By Marcus Stone, Sports Editor
mstone@williamsonherald.com
Franklin resident Mike Reeder was honored this week by being awarded the Old Tom Morris Courage Award as part of the first annual St. Andrews Golf Festival.
Reeder gained global notoriety in 2011 after becoming the first man in a wheelchair to play the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland.
“I happen to be the first person in a wheelchair to play the Old Course at St. Andrews in its 600-year history,” he said. “But I know I wont be the last.”
The award, one of many to be handed out at a banquet on the campus of the University of St. Andrews March 31, was a shock to Reeder and came out of the blue. He was given the award Thursday at the Golf House of Tennessee and filmed his acceptance speech which will play at the ceremony.
“It came out of the blue,” said Reeder. “As I said in my acceptance speech: I accept this for golfers everywhere who play with a physical disability.”
Reeder has appeared on multiple television outlets, including ESPN’s E:60 news magazine program and became a big hit with the Scottish press after his score of 79 in poor weather conditions at the Old Course bettered Rory McIlroy’s 80 two weeks prior in the British Open.
 |
| Old Tom Morris Award presented to Mike Reeder by Dick Horton |
“The press just loved that,” he said with a smile.
Having played golf for the last 23 years, Reeder has met an impressive list of people. At the top of that group he puts Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead.
He met Nicklaus, winner of 18 Majors, at The Vinny golf tournament at Golf Club of Tennessee last year. The two were side-by-side on the practice tee and got into a rhythm together according to Reeder.
As for Snead, he received lessons from him on multiple occasions and called the experience “pretty slick.”
“I think I stopped myself from saying ‘Gee Sam, my mom and dad used to gallery you back in the 40s,” he remembered. “I think I held that back.”
One other experience he spoke of was receiving what he called a “beautiful letter” from Tigers Woods congratulating him on playing the Old Course.
Reeder began playing golf at the age of 40 and was a natural. Within six months of learning the game he broke 90. Upon completion of his personally-designed wheelchair, he was scoring in the high-70s.
His best score to date is a 72 at Forrest Crossing, the course where he works as a Senior Ranger.
A Navy Corpsman in Vietnam, Reeder lost his legs when traveling with the 5th Marine Division and a mortar explosion occurred close by.
The event became life changing in multiple aspects as Reeder questions whether he would have ever came to the sport in other circumstances.
“I’ve said to myself: Would I have been this good if I was standing up? If I hadn’t lost my legs? Would I have even tried golf? Who knows?”
Reeder has been of the links since December due to illness. The warm winter and comfortable spring has made it tough though. On multiple occasions he has felt out of place without a golf club in his hands.
“I need to be out there playing or at least practicing,” he said, “but I just haven’t got the strength or stamina to do it. I’m getting a little bit stronger everyday so pretty soon I’ll be (on the practice green daily).
Orchestrated by the R&N, Links Trust, St. Andrews Links Trust, and Keepers of the Green, the St. Andrews Golf Festival will celebrate all things golf with lectures, historical and museum pieces, rules lectures, etc.
Each trophy awarded is the bust of Tom Morris, who is universally recognized as the founding father of modern golf.
No comments:
Post a Comment