MEDFORD, Ore.– The Rogue Valley Country Club has hosted the Southern Oregon Golf Championships nearly 100 times.
Local longtime Medford resident Tom Hamlin is playing in his 64th this week.
Quite a bit has changed since Hamlin made his tournament debut.
From his first competitive golfing experience in the 1950’s.
“It was an early qualifying and you had to get back to football practice by 4 o’clock,” he says.
To swinging clubs with longtime friends during a pandemic.
“We have a group of about 16 to 20 guys that play every week.”
One thing that hasn’t changed, is his love for the game.
Hamlin says, “I’ve gotten so far along I just want to keep it going.”
He’s always loved competition, he says.
Even at 80 years old, he says his desire to get out on the course hasn’t waivered at all.
“The environment is what its all about.”
Due to coronavirus, the Southern Oregon (as it’s called) will take place without spectators this year, for the first time.
Hamlin will be playing in the legends category which is reserved for the oldest players in the tournament– 75 and older.
He faces qualification rounds tomorrow, but says he’s as confident as ever.
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