University of Georgia Athletics
A Memorable 48 Hours For McCoy
March 14, 2016 | Men's Golf
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Lee McCoy posted a simple message on Twitter after perhaps the most memorable Sunday afternoon, and most memorable weekend, of his life: "Pinch me."
That post came shortly after the Georgia senior golfer shot a final-round 69 to finish fourth in the Valspar Championship, a PGA Tour event at Innisbrook Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla. It was a superb performance on a tough course — he finished at 4-under, three strokes back — and the best finish by an amateur in a full-field PGA Tour event in nearly 20 years.
No, he wasn't dreaming, though it surely felt like it.
Nor did he get any sleep that night, not with a drive of more than eight hours back to Athens — fortunately he wasn't behind the wheel — and a million thoughts running through his head.
McCoy said he got back home at 4:30 Monday morning and mostly tossed and turned until he had to be at Athens Country Club to play 36 holes in the Southern Intercollegiate Championships. Already pretty well mentally fried and physically spent, McCoy managed to shoot 3-under and help the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs to a three-stroke win.
Leading the way for the Dogs was junior Greyson Sigg, who shared medalist honors after finishing at 7-under. Sophomore Zach Healy was close behind at 6-under and senior Sepp Straka shot 5-under.
Afterward the event, and really throughout much of the day, McCoy didn't have anything left in the tank.
"Nothing," he said as he sat slumped in a golf cart. "I've got just enough to drive home and that's it."
Then will come sleep and rest and time to reflect on just what has transpired in his life in the past few days, and what it all means going forward. Not that he isn't already aware that his life has undergone a significant change.
"Obviously my life has done a 180 in the last 48 hours," he said. "I've said it a thousand times, if the people at Valspar wouldn't have given me a sponsor's exemption into the tournament we wouldn't be talking about this. I'm incredibly grateful for them — it has literally changed my life, getting a spot in that tournament."
After barely making the cut at a course McCoy knows very, very well, having grown up right next to Innisbrook before moving to Clarkesville, Ga., in high school, the Bulldog blistered the Copperhead course over the final two days, shooting 66-69 on the weekend. That's 7-under par, the lowest weekend score of anyone in the field.
Because McCoy is still an amateur, and still competing for the Bulldogs, he couldn't accept the fourth-place check that would have come his way. It would have been a big one: $292,800.
The 2015 All-American, who had made the cut at the John Deere Classic PGA event last year, did get the satisfaction of playing so well on such a big stage, in front of some familiar faces and a lot of strangers cheering the amateur's every move. McCoy was paired with world No. 1 Jordan Spieth on Sunday (beating him by four strokes), so his gallery was among the largest on the course.
"We had, like, 10-15,000 people on every hole," said. "It was unbelievable; I've never experienced anything like that and I was surprised how calm I was able to stay and how I was able to keep my composure."
It was a little different at the Athens Country Club on Monday, when the gallery, if you can call it that, was seldom more than five or six people.
"I've got to say that the 10,000 was a little bit more fun," he joked.
McCoy didn't have a great deal of fun on the course Monday. While he understood that he was mentally and physically whipped before he even took the course, he still didn't care much for how he played.
"I was not mentally sharp today, at all," he said. "I was really flustered and I was aggravated."
Not that he let it show much, other than a small reaction when he missed a birdie putt or hit a sub-par (by his standards) shot. He shot 70 in the first round and struggled through the first nine of the second, making the turn at 2-over on the round and even for the day.
Georgia had led throughout but had Arkansas nipping at its heels as the two leading teams in the 14-team field made the turn. That's when Georgia coach Chris Haack had a word with McCoy.
"When he was coming down No. 10, I actually said to him, ‘We may need you on this back side,'" Haack said.
And what did McCoy do? He eagled the par-5 10th and birdied Nos. 12 and 14.
"That's what great players do, they rise to the occasion," Haack said.
It was a long day on the course and McCoy definitely kept his sense of humor, interacting with numerous players and spectators. While waiting to hit his second shot on the par-5 sixth hole during his second round, McCoy even took a moment to chat and pose for a picture with a young fan.
At the end, with the weariness evident on his face and in his body language, McCoy knocked in a 4-foot par putt on No. 18 to finish 70-71. What he did Monday wasn't broadcast on NBC or as potentially life-changing as his performance at the Valspar, but in its was it was equally as impressive.
"I'm just as impressed with what he did today because I knew that he was going to be mentally drained," Haack said. "It's so hard to play when you don't have your brain sharp, but he did it for his teammates, he did it for us and without him we wouldn't have won."
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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