Kane'ohe native Dean Wilson will be the first to tell you that he's no Tiger Woods. But the two share a common bond.

They both passed up last week's Funai Classic because they didn't have to play, already banking enough for job security. And both send text-messages to Annika Sorenstam whenever the occasion arises.

Woods, golf's $9 million man, might be sitting on top of the world, but Wilson is enjoying a breathtaking view from a lofty level as well. He's 19th on the PGA Tour money list with $2,371,673 in earnings going into the Chrysler Championship, the final full-field event of the year, beginning today in Palm Harbor, Fla.

I caught up with Wilson on his cell phone during a practice round at the Westin Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course just outside of Tampa, Fla.

Ever the gentleman, he dutifully answered questions between shots.

"Yes," he said when asked if it was a luxury not having to play in the Funai Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort last week.

"I thought it was the best way for me to go, taking the week off and playing the last two tournaments," said Wilson, who qualified for his first Tour Championship involving the top 30 on the 2006 money list next week.

"I guess it's nice not having the stress to keep my job," said Wilson, the only Hawai'i golfer on the PGA Tour.

In the past, at this time of the year, Wilson was among a number of pros scrambling to improve their rankings on the money list to retain their tour privileges.

The Funai Classic and Chrysler Championship are two of the make-or-break events, with the latter being golf's last call to make some official money.

Wilson had played catch-up in both events the previous three years.

"It's a lot of pressure. That's how golf is," Wilson said, recalling his own personal struggles.

With his first PGA Tour victory in the International in August and $2.37 million accrued in his 2006 bank account, Wilson enjoyed the luxury of skipping the Funai Classic for a change.

Instead, he spent the week with his parents, Don and Grace Wilson, who missed the earthquakes when they went to see him in a PGA event in Las Vegas. Wilson also played for the first time with Sorenstam since the 2003 Bank of America Colonial, both taking part in a charity pro-am in Madera, Calif., organized by Peter Jacobsen.

It was nice meeting up with Sorenstam again, according to Wilson, who's more glad that he finally won a tournament to make a name for himself instead of being simply known as one of Annika's escorts in her only attempt to play in a PGA Tour event.

That experience will always remain a "positive" in his career, Wilson says often enough.

"But it's time to move on, you know," Wilson said. And he has with a breakthrough year.

"It's sure nice to know that I've got a job for the next couple of years," he said.

That job security was assured when he accomplished two of the goals he set out for himself at the start of the year, according to Wilson.

"One, win a tournament. Two, make the Tour Championship field," he said. "Now, I've got to set more goals. You always have to keep pushing."

And there's nothing like finally breaking through with your first tournament victory.

"It feels nice to have my name on a trophy. And winning adds confidence. I've shown myself that I can play and can play when the game is on the line," said Wilson, who beat U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman after a two-hole playoff at the International.

Wilson, who kicked around on the Asian and Japan PGA tours before finally getting his PGA Tour card in the 2002 Q-School, credits golf instructors Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett for his reversal of fortune.

Wilson was plugging along in the middle of the 2004 season,

"I was playing so bad, and the harder I worked, the worse I got," Wilson said. Fellow pro Grant Waite suggested that Wilson look up the two guys.

The rest, as they say, is history. But it doesn't end there.

Wilson is one of four first-time winners this year who worked with Plummer and Bennett. The others are Aaron Baddeley, Will MacKenzie and Eric Axley.

Plummer and Bennett, a couple of former club pros, are on to something.

"Four first-time winners. Amazing," says Wilson, who practices with them whenever they're at the same event.

Local fans will remember Baddeley. He lost in a two-hole playoff to Ernie Els in the 2003 Sony Open in Hawai'i. Baddeley finally broke through by winning the MCI Heritage. MacKenzie took the Reno-Tahoe Open and Axley, the Valero Texas Open.

They all will be at the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua and the Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club next January. And, no doubt, will be playing practice rounds together.

Wilson, who will return home in time to celebrate his 37th birthday on Dec. 17, is already thinking about how he can be a good host for his practice buddies and fellow first-time winners.