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Wharton senior plays in prestigious golf tournament
By JOHN BALZ, Times Staff Writer
PEBBLE CREEK -- If Mike Giammaresi were to compare himself to someone on the PGA Tour, he would pick smooth-swinging Phil Mickelson. "We've both got good short games but we don't hit the ball too good off the tee," he said. "Putting is our weakness but we're really good with irons." Giammaresi, 17, is a few years away from Phil Mickelson's stature, but after a summer testing his game against the country's best amateurs, he at least knows he's in the same tee box. After finishing third at qualifying tournament for the U.S. Amateur Championship -- the most prestigious nonprofessional golf tournament in the country -- Giammaresi traveled to the Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., as one of only two Tampa residents in the 312-player field. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Wharton senior, who is the top golfer at school, admits he didn't play well in Michigan. He missed the cut with scores of 84 and 77 over two days. Comfortable striking balls on Florida's Bermuda grass, the smoother, faster bent grass at Oakland Hills gave him trouble. And instead of simply hitting the ball into the back yard of someone's course-side condo, Giammaresi had to contend with 6-inch rough. He said he had never played in a tournament of such significance. "It's a whole different atmosphere when you walk in the locker room and see your name on the wall and Pro V range balls," he said. Back in Pebble Creek, he lives with his parents, Phil and Donna, while he hones his game and hopes to win a golf scholarship to the University of Florida. His older brother, Nick, 21, attends the University of South Florida. -- John Balz can be reached at (813) 269-5313 or at balz@sptimes.com .
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