So good to be home at SGC!
I made a quick trip back to Salem last weekend for my fundraiser at Salem Golf Club. What an honor that they would set aside a Saturday to hold a tournament for me and so many of you would turn out!
What SGC means to me
Have I told you about Salem Golf Club? SGC is a special place for SO many reasons.
- My dad grew up playing here every day after school.
- It’s where I took lessons with Al Cross, the best swing coach in the entire world.
- They planted an orchard in the middle of the course so golfers can grab an apple mid-round if they’re feeling hungry.
- The club is less than a minute from my house by car and my brother and I used to walk down the hill with our clubs on our back to practice after school. Josh Vanlue and Ryan Fordham, the pro and assistant pro at the time, would be happy to see me in spite of the fact that they knew I would be begging them to buy me french fries before too long.
- So many great memories! Playing barefoot in the evening with my dad and brother until the sun went down, hitting 200 wedges on the chipping green every day, Parent-Child tournaments, and playing in my first Cap City there. I can even remember watching the Tiger Woods/Rocco Mediate US Open playoff in the SGC coffee shop, with my brother and my mom (eating french fries, of course!)
And so many more reasons
Salem Golf Club is also one of the most beautiful golf courses I know – tree lined and stately, it backs up to a 1,200 acre park along the Willamette River. It’s the oldest course in Salem, built in 1927, by Ercel Kay. The club remains in the Kay family. Ercel’s son, Tom Kay, poured his heart and soul into the club and was a huge influence in my life. “Senior”, as we called him, loved golf and he loved Salem Golf Club. Nothing made him happier than to see people out on his golf course enjoying themselves. Over the years, we became great friends.
When I needed a break from practice, Senior would invite me to help him sort cigars or organize inventory in the pro shop. He was always finding a new ice cream product he needed me to “sample” to make sure it was worth selling to golfers. Tom and I occasionally got out for a round, too. When I was 12 or 13, Senior challenged me to nine holes, winner take all, with a pot of $1.00 at stake. He pretended to break his putter after I sunk the winning putt. I still have the dollar he gave me, which he signed, framed with this picture below.
Senior passed in 2018 but his legacy lives on through the beauty and camaraderie of Salem Golf Club and its members. That is why I was so honored when Senior’s daughter, Susan Kay Huston, told me they wanted to host a fundraiser for me as I launch my professional career. With my schedule being pretty full, and being a long ways away in San Diego, we gambled on the last weekend in October. Alan Reese, general manager and head pro at SGC, put together a scramble in just a couple short weeks and I hopped on a plane back to Salem for the event.
Tournament Day
The day dawned foggy and cold, but we’re Oregonians, so that wasn’t going to stop anyone! It was really exciting to see everyone turn out, especially because so many of them were decked out in Oregon State gear. I got to greet everyone as they checked in, hit a tee shot for each group as they came through hole #1 and then enjoyed lunch with the whole group afterwards. It was an eclectic group of supporters. It included my high school golf coach, Brian Eriksen; some Oregon State diehard fans; parents of my friends from Oregon Junior Golf and the Oregon State men’s team, and many, many long time members of SGC, who watched me grow up playing there. My brother, Tim, also came down, to help greet people and take pictures, which I really appreciated!
During the lunch, I had a chance to do a Q&A about the next stage of Q-School and all the other big changes in my life. It was a wonderful day. I can’t even begin to express my gratitude to everyone who showed up to support me. A special thanks to Gary Horowitz, former Statesman Journal sports reporter, who did a shout out on local radio station KBZY pitching the fundraiser. And many, many thanks to Susan Kay Huston, Alan Reese and all the SGC employees who helped to make the event so successful!
