After an outstanding junior season for the UGA golf team, Lee McCoy has a summer tournament schedule that’s getting busier by the week, with a difficult decision to follow in the fall.
McCoy, who moved with his family from Tampa to Clarkesville prior to his senior year in high school, has already represented the U.S. once this summer in international competition, will do so again this month and likely for a third time in September.
Also this summer, he has made his first appearance in one of golf’s major championships and his first start in a regular PGA Tour event, and has another one scheduled this month.
Since competing with his Georgia teammates in the NCAA Championship in Florida, McCoy has played in the Palmer Cup in Illinois, the U.S. Open in Washington state and a PGA Tour event in Hartford, Conn.
McCoy will play in the PGA Tour John Deere Classic this month, followed by an appearance in the Pan Am Games in Toronto the following week, with the U.S. Amateur in Chicago likely on his August schedule. September should include a trip to England as a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team, with McCoy facing a career decision at the conclusion of that event.
After qualifying for the U.S, Open in a Sectional qualifier at Hawks Ridge, an inaccurate story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had McCoy turning pro before the U.S. Open.
“My first pro event will be our national championship,” McCoy said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
McCoy was referring to playing in a professional event, not competing as a pro, and made it clear that his upcoming scheduling priority was the Walker Cup, which will be played in England in September.
“Hopefully I’ll make the Walker Cup team. That’s my big goal. This is not going to hurt my chances,” he said of qualifying for the U.S. Open. “I’ll get a little links experience.”
McCoy is a near certainty to make the Walker Cup, which would be his third appearance as a member of a team representing the U.S.
Immediately after his successful qualifying round at Hawks Ridge, McCoy headed to Illinois for the Palmer Cup, an annual event matching top American college players against their European counterparts, most of whom are playing in the U.S.
The U.S. team won 18-12, with McCoy posting a 1-2-1 record. He teamed with Georgia Tech’s Ollie Schniederjans to split his two team matches, winning decisively in alternate shot before losing in best ball. McCoy lost his first singles match, but managed a half the final day against the No. 1 player on the European team.
Schniederjans won both his singles matches, including a win against Europe’s No. 1, and Georgia Tech teammate Anders Albertson went 2-2, splitting both his team and singles matches. The U.S. team was led by Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler.
McCoy will also compete in the Pan Am Games, which will be played in Toronto. The golf tournament is scheduled for July 16-19, the week after McCoy plays in the John Deere Classic.
After flying cross-country following the U.S. Open, McCoy’s first appearance in a regular PGA Tour event got off to a shaky start. He was 4-over after four holes in the opening round, but was even par the rest of the day and shot 74.
Things went considerably better the next day, as McCoy ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch, but closed out his round with nine straight pars for a 66, missing the cut by two shots.
How McCoy fares in his PGA Tour starts will have an impact on his decision later this year whether to turn pro.
“I’m going to get to play in so many incredible events,” McCoy said, with the U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields in August breaking up his schedule of pro events and team competitions.
McCoy made his first appearance on a national stage in the U.S. Amateur last year, sharing medalist honors in stroke play qualifying at Atlanta Athletic Club. McCoy posted scores of 67 and 68 at the Riverside and Highlands courses for an 8-under 135 total, but drew Nathan Smith, America’s top mid-amateur in the first round of match play, and lost on the 19th hole.
The success he enjoyed from his U.S. Amateur experience carried over to his junior season with the Bulldogs, as McCoy emerged as one of the country’s elite collegiate golfers.
McCoy played well as a freshman in Athens, and followed with a solid sophomore season, winning one tournament, taking second in regionals to help Georgia qualify for the NCAA Championship and earning honorable mention All-America honors.
Coming off his co-medalist effort in the U.S. Amateur, McCoy enjoyed one of the finest seasons in Georgia history as a junior. He won four tournaments to match the school record held by current PGA Tour players Chris Kirk and Russell Henley. Three of those wins came in succession this spring including the Linger Longer Invitational at Reynolds Plantation and the Augusta Invitational at Forest Hills. He also broke the school scoring record (70.08), was selected first team All-American and was a candidate for several Player of the Year awards.
McCoy enjoyed his third straight strong finish in the regionals, but did not play his best golf in the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship. He did save his best score for the final round, shooting a team low 70 to tie for 33rd at 294.
“I did nothing in stroke play,” McCoy said. “I was very happy the team put me on their back.”
Georgia tied for third to qualify for match play, with the Bulldogs the lowest seeded team among the eight qualifiers.
“Nobody expected anything out of us, but we made it to the final four,” McCoy offered.
After a solid final round in stroke play, McCoy was back on form for the match play portion of the tournament.
“I found my game and waxed the first guy I played,” McCoy said of his 5&3 win in the anchor match against South Florida. McCoy also won against LSU’s No. 1 player, but was the only UGA golfer to win as the Bulldogs lost in the semifinals to the eventual national champion.
Four of the Bulldogs who were in the lineup in the regionals and NCAA Championship have eligibility remaining, but McCoy is considering turning pro and giving up his senior season.
“We have a chance at nationals next year, no doubt,” he said, “whether I’m on the team or not.”
Of his plans, he said “It’s too early to tell. There’s too much golf to play before I decide.”
McCoy shot 65-66 for a 13-under 131 total to place second in the U.S. Open qualifier at Hawks Ridge, but missed the cut at Chambers Bay by three shots with back-to-back scores of 74. He played respectably both days, but a triple bogey in the opening round proved costly, and he encountered the same challenge the other 155 players faced on the course’s less-than-championship-quality putting surfaces.