Editor’s note: This story appeared in the March 8 edition of Golfweek. Williams won the Border Olympics March 15 for his first college victory.
By RON BALICKI
Senior WriterSometimes golf isn’t simply about birdies and bogeys, but more about the respect and admiration the sport can generate toward your fellow man. At such times, you have to trust your heart rather than your golf swing.
That certainly was the case for Baylor sophomore Colton Williams during the recent Rice Invitational in Houston, even when he was tied for the lead after two rounds.
Traveling to the tournament with his team Feb. 16, Williams received a call from his father, who told Colton that his mentor and close friend Henry Richards had died. The 87-year-old Richards was something of a golf legend in Williams’ hometown of Jacksboro, a small oil and ranching community in north-central Texas. When Williams learned Richards’ funeral was scheduled for Feb. 19 – the final round of the Rice event – he had a decision to make.
Actually, for Williams, it was no decision at all.
“I told Coach (Greg Priest) that if the funeral was Tuesday, I was going home,” said Williams, one of Richards’ pallbearers. “There was no way I was going to miss it. That thought never crossed my mind. He was one of my best friends.”
A World War II Bronze Star recipient, Richards had helped mold the lives – and golf careers – of many players, including former PGA Tour players Rik and Don Massengale.
“He started me playing golf when I was 10,” Williams said. “I worked with him almost every day throughout junior high and high school. He had nets set up in his house and I’d go over there and hit balls in the winter when it was too cold to be outside. He just meant so much to me.”
Michael Martin, a good friend of Williams and Richards and the Director of Golf and Life Skills at The First Tee of Greater Texarkana, was well aware of the pair’s bond.
“He was like a second granddad to Colton,” Martin said. “From the time Colton was in the fourth grade, it seemed like they were always together. Both meant so much to each other.”
Priest said he considered bringing another player in to fill in for his No. 1 player at the Rice event. In a team meeting, however, Priest and the Bears determined Williams should stay and play the first 36 holes.
“Everyone on the team understood and supported him fully,” Priest said. “The guys pretty much said, ‘Let’s just play. We’ll have Colton play 36, and then we’ll take it from there.’ ”
Counting the scores of the four remaining players the final round, Baylor shot 297 to finish at 14-over 878 and win by two strokes over UC-Davis.
For Williams, it was a case of what might have been. Twice a state high school champion, Williams is winless thus far in college. He opened the Rice event with a 5-under 67 that put him in the lead, and though he followed with 77 in Round 2, his 144 total left him tied for first and with a chance at his first college title.
“Some people said I should have stayed and tried to win it for Henry,” Williams said. “But in my heart, I knew I had to go back home for him. “I’d like to think that I will win a tournament, and when I do he’ll know it was for him.”
• • •
Ron Balicki is a
Golfweek senior writer. To reach him e-mail
rbalicki@golfweek.com.
Posted: 3/16/2008
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