Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9407010089
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PINEHURST, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
``At that point, I was just glad I wasn't back home,'' said the Roanoke native. ``If I had been playing like this at Blue Hills, I'd have been way down. The boys would have been cleaning my pockets, for sure.''
Eight-over-par through 11 holes and apparently heading toward 80-something at Pinehurst's famed No.2 course, King somehow regrouped down the stretch, playing the final seven holes in 1-under to finish at 7-over 78.
In a round full of downers, the longtime Blue Hills pro finished on the ultimate upper, holing a snaking 60-foot downhill put at the 18th green.
The sizable gallery, 99.9 percent of which had never heard of the Roanoke club pro, sent King off with a resounding ovation.
If nothing else good happens this week, King's golf bag will carry that everlasting memory.
``Yeah, making the long one at 18 really made me feel good,'' said King, who made the tournament as an alternate when former Masters champion Gay Brewer withdrew on June 24.
``That fired me up. I got goose bumps from all the people hollering. Hey, I felt like a player.''
Instead of the imposter who struggled for the first 11 holes, three-putting five times and missing four putts inside of five feet.
``I was really nervous at first,'' King said.
`` ... I'm not a Tour player. I play back home with the boys, you know. I'm normally playing with guys that I can beat. When you get out here with these guys, you're in the big leagues.
``I was just shaky ... starting out. I think anybody in my position is going to be. If they say they're not, well, they're lying, believe me.''
King, paired with former Masters champions Charles Coody and Tommy Aaron, got off to a dreadful start, double-bogeying the 395-yard, par-4 first hole. He should have gotten away with 5, but his three-footer for bogey took a 360-degree tour of the cup and cruelly spun out.
``The ball went down in the hole, then came back out and stared at me,'' King said. ``What a way to start.''
King routinely parred the next three holes. Then he caught the train that runs through Pinehurst. The bogey train, that is.
King bogeyed the next four holes, failing to get up and down at Nos.5 and 8, and missing a pair of four-footers for par at Nos.6 and 7.
After a par-3 at the ninth to make the turn at 5-over 41, King began the back side with two more bogeys. He made 6 at the 10th, lipping out a four-footer for par. He three-putted the 11th from 60 feet, misfiring on a six-footer for par.
``It has been a long time since I have putted like this, but then again, I haven't had this much heat on me in a long time,'' King said.
Just when it looked as if he might elect to bury his head for good in these North Carolina sand hills, King fought back to finish respectably.
``I was a whole lot more comfortable on the back nine,'' he said. ``I hit the ball halfway decent coming in. Early on, I was holding on the club too long, trying to guide the ball. That comes from being nervous. On the back, Johnny [his brother and caddy] told me to turn it loose and I started to hit it better.''
King never was in big trouble - he never found a trap or the woods on the tree-lined layout. His problems all occurred around the heavily contoured greens. His length - King claims he has lost 30 yards, or ``three clubs' difference,'' since injuring his back in an automobile accident 18 months ago - also didn't help.
``Shoot, there were a couple of par-4s I couldn't get to in two [shots],'' he said. ``I hit a bunch of tee shots in the neck [of the club]. Around the greens, it was all nerves.''
The only folks more tightly wound were his backers. Forget the Masters. King had a bigger gallery than Coody or Aaron. Some 40 friends, mostly members from Blue Hills, followed his every stroke.
``Billy felt like he was sort of letting his hometown people down,'' Johnny said. ``But once he got relaxed, he took off. I think he's got a 65 in him tomorrow.''
In order to stick around for the weekend, King may need a 65 today. He is 12 shots behind co-leaders Jim Albus and Simon Hobday.
by CNB