19-year-old has history at Nationwide events
Nicholas Reach is a 19-year-old amateur, a week removed from high school, but don’t expect him to feel pressure when he tees up Thursday in the opening round of the Melwood Prince George’s County Open.
Three years ago as the fourth youngest player in a Nationwide Tour event, Reach shot an opening-round 67 in the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic. Reach received a sponsor’s exemption into the event in his hometown, Moscow, Pa., but proved he belonged with his 3-under-par debut, which earned him another invitation in 2009.
| Melwood Prince George’s County Open |
| When » Thursday-Sunday |
| Where » University of Maryland Golf Course, College Park |
| TV » Golf Channel |
“Those were two of the best weeks of my life,” Reach said. “I obviously want to do it for a living, so to kind of get a taste of it, to see what it’s really like, is really cool.”
Reach hopes for more of the same this week at the University of Maryland Golf Course.
“I’m just here to have fun,” Reach said. “Whatever I shoot, I shoot, that’s fine.”
An obscure bit of Nationwide Tour history will be in Reach’s favor. Two amateurs have won Nationwide events — both on university golf courses. Daniel Summerhays was victorious at Ohio State in 2007, a feat matched by University of Georgia senior Russell Henley, who won on his home course earlier this year.
Reach needed no hometown connections to get into the Melwood. Two months ago, he played his way in with a victory in the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in Georgia. In a field of 54 of the world’s best players age 18 and under, Reach won the three-round event by eight strokes. Again, he shot a scintillating opening round 62, his career best, which matched the course record set by PGA Tour player Jason Bohn.
The 6-foot, 160-pound Reach, a semifinalist at the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur, will play next year at Georgia. He recently graduated from Montverde Academy in Florida. He spent his senior year there to attend the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy. His year of intense training bore fruit at Sage Valley, where he finished 20-under-par (62-66-68 – 196).
Afterward, he was awarded a gold jacket by PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, who said that Reach’s play reminded him of “somebody else named Nicklaus.”
Reach took up the game at age 3. By the time he was 9, he could beat his father, Gary, a single-digit handicap.
“He never needed a push. He’s always had the desire, the dedication, and the ambition,” Gary Reach said. “He spends, and spends, and spends a lot of time on the course. He’s one of the kids who truly enjoys the sport, and that’s great to see.”
