New world opens up for him
Quincy native living a dream at Bethpage
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - The autograph seekers must have numbered 200, forming a line from the left of the 18th green, up the hill, and toward the clubhouse at Bethpage State Park. The fact that few, if any, knew who Michael Welch was hardly mattered. He’s here, and he’s playing, so they’re asking, and he’s signing.
Welcome to The Show.
“That was pretty cool,’’ said Welch, the 27-year-old Quincy, Mass., product who advanced through local and sectional qualifying to make his first US Open. “I could get used to this.’’
For the second time in his fledgling professional career, Welch is getting a taste of what life is like at golf’s highest level. No crummy hotels and toiling on the Hooters Tour in far-flung locales such as Boonville, Ind., and Miami, Okla., with nobody watching. This week, he’s driving a Lexus courtesy car, expecting more than 100 friends and family members in his gallery, and sharing a locker room with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Unlike his appearance in the 2006
“I feel like I’m ready for it this time,’’ he said. “My game is a lot better now, and I’ve got a lot more experience. I won’t be nearly as nervous as I was in the Deutsche Bank. Back then I could hardly take the club back. I’ll be nervous, but it’ll be a good nervous.
“I’m viewing this as an opportunity. It’s so hard to get out there. You don’t get many chances, and this is a huge chance. I’d like to make something out of it.’’
Last week, days after finishing in a tie for second at the sectional qualifier in Purchase, N.Y., Welch sat down at The Fours in Quincy, reflecting on a career that has included tournament wins, expensive mistakes, and waiting for that one big break.
He is an only child, and neither of his parents play golf. Welch didn’t, either, until he received a set of clubs for Christmas one year. Almost immediately, the boy who excelled at baseball and hockey had a new love as he entered North Quincy High School. He lived with his mother and her parents, who had a home near Furnace Brook Golf Club, where he’d spend his summers. Dropped off at 7:30 a.m., picked up at 7:30 p.m., day after day, frequently playing 54 holes.
“I wanted him to live his dream,’’ said Terry Palmieri, who attended Mass last week on the morning of her son’s qualifier, then went back when she heard he was tied for the lead after the first of two rounds. “I’ve always believed that if Michael wanted to do it, then he would succeed.’’
Said Brian Radell, one of Welch’s longtime friends and his former caddie: “He took the fast train. Freshman year of high school, he was all of a sudden so much better than the rest of us. You just knew.’’
Welch worked in those formative years with Don Small, now the head professional at Presidents Golf Course in Quincy. Small was in Welch’s group last year at Presidents when his former pupil lipped out a birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 59, settling for a 10-under 60, the second time he’s posted that number there.
“He worked so hard, that’s why he got so good so quick,’’ Small said. “He can work the ball both ways, that’s his strength, and he’s got such a fabulous chipping game. Once he gains the proper confidence, he should be out on the Tour.’’
After Welch graduated from North Quincy in 2000, a short stint at Central Connecticut State was followed by a fruitful career at Johnson & Wales University in North Miami, Fla., then the easy decision to turn pro in late 2005. Like thousands of others with the hope of reaching the PGA Tour, Welch started out playing mini-tours: Gateway, Tarheel, Hooters, a few Nationwide events. Life as a lower-level professional golfer can be a grind, hardly glamorous, but educational. The money is tight and the next tournament is hours away, the open road and your dreams right there in front of you.
“It’s been a little harder than I thought it would be,’’ Welch said. “Not necessarily the golf aspect of it, but traveling, eating out every night . . . that type of thing gets old. But at the same time it’s been great, because I’ve met a lot of good people, made a lot of friends on the tours I’ve played on.’’
He’s also been successful. Welch finished second in the first Hooters Tour event he played, then won five starts later, collecting $33,566, which for an upstart tour pro goes a long way. He added another Hooters Tour win, captured last year’s New Hampshire Open, and finished second in last year’s New England Open, losing a nine-hole playoff. Although he recently purchased a townhouse in Orlando, Fla., Welch returns to New England most summers, playing in the various state opens.
Welch has tried three times to make the PGA Tour through Qualifying School, never advancing beyond second stage. He also tried Q School for the European Tour, flying to France for the first stage. He finished poorly in his first round, angrily signed his scorecard without studying it, then stormed off, not realizing until the next day that he had signed for a lower, incorrect score, which meant disqualification. Welch figures he ended up spending $8,000 for one frustrating round of golf - his low point since turning professional.
“But it was a good lesson learned,’’ he said.
If spending three-plus years on the mini-tours has taught Welch anything, it’s that there are hundreds of players not on the PGA Tour who are talented enough to succeed out there. It’s the opportunity to prove it that can be so difficult to come by.
Which is why last week’s qualifier in New York, and this week’s US Open at Bethpage Black, are so important to him. Making the cut here would allow Welch to bypass first stage at Q School, an important step. It’s his primary goal, Welch says; if he ends up playing on the weekend, he’ll come up with more goals.
“This is more or less a crowning achievement, so let him bask in the sunlight,’’ said Robert Welch, Michael’s father. “He’s got as good a shot as anybody.’’
It would be easy to assume that Welch, facing the pressure of playing his first US Open in front of so many supporters, might be setting himself up for two disappointing rounds and an early ticket home. But he’s here to enjoy himself and play his best, and to see through a promise he made to Radell and two other friends when they spent two glorious days at the 2002 US Open at Bethpage. Driving home after the final round, Welch, then a 20-year-old college student, turned to his friends and predicted that the next time Bethpage hosted the Open, he would be in the field.
“The last seven years, all I’ve said is, ‘I don’t care what you do in your life, just play Bethpage,’ ’’ said Radell. “It’s so nostalgic that I’m going to be at that same place, where we had an amazing experience, watching the whole thing again, and have Mike be part of it.’’
Said Welch: “It’s going to be unbelievable. It’s probably going to be the best week of my life, regardless of how I play. But I think I can play with them. I know I can play with them. It’s just a matter of doing it.’’ 