Last call results in Pinehurst dream trip for Southern Ohio foursome

It was easily PGA Professional Bob Stephens' most memorable last call to the tee.

With late cancellations due to a variety of reasons, including one player suffering from a 104-degree temperature, Stephens found himself one threesome short of the minimum seven teams needed to host a Local Qualifying Event for The McGladrey Team Championship, June 13, at Sycamore Creek Country Club in Springboro, Ohio.

With 24 hours to spare, Stephens didn't give up. He went to the practice range for one last recruiting visit.

Stephens met newlyweds Jason and Christy Lincoln, natives of Midland, Mich., and now residents of Miamisburg, Ohio. Christy has only been playing golf for a couple years, and sports a 38 handicap. Jason, the vice president of Performance Polymer Solutions of Dayton, carries a 9 handicap.

Stephens' recruiting didn't stop with the Lincolns. He called upon Tony Smith, with an 8.3 handicap, and who was joining his wife on "Couples Night" at the club. Stephens asked if Smith could make it a threesome.

The pieces had fallen into place for Stephens as if some caddie in the form of Bagger Vance had suddenly descended upon Sycamore Creek. The threesome not only won the Local Qualifying Event, but went on to capture the Southern Ohio Section Championship by one stroke, July 27, at Four Bridges Country Club in Liberty Township, Ohio.

Christy Lincoln, 31, capped the Section Championship in style on the 18th green by sinking a 35-foot par putt from the fringe to score a net eagle. Her timely putt preceded a tap-in birdie by Stephens for a 20-under-par total of 124.

However, the foursome had to wait nearly 90 minutes in the clubhouse before learning that they had won a trip to Pinehurst for the third national McGladrey Team Championship.

By her late heroics, Christy became the lone woman player to earn a national berth, and just the second female contestant in the past two years in the 164-player field at Pinehurst.

"I feel incredibly blessed to have an opportunity like this," said Christy, an avid runner who has one marathon on her résumé. "I'm excited to be going to Pinehurst. I'm nervous, and it's an awesome opportunity. But, I'm not going there to lose."

Smith said he felt bittersweet about the team's good fortune. His friend, Seth Waller, had come down with the 104-degree fever and could not compete in the Local Qualifying Event.

"I feel bad for Seth, as if we had stolen his opportunity for a trip to Pinehurst," said Smith, owner of Miami Valley Precision in Miamisburg. "But Seth was great and said that he felt that he wasn't playing well at the time and that we deserved to go."

For Stephens, who competed in the past PGA Professional National Championship, the storybook march to Pinehurst will rank as one of his best golf experiences.

"It was just tremendous how it all came together and to win the Section Championship was what this event is all about -- it was a well-rounded team effort," said Stephens, in his seventh season at Sycamore Creek Country Club. "Everybody chipped in, and we were 9-under on the front. The key was the 10th hole. I hit my drive into a hazard, and Tony did the same thing. Jason and Christy hit good drives and made net pars. That was what kept us in the hunt."

Jason and Christy Lincoln now attest to the fact that having found an Ohio home 281 miles from their Michigan roots isn't all that bad.

"The weather is warmer down here," said Jason. "Things worked out and we have a great club and PGA Professional," said Jason. "This is a chance of a lifetime."

The McGladrey Team Championship is the result of a partnership between The PGA of America and RSM McGladrey, the Official Accounting, Tax and Business Consulting firm of The PGA of America. RSM McGladrey is the fifth largest accounting, tax and business consulting firm in the country when considered with McGladrey & Pullen LLP (a partner-owned CPA firm).