In one of the event’s first couple years, the Northwest Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes Boys High School Golf Tournament featured a left-handed, long-driving, gifted shot-making player, from Milton High School.
Bubba Watson won the event that year, back when he was just launching his decorated golf career.
Now, as the tournament sets to celebrate its 30th year, Watson has lent his name and legacy for the revised Bubba Watson FCA Golf Classic. There will be 19 girls teams and 21 boys teams competing on Monday and Tuesday in the special event at the A.C. Read Golf Course on NAS Pensacola.
“God has allowed me to play golf and bless my family beyond my wildest dreams,” said Watson, who worked with Mike Killiam, the long-time metro director of the Northwest Florida FCA, to rename the tournament.
Watson, a two-time Masters Tournament champion and winner of 12 PGA Tour events, has joined with his wife, Angie, a former college and professional basketball player, to support a variety of FCA events and help the organization.
“I’m a Christian, a Christian athlete,” said Watson, who rose from Milton High golf star to worldwide fame as one of the top players of his generation. “As a Christian, I believe we should use our God-given gifts and talents to serve God.
“FCA provides a vehicle to use a platform to share my beliefs as a Christian athlete. Angie and I both have played sports – high school, college, professionally – all our lives and feel like the FCA provides great opportunities to share our faith together.
“Angie has been involved speaking and sharing her faith on several occasions with the FCA. And we have always been involved in Bible studies, Christian concerts, mission ministries and serving Christ through our local church. The FCA provides so many opportunities to serve as Christian athletes.”
Watson is in Chicago this weekend competing in the LIV Golf Chicago tournament which is the final event on the league schedule.
He won’t be able to attend the two-day FCA tournament at A.C. Read, but his connection with the event gives even more luster to one of the few 18-hole, boys and girls teams’ events on the high school golf calendar.
Killiam said the tournament is the largest FCA golf tournament of its kind nationwide.
“It’s very special to have Bubba’s name on our tournament,” Killiam said. “I’d be willing to say that I don’t know of another high school golf tournament nationwide that has the name of a Masters champion and world golf star that Bubba has become, then add to that he’s a former winner of this tournament.
“It just means so much for a professional athlete to speak up and speak out to say, ‘I am a Christian’ and we’re grateful for Bubba and can’t thank him enough for doing this.”
Killiam has worked for the FCA the past 33 years. He remembers watching Watson as a high school teenager winning the tournament that year at Hidden Creek Golf Club near Navarre. He was unsure whether it was his junior or senior year at Milton, but he vividly recalls a tee shot that Watson struck on one of the holes.
“Our records unfortunately only go back to 2003, but I distinctly remember Bubba back then and everyone that day knew this kid from Milton was a great golfer,” Killiam. “I was standing about 200 yards down the fairway of this hole and Bubba hit this low, liner drive and I just remember the flight of that ball whizzing past me as I stood that far from the tee.
“I start thinking about that now. This is so cool, to have him connected now with our tournament.”
There will be 19 girls teams competing on Monday, followed by 21 boys teams on Tuesday. A.C. Read has been a long-time host of the event.
The players are treated to a breakfast and post-round lunch provided by the FCA. There is an awards ceremony in the clubhouse. All of these elements make it a signature event on the region high school golf calendar.
“We try to make it special for the kids,” Killiam said. “And to have Bubba’s name on it just makes it that much greater.”
Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Bubba Watson partners with 30th FCA Golf Tournament at NAS Pensacola
