Lee McCoy made one thing perfectly clear on Tuesday: He will be playing in next week’s U.S. Open as an amateur.
In fact, if things develop the way McCoy hopes they will, he will remain an amateur at least through September. At that time, he hopes to be a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team. But he won’t know that for a few weeks.
“I’ve only made one promise to one person and that’s Spider Miller, the Walker Cup captain,” McCoy said Tuesday. “I promised him that I will be an amateur come September for the Walker Cup, if I’m lucky enough to be on that team. I haven’t made a decision what I’m going to do past that, but I will be an amateur ‘til September.”
Some confusion about McCoy’s status was created shortly after he completed 36 holes in 13-under-par Monday at Hawks Ridge Golf Club to finish second in the U.S. Open qualifier there. South Carolina’s Matthew NeSmith and Atlanta’s Robert Castro also qualified for next week’s U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in Washington.
Afterward, McCoy told an AJC reporter, “My professional tournament debut is going to be at our nation’s championship and that’s priceless. You couldn’t script it any better.”
But McCoy said he was merely referring to the fact that he will be competing in a professional tournament for the first time in his life, not that he will be competing as a professional.
“I’ll be playing in some other professional events as an amateur as well,” McCoy said Tuesday. “I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that I am not turning pro for the U.S. Open or anything else this summer. If I do anything, it will be after the Walker Cup.”
McCoy admittedly has struggled with the decision whether or not to return to Georgia for his senior season. As a junior this year, he set a school record by winning three tournamments in a row, he tied a school record by winning four during the season and he was named first-team All-American. McCoy went 2-0 in match play at the NCAA Golf Championships this past week, where the Bulldogs reached the national semifinals before falling to eventual champion LSU.
Meanwhile, McCoy will have an incredibly busy summer which will include other opportunities to experience professional tournaments as well.
McCoy was actually on his way to Chicago Tuesday to compete for the U.S. team in the Palmer Cup, an amateur event. His summer schedule also includes plans to compete in the Pan Am Games July 16-19 in Toronto, the Western Amateur Aug. 3-8 and the U.S. Amateur Aug. 17- 23. Meanwhile, McCoy has received a sponsor’s exemption for the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship June 25-28 in Connecticut and he’s trying to get into the Greenbrier Classic July 2-5 in West Virginia.
“I’m still going to be able to get some (pro) starts if I stay an amateur for a while or come back,” McCoy said. “We’ll see what it looks like after the Walker Cup. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to play in the Walker Cup. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing and, if I turn pro now, there’s no going back on that.”
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