Bray's Keith Nolan guides Jason Allred to top three at Riviera

Keith Nolan (left) and Jason Allred at Riviera. 

Bray's Keith Nolan never made more than $21,000 in an event during his PGA Tour career but on Sunday he was on the bag for pal and Monday qualifier Jason Allred, who claimed a shock third place finish in the Northern Trust Open and a massive payday.

The former Irish Amateur Open winner and Walker Cup player had a PGA Tour card in 1998 and 2000 but couldn't hold on to it and eventually called it a day on tour at the end of 2009 after a hand injury had stymied his bids to get back into the big league through the Buy.com Tour or the Q-School.

Nice to see one of Ireland's most popular US exports, a long time resident in Knoxville, Tennessee, having a bit of luck.

According to PGA Tour.com:

"Allred made more money on Sunday than he had in 153 previous PGA TOUR events. His $388,600 paycheck for that tie for third at the Northern Trust Open was more than he'd made in 103 Web.com Tour starts combined, too.

But as great as the financial windfall was -- and it will buy a lot of diapers for Allred, who is about to become a father for the third time -- the experience was worth even more for the successful Monday qualifier.

"The money's certainly great, but don't get me wrong, it means a lot and it will certainly help out," Allred said. "At the same time, being out there today, I didn't really think about it. I'm surprised I didn't; like you said, it's about as much as I've ever made in my whole career in one day, which is crazy."

Allred, who hadn't played a PGA TOUR event since 2010 and could count his Web.com Tour starts last year on two hands, surged into the spotlight on Friday with a 64. He then handled the weekend pressure extremely well, shooting 67 and 68 to finish three strokes behind Bubba Watson.

"I don't think I'm a smart enough guy to put into words how much fun I had, but the chance to be here, this place, Riviera, is such an amazing, special place,' he said. "I praise God that for whatever reason, despite me, my tendency to try so hard to do so well, I was just able to really enjoy it and

I felt peaceful and so thankful to have Keith Nolan, my buddy, and a great caddie on the bag, really helping me, just to soak it in....

The top-10 finish gets Allred into The Honda Classic -- but he'll have a tough decision to make since his wife is due to deliver their child that week."