Wisconsin’s golfer at the Masters
Augusta, Ga. — Steve Stricker failed to qualify for the Masters Tournament for the first time since 2006. Jerry Kelly and Mark Wilson won’t be making the drive down Magnolia Lane this week, either.
There is a Wisconsin golfer in the field, though. Kinda, sorta.
His name is Sammy Schmitz. He’ll readily admit he’s more Gopher than Badger — he’s a native Minnesotan who plays most of his golf on the west side of the Mississippi River — but he does live in River Falls, so we’re claiming him.
Next question: Who in the world is Sammy Schmitz?
He’s a 35-year-old regional sales director for a health care company. He turned pro in 2004, after playing collegiate golf at St. John’s University in St. Joseph, Minn., but realized within a year that chasing the mini-tours wasn’t for him and was reinstated as an amateur.
And last year, as the 3,724th-ranked amateur in the world, he came from nowhere, figuratively speaking, to win the U.S. Mid-Amateur and earn an invitation to the 2016 Masters.
On the 33rd hole of the 36-hole championship match against Marc Dull of Lakeland, Fla., Schmitz knocked his ball into the hole on a 290-yard par-4 for the unlikeliest of aces (believed to be only the second on a par-4 in USGA championship history). That put him three holes up with three to play and he closed out the match on the next hole.
The guy who sells laundry and housekeeping services to long-term nursing facilities was headed to the Masters. As Cinderella stories go, it doesn’t get much bigger.
There was just one problem. Schmitz is married and has two daughters, ages 3 and 1. He has a good job but playing in the Masters as an amateur, with no chance to recoup expenses by winning a share of the purse, is a pricey proposition.
So Schmitz and his wife, Natalie, launched a GoFundMe page to help cover their travel and lodging costs and Schmitz’s initial scouting trip to Augusta National in December.
Three days later, they stopped accepting donations after raising more than $25,000. The money came from family members, friends and good Samaritans who embraced the feel-good story of an obscure golfer from a tiny town in Wisconsin’s north woods (River Falls pop: 15,209) getting the chance to tee it up on golf’s grandest stage.
“I was blown away,” Schmitz said. “I couldn’t believe it took off the way it did. I’m super-humbled by everybody wanting to help out. We’re very thankful for that.”
Schmitz arrived in Augusta on Thursday and got in 14 holes before heavy rain drove him off the course. He was rained out again Friday, but played practice rounds Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and planned to play in the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday.
Tour veterans pace themselves at the Masters, because there’s a fine line between being prepared and burning out. Schmitz isn’t worried about the latter. As far as he’s concerned, the more holes he can play at Augusta National, the better. The only negative so far has been sore ankles and feet from walking the hilly course.
“I’m so excited I don’t think it’s even possible for me to burn out right now,” he said. “This is something that’s kind of out of my realm. Guys that are on the Tour week in and week out, they have an easier chance of burning out than somebody like me does. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me.”
Schmitz already has played practice rounds with 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson. All three are among the top 11 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Schmitz picked their brains about Augusta National and they freely shared advice and tips for playing the course.
“It was interesting playing with Rickie,” he said. “He’s kind of a big deal on the PGA Tour. He’s a crowd favorite. People were always yelling at him so I got a little bit of a taste of what he has to deal with.”
Between all the shouts of “Good luck, Rickie!” and “Go get ’em, Rickie!” Schmitz did hear “Hey, Sammy!” a couple times.
“Yeah, but I knew exactly who they were,” he said with a laugh.
Schmitz said he made four birdies in his ninehole round with Fowler.
“I actually feel pretty good,” he said. “I feel a lot more comfortable than I thought I would.”
There is a profound difference between practice rounds early in the week and tournament rounds starting Thursday. It’s like going from the pace car to the front row at the Indianapolis 500. You’re not going to wreck the pace car, but the tiniest mistake on race day can lead to a five-car pileup.
At least Schmitz is on the starting grid. Only 88 other golfers in the world can make the same claim.
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