Florida's Brandon McMillan, winner of the 2011 Lake Okeechobee FLW Tour Open, will become a full-time Tour pro for the 2013 season. The 29-year-old will compete in all six Majors next year.
"It's just time," he said. "I'd made my mind up earlier in the year that I was going to do it whether I had to quit my job (as a UPS driver) or not, and luckily I don't have to do that. I'll be able to get the time off I need to travel and do all that stuff.
"I'm not getting any younger and it seems like it's getting harder and harder (to launch a pro career), so I might as well get in while I can."
It's been a trying year for his family, as his father Jimmy (winner of the 2009 Okeechobee Eastern FLW Series) was killed on New Year's Day during a holdup at his grocery store in Belle Glade. Just a few weeks after that, Brandon put up a strong defense of his Okeechobee Tour Open crown with a 5th-place showing, then went on to finish 2nd in the Southeastern EverStart points race after winning the event at Lake Seminole.
The 2013 Tour will kick off at Okeechobee in early February.
"It really works out pretty good. Before the schedule came out (last month) I'd planned on fishing the six Majors and the one Open on Okeechobee, and now I've got an extra week to play around with. Maybe I'll take my wife on vacation."
