Thanks in part to a sponsorship begun in 2005, the Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort and Hotel in nearby Worley helped Jimmy Gunn become the professional he is today, as he is knocking on the doorstep of becoming a PGA golfer.

IT ALL began in September of 2005, when Coeur d'Alene Casino public affairs director Bob Bostwick came up with the idea of having 12 golfers from the Royal Dornoch Golf Club, located in the remote northern highlands of Scotland, to play in a tournament at Circling Raven Golf Course against a team representing Circling Raven and The Coeur d'Alene Tribe. It was a Ryder Cup-style format, with a best ball format. Royal Dornoch Golf Club is the third oldest in Scotland and in 2011 it was rated by Golf Magazine as the 16th-best course in the world.

From that tournament began a long-term relationship, with Gunn earning a sponsorship from The Coeur d'Alene Casino for the Gateway Tour.

"He set everything up," Gunn said about Bostwick setting up the tournament. "Twelve of us went over there. Luckily, I got invited. It was a big step for my career. Everyone made us feel welcome, it was really fun. I met Tom Davidson, their head professional. They helped me out with sponsorship. They sponsored me six months after I turned pro in 2007. Bob called me up and said, 'Would you go to events with our logo on your bag?' I said, 'Sure'. I've been there (to Circling Raven), it's been like two years since the last time I've been there. I went up there, hung out there with Bob, I played the course in general. I think it's awesome ... I wouldn't like to walk it. I would love to go up there sometime next year, if there's a break in my schedule and I can go."

Bostwick helped kickstart the entire tournament in Worley.

"I talked with the CEO (Dave Matheson of the Coeur d'Alene Casino) about Circling Raven," Bostwick said. "I knew there was a team from Royal Dornoch across the pond (the Atlantic Ocean) who could play in a type of Ryder Cup type of competition. He loved that idea and 12 guys came over."

Gunn was 25 years old at the time. After turning pro at age 27, Gunn is now 33 and at the end of this upcoming season, he has a chance at earning his PGA card to play in the PGA Tour.

"There were historical connections," Bostwick said, adding that the name Gunn is fairly common in the Spokane area. "That's when we first knew him. Jimmy was an amateur then, he was a plus-2 handicap, he was a superb player. That connection has really stayed and it had a powerful impact on Dornoch too, they're having this team play over here. When Jimmy came to the United States, that's what he wanted to do, he wanted to be a playing professional golfer. He was driven to do that when he was a little boy. Golf runs in his family. He came over and he didn't have much to go on in terms of that kind of (financial) support and we went straight across with no questions asked, so we sponsored him on the All-American Gateway Tour. We sponsored him over several years, starting (in 2005). We gave him a chance. We were supporting his golf, keeping him on the golf course and keeping him in tournaments so he could make a living."

IN ORDER to make it to the PGA Tour, Gunn has two chances at playing his way in. Now in his first year as part of the PGA-run Web.com Tour, if he finishes among the top 25 out of 160 golfers on the money list in 2014, he will earn his PGA card.

If not, Gunn must become one of the top 75 golfers on the Web.com tour at the end of the season, which wraps up in October. He must play in four 72-hole playoff tournaments and make enough money in those four playoff events to finish among the top 25 and receive a card. That road is much tougher, because Gunn - if he qualifies - would have to play against the golfers who are between 26 and 75 on the money list on the Web.com tour and the golfers who are ranked between 126 and 200 on the PGA Tour.

"I get two cracks at it," Gunn said of his attempts at reaching the PGA Tour. "It's a nightmare explaining it, it's so complicated."

Gunn earned his way to play on the Web.com tour in the first place by finishing in a sixth-place tie in the tour qualifying finals earlier this month in La Quinta, Calif.

Gunn's first tournament on the Web.com Tour is Feb. 21 in the Panama Claro Championship in Panama City, Panama, with the first-place prize being a nice $600,000. Seven days later, he will then play in the Colombia Championship in Bogota, Colombia, then March 7 in the Chile Classic in Santiago, Chile, then the Brasil Classic in Sao Paulo, Brazil on April 4 as part of a whirlwind start to his Web.com Tour career.

Gunn is also scheduled to play July 11 in the Utah Championship in Sandy, Utah, and the Albertsons Boise Open on July 25 in Boise.

On the Gateway Tour this past year, Gunn's last win came on June 16 at the 52nd Navajo Trail Open in Navajo Trails, Colo., as he shot a 7-under par 206 to win by one stroke. In the San Juan Open in the New Mexico Open in Albuquerque, N.M., he shot 16-under over four rounds and for a runner-up finish.

"I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing," Gunn said. "I've been averaging 68.8 per round, which is around 4-under par."

IN JANUARY of 2008, Gunn made the cut for the Gateway Tour, based out of Phoenix. Since 2008, he has lived in nearby Mesa with his girlfriend, Jessica McCloughlin, who is the Managing Director at the Dolce Salon and Spa in Phoenix.

Fast forward to early June, when at a U.S. Open sectional qualifying tournament at Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tenn., Gunn finished 27th and missed the cut by five strokes. Gunn shot a first-round score of 66, which tied him for first place at the time. But he shot a 78 in the next round to finish at 6-over par 144. The top eight qualified for the U.S. Open.

Nonetheless, Bostwick liked Gunn's progress.

"He was ready," Bostwick said. "His game had really climbed. His work ethic was strong, his commitment was coming together for him. We had a lot of confidence in him, even when it didn't look so good. When you're out there, making a living, you're out there with a bunch of other guys making a living, too. There are really good players on that Gateway Tour. Some of those guys went on to play in the PGA Tour. It's a top-level competition. When you keep working at it, you get better, you can't do that without that inner strength. He's kept that up. He's hung in there, even when his game wasn't as good as it needed to be."

But that was then and nowadays, thanks in part to a sponsorship from the Coeur d'Alene Casino, Gunn has a great shot at reaching the highest level of golf.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, or via email at bbourquin@cdapress.com Follow him on Twitter @bourq25