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Second Chance: Hallberg is seeking a fresh start
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Published: June 30, 2008
Jesse Haddock, the legendary former golf coach at Wake Forest, had so much talent to work with during his career that its tough to pick who was the best.
But when asked, Haddock, who at age 81 is as spry as ever, doesn't hesitate. "Gary Hallberg has to be at the top of the list for sheer, physical golfing talent," he said last week.
Hallberg quietly made his Champions Tour debut earlier this month and tied for 16th in Concord, Mass. He also played this past weekend in East Meadow, N.Y. For both tournaments he had to qualify on Monday to get into the field because his all-time money ($2.4 million on the PGA Tour) doesn't get him fully qualified for every Champions Tour tournament.
Hallberg was the can't-miss kid coming out of Wake Forest after graduating in 1980. He was the first four-time, first-team All-America and won nine times while playing for Haddock, including the 1979 NCAA Championship.
He started on tour on a roll and was the PGA Tour rookie of the year in 1980.
Hallberg ranks 266th on the all-time PGA Tour money list, playing in 564 PGA Tour tournaments and finishing in the money 288 times with 38 top-10 finishes. He won three times on tour but those three wins -- in 1983 in San Diego, 1987 in Milwaukee and 1992 at the Southern Open -- aren't exactly major championships.
Hallberg doesn't want sympathy for how his PGA Tour career unfolded.
"I had a good career," Hallberg said about his days on the PGA Tour, where he last played a full season in 1999 when he played in 15 tournaments. "Most players would love to have the career I had. No, I think I had a good career and maybe I should have won more but I don't have any regrets."
Haddock, who has a soft spot for all of his former players, is especially close to Hallberg because he remembers where Hallberg came from. Hallberg was raised on a farm, just outside of Chicago.
Hallberg's father built him a makeshift, three-hole course on their farm, where Hallberg said that the holes were coffee cans.
"I guess I was a kind of a self-made player," Hallberg said.
Hallberg admits that if not for going to college to play golf, he would have likely followed his father and have been a carpenter.
"I guess looking back after all these years, it's funny how it all came about," Hallberg said. "I was being recruited by a lot of schools but all I read about and heard about was Coach Haddock and Wake Forest."
Hallberg and his wife, Shirley, have two daughters, ages 16 and 14.
Hallberg said that playing on the Champions Tour is the biggest mulligan of his life. With no pressure to make cuts, Hallberg said that he is ready to win again.
When he wasn't on the PGA Tour, Hallberg banged around the minitours and had success on the Nationwide Tour, where he won in Pennsylvania in 2002. If he wins on the Champions Tour, he would become the third player in history to win on all three tours (Keith Fergus and Ron Streck are the other two.)
Haddock said that perhaps one of Hallberg's problems early in his career was listening to a lot of advice from too many people. And Hallberg doesn't dispute that notion, but Hallberg does recall playing too much golf when he turned pro.
"I think my second year on tour I played in 48 events around the world," Hallberg said. "I just kept thinking I'd fix my problems as I played and looking back that probably wasn't the way to go."
Hallberg also said that putting problems surfaced a lot during his PGA Tour career.
His best year on the money list came in 1984, when he won $187,260 and finished 30th. But by 1988 he finished a distant 179th on the money list.
"I think my confidence was just down and that's so important in golf," Hallberg said.
Hallberg, who has spent most of his career living in Castle Rock, Col., said that hitting the Champions Tour in full stride has reinvigorated him. With his status on tour he hopes to play in about half of the remaining tournaments, but could play in more if he gets on a hot streak.
Because he sees all the familiar faces on the Champions Tour, Hallberg said he is very comfortable.
"Winning is a big goal and it's in the present tense for me," Hallberg said. "I know I've got to work hard to make it happen but I feel like my best golf is ahead of me. (Life on tour) kind of goes by fast so this is another chance for me and I'm excited."
Around the green
Brendan Gielow, who will likely be the top player for Wake Forest next season, won the Northeast Amateur with rounds of 68-66-67-66. He joins a select list of former winners including John Cook, Luke Donald and Kyle Reifers, another former Wake Forest star. Gielow, who will be a junior this fall for the Deacons, is the third Wake Forest player to win the tournament. Jay Siegel won in 1984 and '85 and Reifers won it in 2005….
Several local players qualified for this summer's Carolinas Amateur Championship with solid rounds at Tanglewood Park's Championship Course. Among those qualifying were Jeff Boyan and Michael Kochekian of High Point, who each shot even-par 70. Brad Helms and Chris Cassetta of Winston-Salem, along with Kyle Wilson of Mount Airy, also qualified with 72s. James Moore of Winston-Salem shot 74 to also advance….
Justin Clement, who will be a senior at West Davidson, won the 41st N.C. Junior Boys Championship in Greenville earlier this month. Clement beat Mitchell McGlamery of Morganton in the championship match. "I was just hoping to make it past the first round of match play," Clement said about the biggest win of his career. "The best of the best were here, and I never thought I would make it this far." Clement won six straight matches for the title….
The 108th North and South Men's Championship at Pinehurst Nos. 2 and 4 will be played this week. Among the 157 players in the field are Dustin Groves, who will be a junior at Wake Forest this fall, along with Logan Jackson and Ryan Sullivan of Winston-Salem. Defending champion Phillip Mollica of Anderson, S.C. is the top seed. Some of the other players to watch include Jamie Lovemark of Southern Cal and Kyle Stanley of Clemson.
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.
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