How Blythewood golfer navigated his way to a spot in his second U.S. Senior Open
U.S. Senior Open qualifier. Playing the golf course for the first time after weather reduced pre-event practice to riding the layout in a cart. Raining so hard at a 12:20 tee time that the biblical Noah might blink.
What’s a guy to do?
Eddie Hargett went to Walmart.
The strategy paid off. The Blythewood resident forged what he calls one of the top five rounds of his career at Argyle Country Club in Silver Springs, Maryland, to earn a spot in the U.S. Senior Open that begins Thursday in South Bend, Indiana.
“Pretty amazing,” he said.
A business conference in Virginia overlapped with the qualifying date on Hilton Head Island, and Hargett, 58, headed for Maryland to seek a spot in the championship that features the world’s top golfers ages 50 and older.
“Rain on Sunday canceled the practice round,” he said. “I rode around the course and saw what I could.”
He also saw the forecast for Monday: more rain. Thus, he headed to a Walmart and purchased a blue tarp that he wrapped around his golf bag and secured with bungee cords.
Although rain blew under his umbrella, “the tarp was effective,” Hargett said. “But it was pretty embarrassing.”
Indeed, a golfer clad in rain gear and his push cart carrying a golf bag encased in a tarp trudging through the storm creates comical images, but the result suggests this might be the recipe to success. Hargett missed only one fairway and hit every green in regulation in posting a 4-under-par 66 that tied for the qualifying medal.
He’s no stranger to USGA championships. This will be his second Senior Open and he made the field in three U.S. Mid-Amateurs.
Unlike most of today’s top golfers, Hargett is a late-comer to the game. He took up golf at age 28 primarily to play with friends, then decided if he were going to play, he wanted to be competitive.
He “figured it out” on the practice range, then set goals starting with winning a club championship. After reaching one milestone, he set loftier targets — qualifying for the State Amateur or making the Palmetto Cup team or earning a spot in a USGA event.
“The thing about golf is, you’ve got to do it yourself,” Hargett said. “You don’t have any teammates to bail you out. You have to play your foul balls, and like all sports, the competition is harder each step up the ladder.
“We’re fortunate in South Carolina to have quality competition at every level. You must have opportunities to compete to improve.”
He is enjoying an excellent year on the course and currently is No. 1 in the SCGA’s Senior Player of the Year rankings. He believes the experience gained in the 2012 Senior Open should be beneficial in Indiana.
“I didn’t know what to expect then and shot 82-74 to miss the cut,” he said. “I was too nervous and consequently tried too hard. Hopefully, it’s different this time. I want to relax and see what happens. It’s not realistic to expect to be in the hunt, but making the cut and playing all four days would be good.”
Maybe Hargett should skip practice rounds. In addition to his success in the Senior Open qualifying, he went to Pinehurst last year, played three courses for the first time — “playing them blind,” he said — and won the Senior North & South title.
That’s pretty amazing, too.
Chip shots. South Carolinians joining Hargett in the U.S. Senior Open are Golden Hills pro Steve Larick (Lexington), pro Marion Dantzler (Orangeburg), amateurs Kevin King (Bluffton) and Tim Dulavey (Spartanburg) and exempt pros Jay Haas (Greenville) and Jeff Maggert (Sea Pines representative). . . . USC golfer Jack Parrott (Columbia) edged Logan Sowell (Kershaw/College of Charleston) in 21 holes to capture the CGA’s South Carolina Amateur Match Play title at Columbia CC. . . . Entries are open for the Midlands Chevy Dealers Columbia City Golf Tournament, set for July 18-20 at The Spur at Northwoods. Go online to www.columbiacitytournament.com to register. . . . Pake June (Florence) birdied the final hole to win the Grant Bennett Florence Junior Invitational by one shot at Florence CC.