Game taking Gulf coach's life in a different direction

This article appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on Oct. 31, 2002.

By GREG AUMAN
Times Staff Writer

New Port Richey's Jerry Young was intrigued by a flier he saw at Fox Hollow for the local chapter of the American Amateur Golf Tour, but he had no idea it would turn from something to do on the weekends into a national championship.

Young, 53, won nine of 14 events on the Tampa tour, qualifying for the national tour championship in Scottsdale, Ariz., two weeks ago. Young shot two rounds of 1-under-par, good enough to not only win the over-50 senior competition but give him the overall low round among 210 competitors.

"It was pretty exciting," said Young, a health and physical education teacher at Gulf High for 29 years and the school's girls golf coach. "Now I get to go to Ireland and help represent the American amateurs against the Europeans."

Young was selected as one of 10 amateurs for a team that will travel to Ireland in July for a Ryder Cup-style showdown. He's fared well in team competitions on the tour, leading a group of 12 Tampa golfers to victory over 24 other cities.

His biggest previous success came in 1998, when he won a national tournament for high school and college golf coaches in Las Vegas. Young has golfed for 25 years but said he only began to take the sport seriously in the past decade.

Five years ago, the longtime baseball coach tore his rotator cuff after years of tossing batting practice. Young had his physical therapy at Ewing & Thomas in New Port Richey. He said trainers there encouraged him to take up golf as part of his rehab, and as his strength returned, his scores dropped enough that he's now a zero handicap.

When Young returned home from Arizona, he decided he wanted to make a run at the PGA's Senior Tour, but when he called the tour's qualifying school, he found out he'd missed the annual deadline by three days. Young said he'll attempt to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open next summer, then make a run at Q school and see how he fares.

"This last year I've really been working hard on my game," said Young, who hits about 1,000 balls a week in practice. "It's always been a dream of mine to go for a pro tour, so I'll give it a try next year."