 |
| Michael Cromie |
By Stewart Moore
eGolf Gateway Tour
DENVER, N.C. --- As a freshman on the 2010-11 Georgia golf team, Michael Cromie played alongside the likes of future PGA TOUR stars Harris English and Russell Henley as a key member of the Bulldogs squad.
That early success gave way to two years of uncertainty before some tough love from coaches Chris Haack and Jim Douglas reignited Cromie’s game, in turn giving way to a standout senior year and the 2014 North & South Amateur title.
In his first full year on the eGolf Gateway Tour, the 23-year-old struggled early, but righted the ship with a runner-up finish at last month’s Mimosa Hills Open. That bit of resurgence sparked the talented Cromie’s proverbial A-game, which came full circle at this week’s Verdict Ridge Open, where birdies on three of his final four holes Friday afternoon delivered a 14-under total and the first win of his professional career.
Starting the day at host Verdict Ridge Country Club, Cromie sat one back of 18- and 36-hole leader Chas Narramore of Kingston, Tenn. following rounds of 68-64—132 (12-under).
Early in the final round, Cromie went through a bit of a rollercoaster with a bogey on the tough par-3 second giving way to back-to-back birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 before a three-putt bogey on the par-4 fifth dropped him down to even par on the day.
“I wasn’t hitting it great early today, so it took a while for me to get going,” said Cromie.
Narramore, a member of the Web.com Tour this year, bogeyed the second as well, but came roaring back with birdies on Nos. 6 and 9 to turn in 1-under 35 and 14-under total – at the time three shots clear of Cromie.
“I made a great up and down for par on No. 9 from long and left of the pin,” Cromie said. “At that point, I knew I was three back and that a solid back nine would put me right there.”
Cromie hit his second shot on the par-4 12th to 20 feet, converting the lengthy birdie try to move back to even par on the day and within two of Narramore.
Both players bogeyed the 14th after Narramore caught his second shot heavy and Cromie failed to convert a 5-foot par attempt.
“That putt would have put me within one. After I missed, I just told myself I could finish strong here and to just put the next drive in play and go flag hunting,” said Cromie, who birdied 16, 17 and 18 each of the first two days.
Cromie made the day’s only birdie on the par-4 15th after hitting a wedge to six feet to pull within one.
A solid up-and-down on the par-5 16th from an arduous greenside bunker vaulted Cromie to 1-under on the day and 13-under par – suddenly tied for the lead with Narramore and Norway’s Andreas Halvorsen.
Halvorsen, one of the top junior players in the world as recently as one year ago, was making his first career tour start at Verdict Ridge, and was making quite the statement after turning in 6-under 30 and 12-under for the week on Friday morning.
The 18-year-old, who passed up numerous Division I scholarship offers in order to turn pro, closed in 1-under 35 for a final-round 65 and a 13-under 203 tally in the clubhouse. Halvorsen spent the final hour waiting on Narramore and Cromie to come in, hoping his best for a playoff.
After the day’s final pairing traded pars on 17, with Cromie narrowly missing a birdie putt that sat on the edge of the cup, both players found the fairway at the par-5 18th. While Narramore laid up, Cromie went for the green in two from 214 yards, with his third coming to rest in a difficult lie right of the green.
Narramore, a former Middle Tennessee State star making just his second career start on tour, hit a good wedge to 20 feet above the hole for his third, giving himself a downhill look at birdie.
Needing to hit a phenomenal flop shot for his third, Cromie delivered, pitching a wedge to a foot-and-a-half at the last for what would be a kick-in birdie.
After marking his ball, Cromie watched as Narramore’s birdie try missed, in turn leaving a mere 18 inches for the tour rookie to convert career win No. 1.
Cromie tapped in for birdie and allowed for an ear-to-ear grin, thanks to a final-round 70 and a stellar come-from-behind win at 14-under par, thanks in part to birdies on three of his last four holes.
“It feels good to be in contention. I struggled early this year, but the turning point was at Mimosa Hills where I got the juices flowing again,” said Cromie, who earned $11,000 for the victory. “I remembered why we play this game, which is to get the going nerves early and just embrace it. Last night, just thinking about today, I was loving the idea of being nervous.”
Cromie starred on the junior stage, winning the North & South Junior and earning a scholarship to NCAA powerhouse Georgia, where he moved right into the lineup alongside the likes of English, Henley and Hudson Swafford.
For two years thereafter, the struggles of golf and health set in.
“I was kind of lost after my freshman year. I injured my wrist my junior year and wasn’t able to come back in the spring the way I wanted to,” he said. “At that point, I knew I needed a plan to get ready for my senior year and eventually pro golf.”
Tough love from Haack and Douglas allowed Cromie to enjoy a stellar senior campaign, as the renowned college coaches convinced him to worry about nothing but winning while playing with a little more toughness.
“They had been beating it into me since I got there that no one cares who finishes second, people only care who wins,” he said. “Just man up and hit the shots.”
A 71.93 scoring average and a win at the Linger Longer Invitational gave way to a summer of amateur golf in 2014, where Cromie became the first player in history to win the North & South Amateur after previously claiming the junior title.
Cromie turned professional and set out for the eGolf Gateway Tour, where reality bit once again – this time in the form of four missed cuts to open his year.
“I texted Coach Douglas when I was struggling to ask him what I was doing last year that worked,” Cromie said. “He said, ‘You played to win. You played with no fear.’”
Douglas’ advice paid dividends for Cromie, helping the first-year player to five top-25s over his next eight starts – including the runner-up at Mimosa Hills and the win at Verdict Ridge.
“I think that attitude adjustment of playing to win – not to make cuts – helped me a lot,” he said. “I think that attitude and mindset change really made the last few months possible.”
