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Amateur champ delays professional debut
Posted: Saturday April 06, 2002 8:00 PM
By Scott Michaux
The Augusta Chronicle
Since Bubba Dickerson won the U.S. Amateur in August, his life has fast-forwarded while his golf career remains on pause.
Dickerson got married in December, quit school in January and is waiting to turn professional.
"It's been a learning experience," Dickerson said of his post-Amateur notoriety. "It's been a lot of fun. I have a lot more attention from the media. It's what every good golfer wants to happen to them."
College life didn't hold the same appeal for Dickerson after he won the U.S. Amateur at East Lake. He returned to the University of Florida for the spring semester, and after three days decided it was no longer for him. He left to concentrate more on golf and less on classwork.
"I was fighting with the decision all during Christmas break and just decided it was best for me to pursue just playing golf and not having to deal with school and all those things," he said. "I just want to play golf and get ready to turn pro later in the year."
Exactly when Dickerson will start making money hasn't been determined. His U.S. Amateur victory gains him entry into the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open - as long as he remains an amateur.
That last wrinkle Dickerson hadn't counted on before his 1-up victory over Robert Hamilton at East Lake. School never thrilled him, and he would likely have turned pro in the fall if the majors hadn't served as a carrot to keep him vaguely clinging to amateur status.
"Every player knows what they get if they win the Amateur or win the Pub Links," Dickerson said. "It's all about opportunity."
Dickerson has taken advantage of his opportunity. He visited Augusta National three times in November and December, familiarizing himself with the course.
"It was an experience, a dream come true," he said. "It wasn't the same in person as it looks on TV. A different time of year, the flowers aren't bloomin' and all that stuff. But it was an experience because you were at Augusta National and in the clubhouse. The golf course is just a really good layout at that time. The real experience is going to come when it's in perfect shape and the flowers are bloomin' and you get to see it the way it really looks."
To keep himself busy, Dickerson has played in a couple of Canadian Tour events in Texas (finishing seventh in one) and accepted a sponsor's exemption to the Bay Hill Invitational. He made the cut in his first PGA Tour event but finished last and, as an amateur, could collect no money.
He'll save the rest of his seven PGA Tour exemptions until after he turns pro. No sense throwing away more money.
Like a number of talented players, Dickerson opted for the delayed gratification of going to Augusta only as a qualified Masters participant. As residents of Hilliard, Fla., just below the Georgia border, his parents turned down numerous tickets to attend the Masters through the years.
Now he's going, but the Masters experience won't be limited to just Dickerson. Todd Cloney, who befriended Dickerson a few years ago when he caddied for him at a club event in Kalamazoo, Mich., will tag along inside the ropes. Cloney, 19, caddied for Dickerson at East Lake and Bay Hill and moved in with Dickerson and his new wife in Florida to prepare himself to go on the road with Bubba.
"Not in a million years did I expect this," Cloney said. "I think I'll be more nervous at Augusta. I know I was more nervous on No. 18 at East Lake than he was."
His marriage to Mindy might prevent Dickerson from staying in the Crow's Nest, though he might sleep over one night just for the experience. But four other amateurs in the Masters field have the opportunity.
One of them is familiar. Tim Jackson, the Mid-Amateur champion, competed in the 1995 Masters, missing the cut with rounds of 79-76. Hamilton, the runner-up to Dickerson in the U.S. Amateur, is coming, along with U.S. Amateur Public Links champ Chez Reavie and British Amateur champion Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland.
But Dickerson will be the only amateur to play with defending champion Tiger Woods in the first two rounds.
"I hope I'm prepared for it," he said of the circus that always follows Tiger around the course. "I won't know until I get there."
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