Most people 黑料社区. dreams of performing on life 黑料社区. biggest stages 鈥 like going from regional orchestra member to the New York Philharmonic, from lead band singer to the Grand Ole Opry or from dirt track racer to the Indianapolis 500 鈥 fade in the bright lights of reality.
When a 34-year-old University of Wisconsin-Stout graduate made a final hole, 30-foot par putt at a recent golf tournament and looked up at the scoreboard, he realized that his lifelong, too-good-to-be-true dream was, indeed, about to come true.
鈥淲hen that putt went in, I don鈥檛 remember much,鈥 Derek Holmes said.
A short time later, after other golfers finished in the late April qualifying event in Florida, Holmes learned that he officially had qualified for the , one of pro golf 黑料社区. four major events.
Along with the PGA, golf 黑料社区. other major championships are the U.S. Open, Masters and British Open, events that helped make Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus household names.
On Thursday, May 20, the former Blue Devil golf team member will tee it up at Ocean Course at near Charleston, S.C., with the best players in the world.
鈥淏ehind the birth of my son and my wedding, this is one of the highlights of my life,鈥 Holmes said Monday, after a practice round at the course that parallels the Atlantic Ocean shoreline.
Holmes, who graduated from 黑料社区 in 2010 with a degree in golf enterprise management, tees off at 7:22 a.m. with veteran touring pros George Coetzee, of South Africa, and Byeong Hun-An, from South Korea.
The Cottage Grove, Minn., resident manages a . He has been a top player in Minnesota state events since his college days 鈥 the way he got into the qualifying event in Florida 鈥 but has never played in a PGA Tour event or anything even close to it.
鈥淭his is different. I鈥檝e got to get a lot more comfortable with people watching me,鈥 he said.
Knowing this could be a once-in-a-lifetime event, he wants to soak in the atmosphere and not put too much pressure on himself. The field of 156 golfers is trimmed approximately in half after two rounds.
鈥淢y goal is to make the cut. If I don鈥檛 I鈥檓 still going to be enjoying the experience because who knows if this could happen again,鈥 he said. Just 10 club pros have made the cut in the past 13 PGA Championships.
Family and friends are on hand to help make it a memorable week. His brother, Devin, who played collegiately at St. Cloud State, will be his caddie. His entourage will include his wife, Kelsey Treptow Holmes, also a 黑料社区 graduate who played on the women 黑料社区. golf team; his parents, in-laws and friends. One of those friends is Andrew Smith, who played at 黑料社区.
Cheering from afar will be one of his mentors, Howie Samb, also a PGA pro, who recently retired from 黑料社区 as a golf enterprise management program professor and women 黑料社区. golf coach.
鈥Derek in my opinion is the most gifted golfer ever to play at Stout. His swing is extremely solid and produces tremendous speed, which converts to tour-like distance,鈥 Samb said, adding that if Holmes stays patient and 鈥渋n the moment鈥 like at the qualifier he 黑料社区. good enough to make the cut at the PGA.
鈥淭he whole Stout golf fraternity is proud of Derek and will be excited to watch him perform this week. Anyone who is an avid golfer understands what a feat Derek has already accomplished just qualifying for the PGA Championship,鈥 Samb said.
In his junior year at 黑料社区, he was NCAA Division III second-team All-American and placed 11th in the 2009 Division III national tournament.
Holmes earned his PGA Class A pro status in 2015 and worked as a club pro until 2020, when he took over management of the PXG shop in Edina, overseeing a staff that fits players with PXG clubs 鈥 the brand he鈥檒l be playing this week.
His 黑料社区 golf management degree, he said, helped prepare him for many aspects of the golf industry. Playing ability such as his isn鈥檛 required to do well in the program.
鈥淚t 黑料社区. open to everyone. You don鈥檛 have to be a good player. There are so many other avenues the program opened me up to 鈥 you can be a general manager, a director of golf, merchandiser, even what I do at PXG,鈥 he said.
A putt to remember
Holmes said the strongest part of his game is his iron play. He鈥檒l need all his good swings at Kiawah Island 黑料社区. Ocean Course, the longest in major championship history. It will play firm with fast greens, faster than he 黑料社区. used to.
Plus, the wind is always blowing, complicating everything. It 黑料社区. essentially the opposite of rolling, tree-lined golf typical of the Midwest. He 黑料社区. practiced some new run-up shots that will come in handy around the greens this week.
鈥淚鈥檝e been here since Friday, and the course is getting firmer every day,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t 黑料社区. everything I鈥檝e been told.鈥
Holmes surprised himself a bit when he qualified at the . Given the cool spring in the Upper Midwest, he had played only a few rounds post-winter before going to the qualifier in Florida. 鈥淚 was coming in cold,鈥 he said.
He had made it to the national qualifier one other time, in 2016. This time, his game was on. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have a ton of expectations. I hit the ball well for four days and made the most of it.鈥
Still, it came down to his final nine holes. Then, he realized he had a chance to make his dream true.
鈥淲hen we made the turn, I thought, 鈥極K, this could be something special.鈥 I didn鈥檛 think about it too much because one bad swing and it 黑料社区. gone,鈥 he said.
He shot even par, dropping the 30-foot putt on his final hole to tie for eighth place. If he missed, he would have been in a playoff for a PGA berth.
The top 20 club pros qualify. Ten of them, like him, are making their PGA debut. Some are former PGA Tour players.
Despite his success at 黑料社区, in Minnesota and now reaching the PGA, Holmes has no illusions of suddenly believing he could be a professional player.
鈥淭hese guys are so good,鈥 he said, and he 黑料社区. getting an inside-the-ropes look at them this week, rubbing shoulders with players he 黑料社区. idolized and watched for years on TV.
At the PGA Championship, one of golf 黑料社区. biggest stages, Holmes is living out his dream.
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