Chuck Curti

Assistant Sports Editor

CANONSBURG — The inaugural Mylan Classic certainly has a western Pennsylvania flair. Rocco Mediate (Greensburg), Justin Smith (Moon Township) and Steve Wheatcroft (Washington) are all in the field for the Nationwide Tour event.

But players have converged on Southpointe Golf Club from the far corners of the world, and few have come as far — literally and figuratively — as Madalitso Muthiya.

Muthiya is a native of Zambia, which, unlike African neighbors South Africa and Zimbabwe isn’t known for producing top-flight pro golfers. His father dabbled in the game, and he had other relatives who were caddies. But before coming to the United States, he had precious little formal instruction in the game.

“I was mostly self-taught,” said the 27-year-old on Wednesday. “I learned from watching TV and reading magazines, the fundamentals.”

Muthiya caught his big break when, with some help from the Zambian government, he competed in an American Junior Golf Association event in Florida. He ended up winning and catching the attention of the University of New Mexico.

He went on to be a four-year letterman for the Lobos then won the New Mexico Amateur championship in 2003 before turning pro in 2005. In 2006, he became the first player from Zambia to play in the U.S. Open.

Over the next three years, however, there were few highlights. His status on the Nationwide Tour was such that he had trouble getting into events; he played in only eight a year ago.

Thanks to a top-10 finish in his first start of the 2010 season — the Mexico Open in June — he has improved his standing to where he should get into all of the events for the rest of the season.

“The more you play, the better you should play,” he said. “You get prepared a little easier because you know you’re in the events and you can come out on Mondays and do the homework.”

He’s also gotten a lift by the recent addition of a seasoned caddie, Cedric Lamar. Before, Muthiya would use a different caddie in every event, but Lamar, who previously worked with Nationwide player Justin Hicks, has experience and is familiar with many of the courses used by the Tour.

With Lamar on his bag for the first time last week, Muthiya tied for 42nd in the Knoxville News Sentinel Open; he started the final round tied for 14th but ended with a disappointing 73. Still, it ended a string of three straight missed cuts and gave Muthiya confidence he and Lamar can make a good team.

“He’s always prepared and willing to learn about my golf game,” said Muthiya. “He’s still a very hard-working caddie.”

Muthiya resides in New Mexico during golf season and only gets back to his homeland in the off-season. He said he gets homesick for the first two weeks when he returns to America, but he’s focused on achieving his ultimate goal of earning his PGA Tour card.

He’s hoping that a strong finishing stretch, starting with the Mylan Classic, can get him there.

“I’ve been playing well the whole year, and this is the opportunity I’ve been looking forward to, being able to have enough starts,” he said. “I’m not looking too far ahead, and I’m not looking behind. I’m just trying to focus on what I have right now and trying to accomplish that.”