THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 30, 1995 TAG: 9505300145
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
David Watkins virtually grew up on a golf course in Somerset, Ky., worked in the pro shop there, played a couple of times in the Kentucky State Amateur and shot a 68 one day at the Quinton Oaks course in Callao, Va. He's been around the game for 26 years.
But he's never had an experience in golf as rewarding as the one he earned Monday night at the Golf-O-Rama practice facility.
Aiming at a red flag 162 yards away and battling a wind that gusted to 15 mph, Watkins hit his one shot at $1 million 12 feet, 10 inches from the pin. Only a hole-in-one would have garnered the $1 million, paid in monthly installments over 25 years, but Watkins gladly settled for a prize package totaling more than $1,000 instead.
``I don't know what I'd do with an extra $40,000 a year,'' the 32-year-old bachelor said. ``Seems to me that's just enough money to get you into trouble.''
Seventeen of the 20 finalists already had hit when Watkins' name was called. The first hitter, William Banta, held the lead with a shot 30 feet, 5 inches from the stick. Watkins, a pharmacist who plays to a 5-handicap, drew a 7-iron and hit his shot thin.
But it stayed lower than most of the others, boring through the wind. It bounced short of the green, then bounded onto the putting surface and rolled to a fortuitous stop.
``When I hit it I said, `Oh, no, that's really short,' '' Watkins said. ``But then I thought it might roll up there, and that's exactly what it did. I can't lie. I hit it thin, but if you're going to mis-hit a ball, the way to mis-hit it is to hit it thin.''
Although qualifying for the $1 million shootout began last Thursday, Watkins didn't come to Golf-O-Rama until late Monday morning. He qualified by hitting a shot 3 feet from a pin set 100 yards from the tee area. He was among the last of the more than 700 golfers who invaded Golf-O-Rama during qualifying, and his shot was among the last of the 10,000 struck during the first annual competition.
``I'd rather have hit first,'' he said. ``Better to hit first and let them shoot at you than hit late needing to beat someone else's best.''
As it turned out, most of the best shots came late. David Vaughn, a minister from Chesapeake, hit four spots before Watkins. After offering to lead the audience in prayer, Vaughn rapped a 6-iron 33 feet, 2 inches from the flag. He didn't wait around to collect his prize.
Then there was Michael Wirth, who hit immediately after Watkins. He scored a hole-in-one during qualifying, enabling him to skip the semifinals and move into the final 20.
After placing a photo of his two daughters next to the tee, Wirth slapped a much more majestic shot than Watkins. But it bounced hard when it hit the green and rolled to the back edge, 14 feet, 1 inch from the cup.
Watkins, who settled in Virginia after graduating from the Medical College of Virginia in 1988, said he had no regrets.
``I'm happy,'' he said. ``I feel fortunate just to get the chance to win $1 million. I was telling myself that as I drove over here. Hey, it's better than the lottery, which is one chance in seven million. The chance here was only about one in 12,000.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI/Staff
Michael Wirth of Virginia Beach takes a moment out for meditation
before attempting to sink a hole-in-one.
by CNB