UPDATE: THE 2019 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Arthur began his quest for the 2019 Maryland Special Olympic Championship in earnest in June. Having lessons with Dustin two to three times a week and practicing every day kept Arthur on the course constantly. The official Special Olympics season started in August with practice once a week at Northwest Golf Course in Silver Spring. Arthur never worked so hard for something in his life.
The strongest part of Arthur’s games was always his driver and woods and Arthur’s long game was the focus over the summer. Within weeks, he was consistently hitting his driver straight and over 200 yards. But in August we learned that Special Olympics tournaments are played from the red tees – a much shorter game than Arthur had been preparing for. So, in mid-August, with weeks to go until the first qualifier, Arthur and Dustin developed a whole new game and strategy based less on his driver and more on long and mid-irons. It was a game less of power and more of finesse. The goal was to get Arthur to within 120 yards of the green. From there, he could hit his 9 iron with deadly accuracy.
Special Olympics golf is played at 5 levels. Level 1 has athletes putting and chipping at targets. Level 2 pairs a Special Olympic athlete with a unified partner who plays alternate ball for 9 holes. Level 3 is the same for 18 holes. At level 4, the athlete plays solo with a caddy for 9 holes. Level 5 has athletes playing 18 holes with a caddy pursuant to the standard rules of golf.
The first qualifying tournament was at Rattlewood Golf Course in Mt. Airy on September 1. There were only three players at level 5 including Arthur, but one of the athletes was a past state champion. Fortunately, Dustin was on the bag and kept Arthur focused on the game they had planned. Arthur’s game was spot on. He shot an 80, his personal best (it would have been 79 but Arthur assessed himself a penalty stroke for knocking his ball of a tee at address). Better yet, he shot his first hole-in-one!
A week later, Arthur won his second qualifier with another 80 at Clustered Spires in Fredrick. And then two weeks later was the championship at Queenstown Harbor. Again, Dustin and Arthur took time the week before to play the course a couple of times and on one of those days, Arthur shot a 78. Things were looking good.
The day of the championship, Arthur was, for the first time, nervous and it showed in his game. After nine holes, he was leading by only one stroke. If Arthur was going to win, he had to do so in his mind. Dustin kept Arthur grounded on the back nine, and all the preparation for a short game paid off. Arthur won with an 86 and he was Maryland State Champion.
As winner of the state championship, Arthur qualified for selection to the National Championship in September 2020. Unfortunately, due to funding restrictions, not all state champions get to advance to the national tournament. Instead, the participants are chosen by lottery. Special Olympic officials told us they will inform us in May or June if Arthur will go to the nationals in 2020..