猎鹰闪回 | Michael McGowan '09

 

I started at O’威尼斯人在线官网 in 6th grade and was there through my Senior year. So if I’m not mistaken, that would be the Fall of 2002 through the Spring of 2009.

 

 

我的美网之旅始于去年12月，当时我写下了来年的目标。 I recall meeting with my performance coach and writing down ‘Qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Open in Pinehurst’ as my number one. 所以我一整年都在想这件事。  在今年五月的预选赛中，我感觉非常好。 

 

5月14日，我在马里兰州参加了第一场资格赛，六天后，我在德克萨斯州参加了第二场资格赛（如果我有资格的话）。 值得庆幸的是，当时我的高尔夫打得不错，在下雨的情况下，我在马里兰州打出了68杆无柏忌的成绩，获得了第二名。 然后我回到北卡的家呆了几天，然后飞往达拉斯参加下一场预选赛。 在那里，我在两个球场打出了68胜71负的成绩，进入了最后六个席位的七人决赛。 在季后赛第一个洞打出标准杆后，我晋级了美国公开赛。 令人惊讶的是，唯一被淘汰的是塞尔吉奥·加西亚，他曾在2017年赢得大师赛。 

 

(Editor’s Note: Out of 9,552 local participants, only 530 moved on to the final qualifying round.  在937名有资格参加决赛的选手中，只有73人晋级了美国公开赛。)   

 

美国公开赛前的几周真的很有意思。 I can’t recall how many phone calls, texts, podcasts, television interviews, etc. 我最终做的或回应的，但有相当多。  Then while at the tournament, I was mic’d up with the Golf Channel during practice rounds and did a live on-course interview with Johnson Wagner, which was pretty neat. Honestly, it’s hard to put into words what that week meant to me. 那一周我从朋友和家人那里得到了不可思议的支持。 作为第1000届美国高尔夫球协会锦标赛的第一个开球选手，这感觉特别酷。  Having hundreds of people out there to watch me on the first tee at 6:45AM is something I’ll forever remember. 老实说，我想那周我比伍兹得到了更响亮的欢呼，这对所有在那里表示支持的人来说无疑是有意义的。

 

 

If I’m being honest, I believe my greatest golf achievement is yet to come. I’ve played some great golf over the years, but with becoming stronger both physically and mentally, I know I’m one step closer to something truly special on the course. 

 

That said, since turning pro in 2015 I’ve had status on numerous Tours. 特别是那些分布在北美和南美的，从加拿大北部到阿根廷南部。 Needless to say, I’ve been to a lot of phenomenal places I would’ve never seen otherwise! 

 

 

During my time at O’威尼斯官网在线, we always had a strong golf team. 作为一名七年级的学生，我在球队期间能够在一些很棒的球场上打球，这也是相当不错的。 在Talamore， midsouth和Pinehurst 8号之间，我们非常幸运。 We went to States each of my six years on the O’威尼斯官网在线 golf team. If I’m not mistaken, we won in 2005 and again in 2008. Individually, I’m fairly certain I finished third in both 7th and 8th grade. 然后我在2007年和2008年获得了美国第二名。 我是2006年和2009年的奖牌获得者。 

 

 

除了打高尔夫球，我整个高中都踢足球和打篮球。 这些也是我拥有的最美好的回忆，从乘坐巴士到真正的比赛。 有过很多美好的时光。 

 

 

Like I just mentioned, I had so many lasting memories from O’威尼斯人在线官网 thanks to sports. Now that many years have passed it’s hard to put one story or memory above the other. But when it came to growing up in the area and going to a smaller private school, I’ll always remember how great the teachers were and all the friendships and good times we had throughout. 我仍然和高中时认识的大多数人说话，在每个人都回家的特定节日里和他们聚在一起。 

 

 

After graduating from O’威尼斯人在线官网, I went to UNC where I played on the golf team for four years. 我在全联盟呆了几年，我在那里的球队每年都能赢得一两个冠军。 Since turning pro in 2015, I have played events on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica, PGA Tour Canada, and the Korn Ferry Tour, totaling around 100 tournaments and thousands of flier miles. Also, I have bounced around the various mini-tours throughout the US, which helps keep my game sharp when I’m not traveling out of the country. At the moment, I’m just focused on my goal of playing full-time on the PGA Tour. 

 

We’re all so proud of you, Michael.  我们祝你一切顺利。  谢谢你这么做。 

威尼斯官网在线 the author: 
Jared Lina ‘97 is presently an O’威尼斯官网在线 Trustee, who was a member of 4 consecutive state championship golf teams from 1994 to 1997. 

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