Shhhh ....
Jordan Thomas doesn’t want anybody to know that his prosthetic legs may actually help his golf scores.
“It’s almost a blessing in disguise,” Thomas said Saturday after shooting a 73 in the Red Bud Invitational at Valleybrook. “My lower body used to go crazy and I’d spin out. Now it slows down and I don’t have an option.”
Both of his legs were amputated at mid-calf in 2005 after he was struck by a boat propeller while scuba diving in Florida.
Thomas is six shots behind Red Bud leader Mitch Hufstetler, who shot a 4-under-par 67. Greg Ehmig is second after a 69. John Lambert shot 70, and Gary Baker and Kyle Cothran shot 71s.
Thomas played his first round of tournament golf in two years Saturday. He admitted to being a little nervous, which contributed to a bogey on his first hole.
“I’ve never been a big tournament golfer as much as I like hanging out and playing with buddies,” Thomas said. “You’re putting out, everything counts and there’s no foot-wedges.”
Thomas doesn’t need that club. He made two birdies — including a chip-in on No. 4 — 12 pars and four bogeys.
What’s his handicap?
“I’m a bilateral amputee,” Thomas said with a laugh. “But my golfing handicap, it says right now that I’m a point-4. But it’s not that good because I haven’t been playing.”
Yeah, he hasn’t been playing Kiawah Island or any of the other renowned courses that are a short drive from the College of Charleston campus where Thomas just finished his sophomore year.
“I don’t play much during the school year because it’s too expensive,” Thomas said. “I play a lot when I’m home for the summer. I’ll play as much as I possibly can — six times a week if I can fit it in.”
The former McCallie School golfer played with his friend and former teammate Brian Lorberbaum.
“Coming out here, it doesn’t matter what you shoot,” Lorberbaum said. “The key is to have a good time. I shot 84, he shot 73 and my goal was to break 100 and have fun.”
Lorberbaum had fun. Thomas did too, especially when they rolled out to heckle friends Jeff Guerry and G.T. Gangte as they finished their final four holes. While watching Gangte tap in a putt, Thomas pumped up his legs with a device that creates a vacuum.
“It’s like those old basketball shoes you could pump up,” Thomas said. “But I get more tired than I used to. Uneven lies are tougher.
“I’m hitting it a little bit shorter but a lot straighter.”
Shhh. That’s a secret too.
