March 20, 2007

South Carolina associate head golf coach Bill McDonald has qualified to play in the PGA’s Wachovia Championship, May 3-6, in Charlotte, N.C.

On Monday, March 19, McDonald fired an even-par 71 at Cedarwood Country Club in a Section Qualifier for the Carolinas PGA. By tying for first against a 47-player field, McDonald earned one of two spots to play in the TOUR event in early May at Quail Hollow Country Club.

The feat is even more impressive considering that McDonald has really played golf only once since undergoing knee surgery on Jan. 30. He spent time on crutches after the surgery.

Following the Gamecock men’s team’s fourth-place finish at the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational over the weekend, McDonald arrived back in Columbia late Sunday night with the team. He headed for Charlotte on Monday morning.

“The main reason I played is because I still love to compete,” McDonald said. “I tell our guys all the time that I’m going to keep playing tournaments and playing with them every chance I get. It’s a relatively short drive to Charlotte so I thought `Why not give it a shot?’.”

Clearly, it worked out for the best as McDonald will get a chance to compete on a big stage at the Wachovia.

McDonald, who joined the Carolina staff at the beginning of the school year, played for Gamecock head coach Puggy Blackmon at Georgia Tech, where he was a two-time All-American.