SPORTS

DeMorat close to making summer goal a reality

Michael Parsons
FLORIDA TODAY

Mickey DeMorat has been playing a lot of golf this summer.

And that is a good thing.

The Eastern Florida State College golfer has already had a solid couple of months, falling just short of a spot in the U.S. Open and finished tied for fourth in the Florida Amateur.

But that may be just the beginning for the Merritt Island resident. Last week, DeMorat and teammate Kerry Sweeney qualified for the Southern Amateur in a four-way playoff.

“The Southern Amateur is a top-10 amateur tournament worldwide and top-5 in the country,” DeMorat said. “It always attracts a strong field with many of the top-ranked amateurs in the world coming to play. The Florida Amateur was a strong field as well but the Southern Amateur competition will be a step above that.”

Both golfers agree that the next few weeks could really push them to be even better.

“Playing in big championships like the Southern Amateur against great competition always makes you a better player,” DeMorat said. “The experience I will gain from a tournament like this is going to serve me well when I start playing our collegiate events again in the fall and spring.”

The Southern Amateur will be July 15-18 at the Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Mississippi.

“To play well at the Southern will take lots of patience and composure,” he said. “This is world-class amateur golf, and the heat will be there from the time we get there to the time we leave.

“This competition is going to show what we really are capable of. We know we belong here, it's just a matter of execution of the event. This is only confidence for the future.”

But before they go to Mississippi, both will try and qualify for the U.S Amateur. DeMorat will tee off at the Hobe Sound Golf Course in hopes of qualifying for the U.S. Amateur on Wednesday and Thursday.

“That was one of my main goals for the summer,” DeMorat said of the U.S. Amateur. “It is basically the U.S. Open for amateurs.”

The U.S. Amateur is held Aug. 17-23 at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois.

Sweeney will also try to qualify for the U.S. Amateur, but will compete in the qualifying tournament just before the Southern Amateur, July 13-14 at Ocala National Golf Club.

“I’ve got to just do my own thing,” Sweeney said. “Just like any event. As of right now. I'm happy with where my game is. It could be better always.”

No matter how the duo finish the summer, both have seen their golf games improve since they stepped on campus a little less than a year ago.

“It has been a lot of hard work, but a good couple of years for me,” DeMorat said. “I have been playing well in the bigger events and showing that I can play at this level.”