Drew Weaver's outstanding amateur career will end after this weekend on a fitting stage -- the Walker Cup matches, one of golf's biggest amateur competitions.
Weaver, a native of High Point, said he finds it hard to believe that he will turn pro next week and have a chance to start earning money. He joked that it's time.
"Hey, I'm 22, I need to find a job," said Weaver, who graduated from Virginia Tech in May.
The Walker Cup, which features 10 U.S.-born players against a team from Great Britain and Ireland, is a mini-version of the popular Ryder Cup, and the U.S. leads the biennial series 37-7-1. The matches will be played Saturday and Sunday at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., and will be broadcast on The Golf Channel.
"This is it," Weaver said of his amateur career. "But I can't think of a better way to end it. It's been great being an amateur, and I have tons of great memories, but I'm ready to make the jump."
He will sign with an agent after the Walker Cup and also sign some endorsement deals with clothing and equipment companies. He will try to get into some PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour tournaments on sponsors' exemptions by writing letters to tournament directors.
Weaver's first priority is to help the U.S. team -- which includes college stars Rickie Fowler of Oklahoma State and Brian Harman of Georgia, as well as Wake Forest's Brendan Gielow -- win the Walker Cup.
Weaver has had a solid summer. He made the cut at the U.S. Open and by doing so avoided the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School.
"I'll have to the middle of November before second stage starts, so that was huge," said Weaver, who tied for 40th at the Open.
Weaver also finished fourth at the Dogwood Invitational and 15th in the Players Amateur, and he says that his game is in good shape.
Bubby Marucci will captain the U.S. team -- he also captained it to a win in Ireland in 2007 -- and Weaver said that Marucci's message has been clear: He wants the U.S. team to win and the golfers to act like gentlemen at all times.
"It's a great group of guys," Weaver said, "and I'm just looking forward to this incredible experience."
Writer will be missed
Whether it was the Masters, U.S. Open, Wyndham Championship or Quail Hollow Championship, Tom Berry was always there, covering tournaments for the last 15 years as a columnist and golf writer for the High Point Enterprise.
Berry died at 48 last week after a brief illness. Last year, his fight against a rare form of lung cancer inspired all who knew him.
One of the things that impressed me most about T. Berry, as I called him, was that no matter what his deadline pressure or laptop problems, he never raised his voice or complained. He was the consummate pro.
Berry put his faith and his family first. He leaves behind his wife, Sandy, and daughters Ashlyn, Rachel and Leah.
T. Berry taught me a valuable lesson that had nothing to do with writing. It was about adjusting his hectic work schedule to watch his daughters play sports, dance in recitals or perform in school plays.
"They don't remember the games or plays you go to," he said, "but they'll remember the ones you miss."
Around the green
Brian Sharp, a Winston-Salem native and an assistant golf coach at Virginia Tech, has been elected to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. He was a four-time all-conference selection in the mid-1990s, had four college tournament wins -- including the 1995 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship as a senior -- and his 74.14 stroke average is sixth best in school history. Sharp and five others will be inducted on Nov. 20 before the N.C. State-Virginia Tech football game. ...
Pine Brook Country Club, hoping to increase its membership, has several new membership categories available and is offering them in the fall for a limited time. General manager Tony Johnson said: "We need to increase our membership and we believe the new rates will do this for us in a very short period."
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.
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