Charlotte Pro Golfs for Gold on the Senior PGA Tour

By SCOTT MARTIN

If the United Way received $100 each and every time a middle-aged single-digit pot-bellied handicapper uttered the words "one day I’m going to qualify for the senior tour," poverty in the United States might be eradicated.

But golfers can and should dream about the lofty heights of professional play: if it weren’t for a little bit of dreaming mixed with some hard work and raw talent then Terry Mauney would still be spending eight hours a day teaching on the range.

With the encouragement of his father, a greens superintendent, Mauney began golf as a tyke, eventually becoming an accomplished junior who was so enamoured with the game that he would wear his golf shoes to school. Mauney learned the game far from the manicured greens of Charlotte’s private clubs, instead sparring with the blue collar hustlers at the now gone Eastwood Golf Club with its hardpan fairways and quirky bermudagrass greens. If he wanted money for dates and clothes, Mauney worked in and around the golf shop at the venerable Larkhaven Golf Club, cleaning carts and clubs.

Mauney played well enough to earn a golf scholarship to UNC-Charlotte, then turned pro and earned his way onto the PGA Tour; victories included the 1979 Q-School held that year at Pinehurst, the 1978 Utah Open, and the 1978 Idaho Open. Sadly, severe bursitis in his shoulder cut short what looked like a consistent run on the PGA Tour. One of the highlights of his career was shooting 63 at Riviera Country Club during the Los Angeles Open, breaking Ben Hogan’s course record. At one stage, he made 18 consecutive cuts and earned $38,000 in 1981 which was then good enough for 80th on the money list.

With his shoulder preventing him from playing at PGA Tour level, Mauney became a sportscaster, working for Charlotte-station WBT-TV, a job he would keep for nine years. He was relegated to handily whipping the rest of the media by winning Carolinas Golf Reporters Championships. But three years ago, with his shoulder problem fixed, Mauney began to think about and prepare for the Senior Tour. He cut down his time behind the counter at Crystal Springs Golf Club, reduced his teaching schedule, and started to enter mini-tour events to regain his scoring touch and competitive edge. Once he turned 50 in the middle of last season, Mauney entered a number of Senior Tour Monday qualifiers, earning spots in four tournaments. The results were mixed, but Mauney realized that he could compete with the best.

"People ask me if I’m intimidated playing with big names like Nicklaus and Irwin, but I played with and held my own against those players when I was on the regular PGA Tour," says Mauney. "I’m friendly with a lot of those guys because I was friendly with them back then."

With the regular season over, Mauney had to clear one of the thorniest hurdles in all of golf: Senior PGA Tour Q-School. Before the tournament, Mauney enlisted the help of Greensboro’s Rick Lewallen who improved Mauney’s putting by about three strokes a round. The result: a second place finish at Q-School and complete exemption for the 2001 season. Of all Mauney’s results, the Q-School one stands out as perhaps his best: 1,400 hopefuls tee it in a series of regional qualifiers, but only eight earn full-time spots. That’s pressure.

"I really put my faith in God," says Mauney. "And with my putting so strong, I felt confident. Rick has really helped me with my putting and my mental outlook."

Lewallen now caddies for Mauney.

Early in the 2001 season, Mauney led the Toshiba Senior Classic. It was the last day of the tournament, the back nine, and, Mauney was beginning to feel a little heat. The day before, Mauney’s six birdies had placed him one shot ahead of star golfers like Gil Morgan, Hale Irwin and Dave Stockton, accomplished players with large homes well-stocked with trophies.

On the 14th hole, Mauney’s tee shot landed on the wrong side of the white stakes lining the fairway. Mentally jarred from driving it out of bounds, he limped home, finishing tenth overall. If he had won, he would have taken home a check for $210,000.

As of the middle of August, Mauney had earned $474,085, good for 28th on the money list. Mauney needs to stay in the top 30 to remain in the show for 2002 and so the Vantage at Tanglewood will be one of a number of important events that Mauney will play to avoid a return to Q-School. Most of Mauney’s stats are middle-of-the-pack with the exception of putts per round where he is first with an average of just over 28. He is also fourth in par-4 birdie conversions and 4th in putting average for greens hit in regulation: so if Mauney can hit more fairways and greens, he will finish the season with more lucre in his pocket and the certainty ticket to ride in 2002.

And what a ride. Mauney picks up a new courtesy Cadillac each week at each new tour site and is treated like a star at each tournament; in addition to his regular earnings, Mauney has picked up some good cash at pro-ams and other adjunctive events. Callaway has sponsored Mauney, showering him with balls and peppering him with clubs and because he’s a card-carrying member of the Senior PGA Tour, he has earned full privileges at the TPC Piper Glen, a $300 a month value.

Even though he’s closing in on earnings of half a million dollars, Mauney remains humble. He still lives in a modest home near Park Road Shopping Center and the best place to spot Mauney might be the Harris Teeter on a weekday night when he’s not traveling. This author has spotted Mauney in a shiny new Cadillac and that might be his only extravagance, his only material admission that life is pretty good right now.

Mauney is quick to credit his wife Gaynell and step-daughter Nicole for his success. He says that his Christianity helped him through the nerves of senior Q school. He credits caddy Rick Lewallen for helping him improve his putting to the point where he can now compete on the increasingly competitive Senior PGA Tour.

Despite citing his "aides" for helping him get on the tour and staying there, Mauney is clearly his own man. He sports a small stud earring in his left lobe and his official Senior PGA Tour media shot has the Greg Norman lookalike wearing a Day-Glo blue Hawaiian shirt.

But why not? Mauney is living the dream that so many pro-shop attendants, aging bag boys, and teaching professionals think about between filling the tee sheet, cleaning clubs, and trying to fix an amateur’s terminal slice on a barren range.