On the Beat
A Jeff Wilson: A Great Amateur
t the highest level, amateur golf has more in common with the PGA Tour than your Sunday morning game with
pals at the local muni. College golf factories flood the big events like the U.S. Amateur with mini-Spieths who have swings honed by Trackman and a decade’s worth of experience playing in uber-serious junior events. Even the so-called career amateurs often travel constantly, subsidized by trust funds or big-ticket jobs in the financial world. Given this, Jeff Wilson’s success is particularly noteworthy. Wilson, of
Wilson played college golf at
Pacific, and three decades later many of his closest friends were on those teams. “There are lotsa great stories but none I can tell in a family maga- zine,” he says. After graduation he didn’t have much of a plan so Wilson decided to turn pro, haunting the Golden State mini-tour. He had just enough success to roll the dice at the 1989 PGA Tour Q School. Much to Wilson’s surprise, he played his way onto the Tour. “To say I was unpre- pared is an understatement,” he says. “There was no incubation period.”
focus on the car business and having a family. Wilson had his amateur status reinstated in 1994 and around the turn of the century dipped a toe back into competitive golf. To his surprise, he qualified for the
2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He grabbed the last practice round time for Monday of tournament week, at 3:45 p.m., and went out as a single. “I’m on the first fairway, and before Casa Palmero was built there was that parking lot right there, and out comes Tiger, Mark O’Meara, Butch Harmon and Hank Haney. There’s nowhere for them to go, or for me to hide, so I say, Mind if I play with you guys? They were very welcoming, so off we went.” Woods was in the midst of the great- est season in golf history, and Wilson could see why: “He hit some shots that day that were truly amazing.” But he was also impressed by Woods’s inter- personal skills. “I gotta tell ya, he was very nice, really genuine, he tried hard
Vallejo, has amassed a glittering record in USGA events while working as a car salesman. Okay, he’s the presi- dent of Toyota Vallejo, but still. His preparation for big events is usually hitting a bucket of balls at lunchtime two or three times a week and maybe squeezing in one round. “I don’t really work on anything, I just like to watch the ball fly,” Wilson says with a laugh. To the fans at the U.S. Open, Senior Open and U.S. Amateur, Wilson, 52, has always been just another guy in the field, but he’s treasured all of his cameos in the big-time. “So many great memories,” he says. “I’ve gone farther than I ever thought I would.”
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But Wilson was long and straight off the tee, a game that travels. At the 1990 Southern Open he was tied for the lead with nine holes to go but came home with nine straight pars, getting passed by champion Kenny Knox, among others. Wilson’s tie for 3rd was worth $27,000. “I felt like the richest man in the world,” he says. Of course, after taxes and caddie fees, it was barely enough to cover the preceding months’ expenses. The Southern Open was pretty much the only highlight of Wilson’s rookie year, and soon enough he was back in the minor leagues. After a couple more years of struggling, he decided to
to make me feel comfortable,” says Wilson. “He took a picture with my kids”—Jack and Olivia—“and said good luck and goodbye.” Fast forward six days. Wilson is standing behind the 18th green, waiting for the trophy ceremony where he will receive a medal as low amateur, and Woods is tidying up a landscape-altering victory. “Tiger is walking toward the scoring tent and he sees me and before he even signs his card he changes direction, shakes my hand, and says, ‘Congrats Jeff, you should be proud of that.’ Jeez, I couldn’t believe he even remembered my name.” Wilson was suddenly motivated to play more amateur events and chase a
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