Friday Throwback

When Ty Tryon breezed through 'Q School' in the fall of 2001, Rory McIlroy was falling off the monkey bars and Ryo Ishikawa was probably adding to his beanie baby collection. I've always held a particular fondness for Ty, as I spent 2001-2002 in Hilton Head trying to perfect my own game with dreams of a college golf scholarship. What I remember most about Ty was his style.. For 2001 he was wearing his stuff slimmer than most. He had an edge to him, alot of all black, trousers always trim and polos with sleeves cut short. Plus the wild mess of hair. He had kind of this Willy Mac thing going before anyone knew who Willy Mac was. He exuded that surfer vibe, but also had equal parts Camilo - the fitness, the adoration of the female fans. I actually drove to 'Q School' in Palm Beach that year to watch this 17 year-old kid try to qualify for the tour. I parked illegally and had to hop a 10 foot fence to get over to the other side of the road where Ty was playing. It was early morning and the fence was still wet from the sprinklers; I slipped and quite severly impaled my right thigh on one of the posts. Bleeding at a steady rate, I rushed back to my car and drove the hour back home. I was on the course the next day. Still have the scar. And you thought the KC was soft...Ty has yet to fulfill his potential, fighting mono and bad results on the big Tour before bouncing around on the minis with little success...Indeed, sad for the once-Callaway posterboy, but I'll always recall that year when a kid with bad skin and big dreams gave every junior player hope that everything might just work out...