27-year-old Kurt Slattery capped off the round of his life by scoring back-to-back eagles to earn a berth to his very first PGA tournament, the John Deere Classic TPC Deere Run. Kurt Slattery’s a former collegiate golfer who played at Western Illinois. These days Kurt is an assistant course pro which allows him to keep his golf game in order.
So, how’d it all go down? Kurt Slattery was competing in Monday’s John Deere Classic Open Qualifier. There were 4 qualifying spots available for the John Deere Classic. Three golfers (Cliff Kresge, Matt Lee and Sam Horsfield) each shot rounds of 66 and locked up 3 out of the 4 qualifying spots. Kurt fired off a 67 after eagling 18, but six other golfers also turned in scorecards of 67. This meant a seven-way playoff for the 4th and final qualifying spot.
The playoff was sudden death and the golfers started on the par-4 10th hole. From 44-yards out, Kurt Slattery sunk his approach shot for an eagle and scored a ‘walk-off win’ for that 4th and and final spot in the PGA Tour‘s John Deere Classic:
WATCH- The @JDCLASSIC "Magic" strikes early at the JDC Qualifier! Kurt Slatery's story is simply awesome @clairp53 @andrewjlehman pic.twitter.com/ZGE7XCNjHG
— Matt Randazzo (@MattRandazzo) July 11, 2017
When asked how it felt to fire back-to-back eagles to make his very first PGA tournament, Kurt Slattery had this to say:
“I’m in complete shock. This was a lot of hard work,” said Slattery, also an assistant pro at Pinnacle. “I made so many changes to myself with my body, my mind, and my attitude, that this has just been a long time coming.
“I’ve been dreaming of this since I was seven years old at Highland Springs in Rock Island,” added Slattery, who also teaches lessons at TPC Deere Run. “I just always believed in myself and knew I could do it. It feels so great to have done it.”“This is the best day of my life,” said Slattery. “I am so excited for what lies ahead. And you know what, I’ll go into John Deere with the utmost confidence that I can play with anybody in the world. And if I bring my ‘A’-game, I’ll be ready to contend.” (via Quad City Times)
I can’t even imagine how fucking good it feels to sink that shot from 44-yards out with six other competitors watching in anguish. In that moment, it has to feel better than winning a gold medal in the Olympics or at least feel as good.
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I hope that when he left the golf course he immediately went to buy some lottery tickets because he’s currently living the best week of his life. (h/t Business Insider / Quad City Times)