Pro Sports
Email
Print
Two area golfers head to Champions Q-school
Journal File Photo
Todd Brown, 50, gave up his job as a sales manager to take a shot at qualifying for a berth on the Champions Tour.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: November 4, 2008
It costs $2,500 to fuel the dream of becoming a Champions Tour golfer.
Candidates for the Champions Tour Qualifying School also have to have solid competitive credentials, of course, and Todd Brown and Eric Lawhon of Winston-Salem do.
So, with their entry fees paid and their scores filed, Brown and Lawhon will begin pursuit of their dreams today in the first stage of Champions Tour Q-school.
Brown, who turned 50 in May, has been working toward a shot at this for three years. He gave up his job as sales manager at Regal Ford and, with the blessing of his wife, Stephanie, and their six children (ages 2 to 21), embarked on his pro golfing career.
"This is like studying for three years and then having the final exam," said Brown, who will be in the 72-player field at Temecula, Calif., one of the four qualifying sites.
"I've been waiting for this, and I feel very confident. I'm ready."
Brown, who has the backing of several local sponsors, hasn't set the world on fire since giving up his amateur status. He estimates that he has won about $20,000 in nearly 70 tournaments on the Hooter's, Sunbelt and Tarheel tours -- three of the bigger circuits he has played in his travels around the country.
Still, he said that advancing through the first stage is possible -- 15 to 20 golfers from Temecula will move on to the final stage. Brown is honest about his plans if he doesn't advance.
"If I don't make it out, or don't make it as one of the top 30 in the final stage, I'll go back to work," he said. "That's the deal I made with my family, and I'll be content with that."
Brown, who graduated from Wake Forest in 1980 but did not play college golf, has been through the grind of qualifying school before.
He tried PGA Tour Qualifying School soon after he turned pro but didn't make it past the first stage. Last year, he tried the European PGA's Q-school and made it out of the first stage but no further.
"The mind-set I have is I want to give it all I have and just do my best," Brown said. "I just want to play to my potential."
Lawhon, who turned pro in August and will turn 50 on Jan. 16, took a shorter route to qualifying school. He took a vacation from his sales job at Modern Toyota and will start play today in a first-stage tournament in Milton, Fla. He's in a field of 56 and probably will have to finish in the top 15 to advance.
The final stage of qualifying will be later this month in Coral Springs, Fla., and the top five finishers will win 2009 Champions Tour cards. Golfers who finish sixth through 12th will get conditional status and those who finish 13th through 30th will get partial status.
Lawhon started a serious workout regimen to prepare for pro golf and has lost around 35 pounds. He played golf at East Tennessee State and North Carolina, played on the Asian Tour after college and also was a club pro for several years. He regained his amateur status in the mid-1990s.
"I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I want to give it a try," Lawhon said in August.
Claude Lawhon, Eric's father, said that Eric has played two practice rounds and has shot 70-71 at The Moors Golf Club in Milton, Fla.
"I'm excited for him," Claude said. "He's been wanting to try this, and I hope he does well down there."
Lawhon will use a local caddie at The Moors, his father said, because Omnia Fowler, a friend and part-owner of Modern Toyota, has a sore back and can't caddie. Lawhon also has help with expenses from local sponsors.
The other two qualifying sites are in Orlando, Fla., and Montgomery, Texas. The field of 78 in Orlando includes former major-league baseball players Mike Schmidt and Rick Rhoden, who has played on the Champions Tour before, and the Montgomery field includes Gary Pinns, a former All-America at Wake Forest who turned pro in 1980.
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
N.C. Politics
Federal Politics
See community events or add your own! Click here!
Advertisement
