Michigan Golf Journal July 2019

Young golfers are smart to thank and acknowledge their parents for making their amateur careers possible. Between the finances, the travel and the time commitments, it can be a huge sacrifice. PGA Tour pro Chris DiMarco literally has his mom to thank for what he called the greatest amateur victory of his life – the 1988 Western Amateur at Pointe O’ Woods Country Club in Benton Harbor – which eventually launched him to three PGA Tour wins and two Ryder Cup teams. “I was 19 years old, so it was 31 years ago that I won,” DiMarco said at a recent Western Am media day. “I remember a lot about that week. I remember first and foremost that it almost didn’t even happen. “I was traveling with Dudley Hart, teammate of mine at the University of Florida, and we had gone through the Southern Amateur and then on up to the Porter Cup, and Dudley was playing poorly and wasn’t the most gracious loser, so to speak. He said, ‘I’m going back home.’ This is before cell phones and everything else. He was my ride. I was 19. I couldn’t rent a car. “We drove up from Florida, so we went up all the east coast,” DiMarco continued. “I called my parents and my mom said, ‘No, you stay there. I’m going to come up there.’ My mom flew to Buffalo (NY) and drove me here. “If it wasn’t for my mom doing that, I probably wouldn’t have played this tournament. “I just remember how grueling it was. God rest her soul. I thank her all time about it. She actually drove By Tom Lang PGA Pro Chris DiMarco Shares Memories of Western Am The 3 rd Oldest Amateur Tournament in the World is Coming Back to Michigan Michigan Golf Journal Chris DiMarco at Western Am