America loves the underdog! Let’s be honest, these are the guys we all tend to root for! This is a story of just that. A guy who was homeless and lived out of his car, had to continuously try to Monday qualify, but NEVER gave up on his dream. This golfer is named Mike Sweeney and he will do just about everything to stay on the path toward earning a career on the PGA Tour. The ultimate underdog!
Sweeney is a Connecticut native who didn’t play college golf, ran out of cash a couple of years ago, and now works in the cart barn at The Florida Club in Stuart, Fla. To frame this properly – This is the guy that pulls your golf cart up when you check into your tee time and then cleans your clubs after the round. He is also the guy who just qualified for a Korn Ferry Tour event and went on to make an ACE in that very event. Yep, same guy…
He Monday qualified in remarkable Sweeny-Like fashion—holing out a bunker shot for eagle on the 18th hole to shoot 64 and then emerge from a playoff. “Golf is such a wave of emotions,” Sweeney said. “You’ll have so many ups and so many downs, just try to ride the ups and stay positive during the downs.”
There was yet another “up” for Sweeney on Friday at The Ledges in Huntsville, Ala., where the HomeTown Lenders Championship has been reduced to 54 holes because of fog and bad weather on Thursday. After starting his first round on the 10th hole with a birdie, Sweeney arrived at the muscular, 230-yard 13th, pulled a 3-iron, and made an ace.
HOLE-IN-ONE for the Monday qualifier Michael Sweeney!
No. 13, 4 iron, 230 yards. 3-under thru 4.
Sweeney has slept in his car to chase his pro golf dreams … he is CAPITALIZING on this start. 💪 pic.twitter.com/0QL8nR51TB— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) April 28, 2023
Thankfully, it was caught by somebody with a phone from the tee box, because there doesn’t appear to be a soul by the green. At least, not until Sweeney arrived to retrieve his ball from the cup. On the video, we can hear somebody say in a heavy Southern drawl, “We missed it; got to go back and do it again!”
Good stuff, and at the time, Sweeney was tied for the lead at three under after only five holes. Alas, he’d come back down to earth on the rest of the front nine at the time of this post, with a double bogey at 17 and bogey at 18. Those would be the “downs,” but Sweeney already has his share of stories to tell from this week. It was a pleasure to tell the world of your story Mike – keep on keepin’ on!
