As a member at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club, Hughes Threlkeld has planted his tee to start a round of golf on the Deer Creek Course countless times.
But on Thursday, it was a whole new experience.
Threlkeld, a Benedictine alum who is now a senior playing at the University of North Georgia, was teeing it up in a professional event for the first time as he received a special exemption to compete in the eighth annual Club Car Championship. He had his younger brother Hamp, a junior, who is a standout golfer at Benedictine, on his bag for the Korn Ferry Tour event.
The 21-year old had a strong showing as he carded an even-par 72 on the 7,094 yard layout. He started his round on the 10th hole and had six birdies, 10 pars and a pair of double bogeys on the day. Threlkeld came to his 17th hole, the 201-yard par 3 eighth, a 2-under par, but had a double that brought him back to even par. He was in a tie for 77th.
“It didn’t hit me until I put my ball on the tee and felt my hand kind of shaking and then it took me a couple holes to get used to it,” said Threlkeld, who plans to turn pro this summer after graduating with a business degree from UNG.
He had one of the bigger galleries of the day with his mother and father watching, along with extended family and a strong contingent of friends and supporters.
“I wouldn’t say it was more pressure,” he said. “It’s just a little different having this many people out. Usually it’s just my parents at my college events. But It helped me. I kind of fed of their energy on my back nine, it kind of pushed me along.”
Threlkeld said four of his birdies stood out. His first came on his second hole (the par-4 11th), where he holed a double breaker putt of about 20 feet.
“That one was nice because it kind of settled me into the round and got me going,” Threlkeld said.
He hit a utility into the the drivable par-4 No. 5, a 320-yard test over water. He found the back of the green and two-putted from about 50 feet for his birdie. He followed with another birdie on the par 5 sixth, draining a 15-footer. He also birdied the par-5 18th hole before making the turn.
“That one was was really cool hitting one in there really close with all the people in the grandstands,” he said.
His father, Paul, had scouted out the course with Hamp last week looking at yardages and angles that might come into play this week, and he was enjoying the chance to see his sons together competing in a professional event with his wife, Ansley.
“This is a dream come true for us, because its a dream come true for him,” Paul Threlkeld said. “And to have Hamp as his caddie makes it even better. They know each others’ games so well and are always encouraging each other. Hughes has been playing a lot of team golf in college, so to see him playing as an individual so well and showing he has the game to compete with the pros. We’re just walking on clouds right now — it’s great.”
Ansley Threlkeld said the tournament means a lot to their family, and that made the exemption for Hughes to play so special. The family has been involved with the event since it started, and has hosted players at their Isle of Hope home — including former UGA star Davis Thompson, who will make his Masters debut next week.
“Hughes has shown that hard work and faith pay off — I think that’s the recipe for success,” she said. “To be out here to see one of his dreams come true is amazing for us.”
Hamp said it was an excellent experience being on the bag for his brother, and he’s looking forward to trying to make the weekend cut on Friday. He said the birdie at No. 5 was a memorable moment.”
“The drivable par 4 over the water — having to go over the numbers and where to hit it, where to miss it – that was definitely that one that stands out,” Hamp Threlkeld said.
He said he didn’t do much outside of helping with club selection and reading some greens, but stepped in as a brother when he needed to.
“It was nothing out of the ordinary, but after both doubles I kind of gave him a little kick in the butt and said ‘Hey, let’s keep going and not let that affect us,’ ” Hamp Threlkeld said.
Now Hughes has a chance to make the cut for the weekend. He tees off on Hole No. 1 at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
“I’ve just got to clean up a couple little things, obviously two doubles is not good,” Hughes Threlkeld said. “So I want to clean those up, but the game is in a good spot to go out there and fire a really low one tomorrow.”
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
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