The goal appears well within reach, and Zander Winston is hoping that this is the year he will accomplish it.

The golfer from Dallas, Texas, is back in town for this week’s Western Printing Pro-Am tournament Friday through Sunday at Moccasin Creek Country Club, an event he has won twice already.

Winston, who currently resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., keeps coming back to the Midwest each summer in search of being able to reach the Korn Ferry Tour with a goal of someday reaching the Professional Golf Association Tour.

“Obviously, in a perfect world I would move up, but I haven’t made it to the Korn Ferry Tour, yet,” Winston said. “It’s been a good place for me to make money, which I need, because I spend a lot of money.”

Winston, who just missed the Korn Ferry Tour a couple of years ago, is playing the best golf of his career, leading the Pro-Am standings this summer. The 32-year-old said he will keep chasing his dream as long as he is making progress.

“When I first started playing professionally, I said as long as I continue to see myself grow, golf game get better, I still have the work ethic, then … Since I’ve turned pro I continue to get better,” Winston said. “I’ve had seasons where I’ve won three times out there. The golf game feels better now than it ever has.”

So, does that make him the favorite for another Western Pro-Am title this weekend?

“You never know what the golf gods have in store for you,” Winston said.

While he is playing well, Winston said that golf is a game that is never mastered. He said even the pros always keep searching for a better way.

“Tiger Woods changed his golf swing after arguably the best season in golf history,” Winston said.

Winston said that golf is part mental and part physical. He has shown the ability to excel at both.

“You’ve got to have the mechanics. You have to know how to play,” Winston said. “There’s so many facets that go into golf. … I think that’s where I’ve always excelled is the playing component. I like tournament golf.”

That’s where his mental toughness comes in. Winston thrives under pressure. The more times he delivers in the clutch, the more the mental edge is sharpened.

“The more you do it, especially, think about contending in a tournament,” Winston said. “There’s a lot of pressure and I think the more and more you put yourself in the situation, the more you build the stability of the house.”

Analytics have also become more and more a facet of golf. Winston said he pays attention to the latest information.

“Think of it like Blackjack. Playing Blackjack you ask the dealer, hey, what’s the book say? Winston said. “Golf in a lot of essence has turned into that, which I think is a good thing. It’s just science. You can’t argue against data.”

However, at the end of the data, Winston is still the one holding the club and the final decision rests with him.

“It definitely gets to a point, where there’s a time and a place,” Winston said, “and if you got to do something, you got to do something.”

While Winston enjoys playing the entire Pro-Am Tour, he said there is something special about Moccasin Creek Country Club.

“Moc’s my favorite. I’ve won here a couple times,” Winston said. “It’s probably the hardest golf course we play I think, which I like, the harder the better. Moc’s definitely my favorite.”

Winston, who has played with the likes of PGA standouts Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and Scottie Sheffler, said he got a late start in the sport because he played hockey until he was 15. However, he believes his best years still lie ahead.

“Every year I get a little stronger, get a little better,” Winston said, “especially with technology now days, modern medicine, you see guys in their early 40s like peaking.”

Winston has shown he has a game that plays at a higher level, twice finishing with rounds of 60 in tournaments, including 2023 on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he missed qualifying by a single stroke.

“It sucks,” Winston said of just missing the cut, “because I feel like I belong there in the higher tours.”

It’s what keeps Winston motivated and coming back to the Pro-Am Tour each summer in a quest to someday reach the PGA.

“It’s definitely my passion,” Winston said. “There’s nothing more in the world that I would want than to play in front of hundreds of thousands of people with the best players in the world.”

As he heads into another Western Pro-Am this weekend, Winston was asked if it was win or bust.

“Golf’s not like that unfortunately. You never know what you’re going to have. My golf game feels great,” Winston said. “My intention is to win, yes of course every time I tee it up, I want to win, but you’ve got to let the chips fall. My goal every time I tee it up in a tournament, is to have a chance on the back nine on Sunday. If you can give yourself a chance, it’s more than plenty.”