Anthony Paolucci’s lucky break at Torrey Pines
The 2010 Rolex Junior player of the year, Anthony Paolucci will play in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines this weekend.
Paolucci, who is only 18 and is a senior at La Jolla Country Day, is really looking forward to his first professional event. Even though the player has committed to USC to play collegiately, he received a sponsors’ exemption to
play in the event this weekend. The player said that his father just sent an email with his resume to the event organizers, and Anthony received the invitation.
Playing in such a precious field is the dream of any golf fanatic. Famous stars like Rocco Mediate, Angel Cabrera, Bubba Watson, John Daly and Phil Mickelson will come together for the first time this season. What makes the Farmers
Insurance all the more precious is the presence of the 14-time major championship winner, Tiger Woods. Woods will be starting his season after experiencing what was the worst downfall in the history of golf. Even though Woods will be the centre of attention,
it will not hurt Paolucci to try out his luck.
The young gun is aiming to feature in the Walker Cup, which is the amateur equivalent of the Ryder Cup. If he does well at PGA level, then his chances of being in the team will surely increase. Last weekend, Anthony along with
playing partner, Keith Sbarbaro competed in a friendly match with the Masters defending champion, Mickelson. Had Paolucci made a 4-foot putt, the match would have been halved. As Paolucci told the media about it, he could not get the grin off his face showing
how excited he was. Anthony said that it was a blast playing with Phil and that he is a great player and person.
Paolucci’s high school golf coach, Bill Cahoone said that he has a great short game. Cahoone complimented that Anthony showed a lot of emotional maturity on the golf course and understood the game well.
“It’s such a great field, and I knew it was going to be a difficult field to get in,” Anthony said. “I was fortunate to be selected. Obviously I want to play well, but I also want to enjoy the week since this is my first Tour event.
Whatever happens, I’m almost in a win-win situation here so just go out and enjoy it.”
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