on No. 12, then parred his way into the clubhouse.

As for Wilson's pairing with Bob Estes, both said the issue of players using pre-1990 Ping wedges that remain legal despite new rules regarding club grooves—such as the one in Wilson's bag—didn't come up before or during the round.

Estes had been critical of their use as a way around the regulation, saying it “;wasn't in the spirit of the game.”; But both said they had an amiable day on the course.

“;We didn't talk about it at all,”; Wilson said. “;That's just his opinion. I like that club design. I'll talk to Ping and they'll send me ones with 2010 grooves and I'll try it. I'm not using it for the grooves, I'm using it for the design.”;

Said Estes: “;Dean's a great guy, easygoing and laid back. Since we didn't get a chance to talk before we started out, everything was cool on the first tee, so we just didn't bring it up.”;