JIM NUGENT
ERIN, WISCONSIN |
The practice tee at the
U.S. Amateur always reminds me of the
United Nations compound in New York.
Instead of bright, colorful flags from every
member nation arranged in alphabetical
order and blowing in the wind, you see
bright, colorful golf bags representing
college golf programs big and small, both
well-known and obscure.
Winning the NCAA is not necessarily a
predictor of PGA Tour success. Phil, Tiger
and Luke Donald won. But so did James
McLean, Troy Matteson, James Lepp …
guys you don’t see on television very often.
Gilliam is with that latter group. He never
got past the second stage of the PGA Tour
Qualifying Tournament, and eventually he
got tired of shared Motel 8 hotel rooms
and fast food. And so in the fall of 2008, he
gave up the dream without a single regret.
He returned to Gainesville, went back
to school, and landed a promising job
with a software company. Soon enough,
golf called him, in a curious way. FootJoy
was looking to hire someone
to look after skilled
amateurs in Amer-
ica, and Gilliam
was recom-
mended for
the job. He
got hired
in early
2010, and now
serves as amateur
player promotions
manager for the
company.
Working around
better players rekindled
his love for the game, so he
applied for and received
amateur reinstatement.
Shortly thereafter, he
played in the Dixie Ama-
that up with appearances this year at the
Jones Cup and Azalea Amateur. He de-
cided then that if he was going to play, he
said, “I am not going to be mediocre.” So
he began to practice again, with greater
efficiency than ever before.
there is hope on the horizon, and Gilliam
represents an exciting next generational
wave.
Carlton Forrester, John Engler, Kris
Mikkelsen, Brad Shaw, Ben Hayes and
Mike Barbosa are contemporaries who
have considerable promise. This is as rich
and deep a group of budding nationally
competitive mid-ams as there has been in
some time.
Mid-amateur golf is tough. Most guys
have to juggle golf with family and career,
which is a difficult challenge. And it’s not
inexpensive to play mid-amateur golf.
That is one of the reasons that California’s
Harry Rudolph decided to return to the
pro ranks after showing real potential last
summer.
There also isn’t a well developed mid-
amateur circuit, as there is with senior
amateur golf. A competitive senior could,
if he wanted to, play in a points-earning
tournament almost every week of the
year. No such platform exists for the mid-
ams.
The thin ranks are also a function of
guys hanging on to the pro dream too
long. Gilliam knew it was time and moved
on with his life. A good number of guys his
age and older keep toiling on the mini-
tour trail well into their 40s, apparently
waiting for lightning to strike.
They would be better served by get-
ting a real job and applying for amateur
reinstatement, as Gilliam did.
And the American mid-amateur game
would be better served as well. l
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