How’s your next two weeks shaping up? Got some exciting plans? Thinking about doing something special that you’ll remember for years to come?
Sorry to break this to you, but Noah McWilliams has got you beat, unless you are planning on being a starting pitcher in the College World Series and qualifying for Wimbledon.
Because that’s basically the equivalent of what McWilliams is about to do.
First, the Benton native will be part of the LSU golf team that is headed to the NCAA Tournament as McWilliams helped lead the Tigers to a strong showing at the regional in Arizona earlier this week.
“Our goal is to win every event we enter,” McWilliams says. “But even though we didn’t win (the regional), we made it to the national championship.”
As if that weren’t enough, he will then head off for the final qualifying stage to try to make into the field for this year’s U.S. Open.
Stacked against that, your fishing trip with your buddies doesn’t quite seem like much of a memory maker, now does it?
McWilliams is about to be a part of a double-threat of thrills – one on the team level and the other as an individual. Just don’t ask him which one will be the more nerve racking.
“I’d say it’s about equal,” he says. “They are both exciting, but probably more so for the natty (national championship) because it’s a team deal. If I’m playing in the last match and I need to win it for the championship, that’s about as nervous as you can get on a golf course.”
Closing out rounds certainly hasn’t been a problem lately for McWilliams.
With the Tigers’ berth in the national tournament on the line, McWilliams fired a 67 in the final round to keep LSU in the top five and qualify for the national tournament next week in Carlsbad, Calif. The Tigers finished in third and McWilliams, who tied for the lead in most birdies, finished at -11, good enough for a sixth-place individual finish.
“I knew I had to step it up,” he says. “In that last round, we all knew we had to play well and not make it too uncomfortable on the back nine. I was just focused on what I needed to do and I knew I had played pretty well. When we found out we qualified, it was a big relief.”
Especially since the Tigers had a disappointing finish last year in placing ninth at the regional tournament. “It was a weight off our shoulders, that’s for sure,” he said.
Earlier this month, McWilliams left no doubt as the medalist in the local U.S. Open qualifier at Koasati Pines in Kinder. He shot a 63 and finished birdie, birdie, eagle to win by three strokes and advance to the regional qualifier on June 8. His most likely destination for that will be Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga., when he will play 36 holes in one day.
Of course, McWilliams can take that out of play by winning the medalist honors at the NCAA Championship (the winner is an automatic Open qualifier).
It’s heady stuff for the former Benton Tiger, where he had a top four finish at the state high school tournament in each of his three years.
The immediate, high-level success is no surprise to his BHS coach, Tim Cram.
“I coached a lot of golfers over 30 years and he was the most dedicated and hard-working guy I ever coached. He kept working on whatever he thought his weaknesses were until he became confident in that area. He believes he can beat any course and can hit it a mile (not really) but when you’re playing with him, it seems like it,” said Cram.
“He’s not afraid of trying any shot and usually it works out,” added Cram. “Great kid and an awesome competitor.”
Now there’s an added dimension.
There’s a difference in that Noah McWilliams and the one who is about to go on a two-week golf binge, but it has nothing to do with his ball striking or putting.
“Maturity,” he says. “The way I think around the golf course is a lot different now. Obviously, I’m hitting the golf ball better now (than in high school), but now I think better. I know where to hit and where not to hit it.”
McWilliams credits LSU coach Jake Amos for making that difference. “He’s really helped me grow and we have had a lot of talks,” he says. “He told me I was talented, but I wasn’t mature yet and he led me into that direction.”
In the next few days, McWilliams will be headed in all different directions – West to California to the NCAAs and then East (probably) for the Open qualifier in Georgia.
And if things keep going his way, perhaps he will head in yet another direction – North, for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock in New York.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com