Spring Break
Golf team stays busy
NICK PARKER
Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: Sports
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When the final round at the 2009 men's golf NCAA Championships is complete, the travel and work begins.
And that's even more true in a year like this, when the Walker Cup - the Ryder Cup of amateur golf - is on the line.
"It's a Walker Cup year, so I think most are planning on playing a pretty full schedule with a chance of possibly playing on that team," Georgia head coach Chris Haack said.
Take All-SEC senior Adam Mitchell, who was named to the Palmer Cup team. He will forgo turning professional until the fall and will have eight tournaments on his summer schedule in two short months.
"I guess right after the Nationals, I have the Palmer Cup," Mitchell said. "Then, I'm heading to the U.S. Open Qualifier and the Northeast Amateur in Providence, R.I., and the Dogwood Amateur in Atlanta, The Players Amateur in Hilton Head, the Southern Amateur in Memphis and the Porter Cup in Buffalo, N.Y., and then the U.S. Amateur."
With tournaments all over, gone are opportunities for internships, summer classes or extensive amounts of time at home.
But sophomore Russell Henley, who has a similar schedule as Mitchell with the exception of the British Amateur, wouldn't have it any other way.
"I mean I get to travel all over and meet new people and they have family housing at all these tournaments, and I get to see a bunch of people that I've met over the last couple of summers at tournaments," Henley said. "And I've met maybe more people than most college people would meet doing an internship."
In addition to the travel and connections, the amateur circuit provides a unique opportunity to improve and play tournaments with other college players during the offseason.
And with senior starters Brian Harman and Mitchell graduating, the starting lineup will be devoid of two of the greatest players in program history, leaving an opportunity for two players to emerge this summer.
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