MILWAUKEE — Brian Brodell has walked inside the ropes on the PGA Tour before.

Only this time, the University of Wisconsin assistant men’s golf coach will be swinging a club instead of toting a bag full of them.

Brodell, who caddied for his father, Bill, at the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1995, will make his Tour debut after earning a spot in this week’s U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee by raising nearly $1,000 for the Birdies For Charity qualifying tournament.

“A dream come true,” Brodell said Tuesday.

As a caddie in his grade school days, Brodell remembered chatting with Tom Watson, Tom Kite and watching his father, the longtime head pro at Butte des Morts Country Club in Appleton, injure his wrist on a shot from the deep rough at Brown Deer Park Golf Course.

But apparently, a few things are a little fuzzy when it comes to tournament procedure.

“I walked to the range today and I kind of joked with Mark Wilson,” said Brodell, the 2003 Wisconsin State Amateur champ who also played golf at UW.

“I said, ‘Mark, can I ask you something? Am I not supposed to be hitting here? I mean the three guys to the right of me are all PGA Tour winners and the three to the left of me are all PGA Tour winners, so I was just wondering if there was a protocol.’ And I was dead serious, wondering if I had to move down the line. Tim (Petrovic) and Mark were laughing.”

Brodell might not have everything down pat on the Tour scene, but he’s certainly no stranger to successful golfers.

Growing up at Butte des Morts, Brodell had the opportunity to watch Appleton native J.P. Hayes practice and play. Brodell’s father played in six Greater Milwaukee Opens and made a hole in one at the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. And during his time at UW, Brodell has seen plenty of talented players, including coach Jim Schuman and volunteer assistant Jerry Kelly.

“I knew him before he was born,” Hayes said of Brodell. “Just always around golf. Hard worker. Came up through junior golf and did well. It’s good to see him qualify. We played a lot when he was a kid.”

In order to be eligible for the Birdies For Charity qualifying tournament, Wisconsin PGA section members had to raise a minimum of $500 for charity or donate the money themselves in addition to paying the $105 entry fee.

Since the USBC — and several other PGA Tour events — reduced the number of local section qualifying spots from three to one a few years ago, Wisconsin PGA executive director Joe Stadler pitched the fundraising idea in the offseason to get one spot back.

The Birdies for Charity program raised more than $50,000 for state junior golf in its inaugural year, according to Stadler.

Brodell raised $945 from friends and colleagues and then qualified by shooting a 4-under 67 at Brown Deer Park and defeating Mike Johnston in a playoff last week.

For Brodell, raising the money was the only option this year.

“I’m getting married in August, so no way would I have paid 605 bucks (for the open qualifier),” Brodell said.

Brodell played a practice round Tuesday with former UW golfer and Appleton native Ryan Helminen, the reigning State Open champion. Helminen, who works at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, also worked at Butte des Morts during Brodell’s junior golf days. “No side bets,” Brodell said of his friend. “We’ve got enough to play for.”

Starting with a decent check that wouldn’t be bad for timing.

“It would be nice to make the cut,” Brodell said. “Everybody says that. But I know this is my first Tour event and I know these guys do this for a living. I don’t do it for a living, so I’m going to have to play my butt off to make the cut. We’ll see what happens. I could have one good week and have that wedding paid off.”