4-year-old Scott Stallings reached for his golf club, plopped a ball down in the front-yard grass and took dead aim at his house.
A misfire meant broken windows, a shattered shutter or even a dented gutter. And, of course, no kid wants the scorn of his mother.
That's pressure.
He still struck the golf ball, lifted it high in the air, over the house and into the pool in the backyard at the Stallings' residence in Bolivar, Tenn.
Then, his father Tim Stallings said, Scott dove into the pool, fished out the ball and repeated the process.
"When he was a kid," said Tim Stallings, "I knew he had a special talent."
A 26-year-old, Scott Stallings reached for his 9-iron on July 31, placed a ball onto a tee at 72nd hole of The Greenbrier Classic and took dead aim at the flag.
our veteran Bob Estes and budding young star Bill Haas.
That, too, is pressure.
Stallings still struck the shot from 169 yards away and the ball fell 8 feet from the cup.
He sank the putt as easily as if the hole were as large as a swimming pool.
Minutes later he repeated the process, from the same divot, from same tee he left in the ground.
He made birdie on the first playoff hole and became
champion, just like he told his dad he would become.
"When he was 12, he came to visit me when I was going to seminary in North Carolina, and he hit a hole-in-one," said Tim Stallings. "He played every sport growin
gup. Baseball, soccerMy wife wouldn't let him playThat's what Iplayed I was always banged up. Here is how he did it.
'Who is this kid?'
During the
broadcast of Stallings' victory at The Greenbrier, much was made of him being a Boston Red Sox fan. That fact is listed in hisTour bio. The crew didn't have to dig hard for that.
Massachusetts wasn't just the origin for his membership into Red Sox Nation. It's where his life began.
Stallings was born in Worcester, Mass., on March 25, 1985.
Nearly two years later, the family moved to his father's hometown of Bolivar. Scott Stallings began his golf life there, just as his uncles Ron and Sam had. They played college golf at Union University in Jackson.
Scott Stallings' grandmother was the office manager at Hardeman County Golf and Country Club, a nine-hole course in Bolivar.
The family lived and loved golf. But another move placed the Stallings in Oak Ridge in May of 1990.
Tim Stallings and Rich Spraker, once the head professional at Oak Ridge Country Club, taught Scott the game there, and he later became a standout golfer at Oak Ridge High. He reached the 2002 Class AAA state tournament and tied for 10th.
Stallings' talent was apparent yet unrefined.
"When I played against him in high school, you could tell he had a lot of talent and could hit it a long way," said best friend and Farragut High golf coach Jonathan Cox, a former Anderson County High golfer. "But he had no concept of how to get the ball in the hole, how to really use that length to his advantage.
I was at Oak Ridge
one day, and he shot 30 and Ross Cox (of Farragut, who later played at Tennessee) shot 31 in a nine-hole match. And I was like, 'Who is this kid? Where'd he come from?' That's when Tennessee Tech started recruiting him."
Stallings wanted to play at Tennessee, but the Vols had a full lot of commitments. His family didn't have the bountiful funds to send him onto the nation's premier junior t
the American Junior Golf Associationand so Stallings' recruitment had boundaries. Chattanooga was his No. 1.
We want you to come down here.' "
Stallings' potential began to ooze onto the course while at Tennessee Tech.
He won seven times. He made All-American in 2006 and was a two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of The Year.
"Between his freshman and sophomore year
"he started learning how to control his ball flight, how to control his distances. Once he won his sophomore year, he won his junior and senior years a half dozen to 10 times."
His most important win in college, though, was one of the heart.
'Unsung Hero'
On Stallings' left ring finger are three tattooed letters:
Jennifer White Stallings, Scott's wife, has known him since he was the 5-year-old newcomer to Oak Ridge.
By seventh grade, they were "going out" or "dating" or whatever seventh-graders are allowed to do.
"He broke up with me because I wouldn't kiss him," she said with a laugh.
The two resumed their relationship again in high school. Again, another breakup.
s soon as we started dating again in college, that's when he said he wanted to (play golf professionally)," said Jennifer. "I'm not sure I really ever knew what that meant. I was like, 'OK. Whatever you want to do. Follow your dreams.'
"But I wasn't prepared really for what that entailed. I don't think either of us had an idea."
Scott announced his decision to turn professional the week of the 2007 Masters.
Jennifer and Scott were married Aug. 25, 2007. She has been a permanent fixture in his walking gallery, no matter the size of the tournament nor the tour.
"I think in four years, I may have missed 10 rounds," she said. "I've seen times when I was the only one watching the group on the mini tours. These guys work so hard. They need to have somebody out there watching what they're doing."
That also meant Jennifer put her career aspirations on hold. She attended Tennessee to get into social work.
"It was really hard in the beginning, because I was really the only girl who traveled on the mini tours. And when everybody said, 'What do you do for a living?' I always struggled with that answer," she said. "It's easier now, because there are so many wives who travel. But I still don't have a very good answer."
She never wavered, though, in her devotion to Stallings' career, and that career showed promise early.
He tied for sixth in his lone Hooters Tour start in 2007. He missed the cut in the 2007 Knoxville Open, now known as the News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot. But on his final nine holes at Fox Den Country Club, Stallings showed a flash of more to come. He constructed a magical back nine chock full of birdies to post a second-round, 4-under-par 68.
The next season, Stallings made seven of 13 cuts on the Hooters Tour. And at the Chattanooga Classic in October 2008, Stallings shot opening rounds of 64 and 62 in The Nationwide Tour event before ultimately tying for 14th.
A full-fledged Nationwide Tour member by 2010, Stallings didn't finish as one of the top 25 money earners during the 2010 season to earn
He was 53rd. But he did discover the complicated workings and lifestyle of big-time golf.
Helping him with the learning curve was his wife.
"She's a huge part of the team," said Stallings. "She's been incredible since we've gotten married.
"She makes my job so much easier. I don't have to worry about anything. The laundry is done. The travel is done. She, in my mind, is the unsung hero — the person who doesn't get
for anything, but yet she does the most difficult job
"Yeah, I play, and I'm the one everyone sees. She does stuff that nobody else wants to do.
"She's my wife and I love her to death. She's the best partner anyone could ever ask for."
Stallings found a good on-course partner, too.
Loyal Looper
One pro's castoff caddie is another's key to victory.
See Adam Scott. He won last week with Steve Williams, who looped for Tiger Woods for 12 years.
See Stallings.
Josh Graham was caddying for Luke List when the two parted ways at a Nationwide Tour event in Bogota. Stallings picked him up in 2010.
Graham, 28, has been a difference-maker for Stallings. He and sports psychologist Dr. Rob Bell keep Stallings focused and forgetful of bad swing. Graham, though, keeps Stallings' aggressive golf nature in check.
We both have a saying out here, 'You have to play boring golf.' You can't go at flags," said Graham. "When he goes home to Oak Ridge, he can play at every flag and play fun golf. One bad swing out here . . . you miss the cut."
Stallings and Graham tied for seventh in their first event, the 2010 BMW Charity Pro-Am. Stallings opened with a pair of 67s and closed with a 63 on May 16, 2010.
Graham later proved instrumental in helping Stallings during the 2010 PGA Tour Qualifying School in early December, when a year earlier he missed out by one shot.
Needed two pars to get a 2011
Tour card, Stallings and Graham made two birdies and tied for 11th.Each almost immediately went to work to prepare since theseason starts in January. Stallings practiced harder. Graham studied new courses.
A misfire meant broken windows, a shattered shutter or even a dented gutter. And, of course, no kid wants the scorn of his mother.
That's pressure.
He still struck the golf ball, lifted it high in the air, over the house and into the pool in the backyard at the Stallings' residence in Bolivar, Tenn.
Then, his father Tim Stallings said, Scott dove into the pool, fished out the ball and repeated the process.
"When he was a kid," said Tim Stallings, "I knew he had a special talent."
A 26-year-old, Scott Stallings reached for his 9-iron on July 31, placed a ball onto a tee at 72nd hole of The Greenbrier Classic and took dead aim at the flag.
our veteran Bob Estes and budding young star Bill Haas.
That, too, is pressure.
Stallings still struck the shot from 169 yards away and the ball fell 8 feet from the cup.
He sank the putt as easily as if the hole were as large as a swimming pool.
Minutes later he repeated the process, from the same divot, from same tee he left in the ground.
He made birdie on the first playoff hole and became
champion, just like he told his dad he would become.
"When he was 12, he came to visit me when I was going to seminary in North Carolina, and he hit a hole-in-one," said Tim Stallings. "He played every sport growin
gup. Baseball, soccerMy wife wouldn't let him playThat's what Iplayed I was always banged up. Here is how he did it.
'Who is this kid?'
During the
broadcast of Stallings' victory at The Greenbrier, much was made of him being a Boston Red Sox fan. That fact is listed in hisTour bio. The crew didn't have to dig hard for that.
Massachusetts wasn't just the origin for his membership into Red Sox Nation. It's where his life began.
Stallings was born in Worcester, Mass., on March 25, 1985.
Nearly two years later, the family moved to his father's hometown of Bolivar. Scott Stallings began his golf life there, just as his uncles Ron and Sam had. They played college golf at Union University in Jackson.
Scott Stallings' grandmother was the office manager at Hardeman County Golf and Country Club, a nine-hole course in Bolivar.
The family lived and loved golf. But another move placed the Stallings in Oak Ridge in May of 1990.
Tim Stallings and Rich Spraker, once the head professional at Oak Ridge Country Club, taught Scott the game there, and he later became a standout golfer at Oak Ridge High. He reached the 2002 Class AAA state tournament and tied for 10th.
Stallings' talent was apparent yet unrefined.
"When I played against him in high school, you could tell he had a lot of talent and could hit it a long way," said best friend and Farragut High golf coach Jonathan Cox, a former Anderson County High golfer. "But he had no concept of how to get the ball in the hole, how to really use that length to his advantage.
I was at Oak Ridge
one day, and he shot 30 and Ross Cox (of Farragut, who later played at Tennessee) shot 31 in a nine-hole match. And I was like, 'Who is this kid? Where'd he come from?' That's when Tennessee Tech started recruiting him."
Stallings wanted to play at Tennessee, but the Vols had a full lot of commitments. His family didn't have the bountiful funds to send him onto the nation's premier junior t
the American Junior Golf Associationand so Stallings' recruitment had boundaries. Chattanooga was his No. 1.
We want you to come down here.' "
Stallings' potential began to ooze onto the course while at Tennessee Tech.
He won seven times. He made All-American in 2006 and was a two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of The Year.
"Between his freshman and sophomore year
"he started learning how to control his ball flight, how to control his distances. Once he won his sophomore year, he won his junior and senior years a half dozen to 10 times."
His most important win in college, though, was one of the heart.
'Unsung Hero'
On Stallings' left ring finger are three tattooed letters:
Jennifer White Stallings, Scott's wife, has known him since he was the 5-year-old newcomer to Oak Ridge.
By seventh grade, they were "going out" or "dating" or whatever seventh-graders are allowed to do.
"He broke up with me because I wouldn't kiss him," she said with a laugh.
The two resumed their relationship again in high school. Again, another breakup.
s soon as we started dating again in college, that's when he said he wanted to (play golf professionally)," said Jennifer. "I'm not sure I really ever knew what that meant. I was like, 'OK. Whatever you want to do. Follow your dreams.'
"But I wasn't prepared really for what that entailed. I don't think either of us had an idea."
Scott announced his decision to turn professional the week of the 2007 Masters.
Jennifer and Scott were married Aug. 25, 2007. She has been a permanent fixture in his walking gallery, no matter the size of the tournament nor the tour.
"I think in four years, I may have missed 10 rounds," she said. "I've seen times when I was the only one watching the group on the mini tours. These guys work so hard. They need to have somebody out there watching what they're doing."
That also meant Jennifer put her career aspirations on hold. She attended Tennessee to get into social work.
"It was really hard in the beginning, because I was really the only girl who traveled on the mini tours. And when everybody said, 'What do you do for a living?' I always struggled with that answer," she said. "It's easier now, because there are so many wives who travel. But I still don't have a very good answer."
She never wavered, though, in her devotion to Stallings' career, and that career showed promise early.
He tied for sixth in his lone Hooters Tour start in 2007. He missed the cut in the 2007 Knoxville Open, now known as the News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot. But on his final nine holes at Fox Den Country Club, Stallings showed a flash of more to come. He constructed a magical back nine chock full of birdies to post a second-round, 4-under-par 68.
The next season, Stallings made seven of 13 cuts on the Hooters Tour. And at the Chattanooga Classic in October 2008, Stallings shot opening rounds of 64 and 62 in The Nationwide Tour event before ultimately tying for 14th.
A full-fledged Nationwide Tour member by 2010, Stallings didn't finish as one of the top 25 money earners during the 2010 season to earn
He was 53rd. But he did discover the complicated workings and lifestyle of big-time golf.
Helping him with the learning curve was his wife.
"She's a huge part of the team," said Stallings. "She's been incredible since we've gotten married.
"She makes my job so much easier. I don't have to worry about anything. The laundry is done. The travel is done. She, in my mind, is the unsung hero — the person who doesn't get
for anything, but yet she does the most difficult job
"Yeah, I play, and I'm the one everyone sees. She does stuff that nobody else wants to do.
"She's my wife and I love her to death. She's the best partner anyone could ever ask for."
Stallings found a good on-course partner, too.
Loyal Looper
One pro's castoff caddie is another's key to victory.
See Adam Scott. He won last week with Steve Williams, who looped for Tiger Woods for 12 years.
See Stallings.
Josh Graham was caddying for Luke List when the two parted ways at a Nationwide Tour event in Bogota. Stallings picked him up in 2010.
Graham, 28, has been a difference-maker for Stallings. He and sports psychologist Dr. Rob Bell keep Stallings focused and forgetful of bad swing. Graham, though, keeps Stallings' aggressive golf nature in check.
We both have a saying out here, 'You have to play boring golf.' You can't go at flags," said Graham. "When he goes home to Oak Ridge, he can play at every flag and play fun golf. One bad swing out here . . . you miss the cut."
Stallings and Graham tied for seventh in their first event, the 2010 BMW Charity Pro-Am. Stallings opened with a pair of 67s and closed with a 63 on May 16, 2010.
Graham later proved instrumental in helping Stallings during the 2010 PGA Tour Qualifying School in early December, when a year earlier he missed out by one shot.
Needed two pars to get a 2011
Tour card, Stallings and Graham made two birdies and tied for 11th.Each almost immediately went to work to prepare since theseason starts in January. Stallings practiced harder. Graham studied new courses.
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