Mackenzie Is A Breath of Fresh Air On The Tour

If you watched the Golf Channel’s coverage of the Mercedes over the past weekend, you couldn’t have missed their gushing over Will MacKenzie. An excellent junior amateur, he quit golf to take up kayacking, rock climbing, heliboarding, surfing and other outdoor pursuits. Then, inspired by Payne Stewart, he returned to golf and worked his way up the ladder, playing the Canadian Tour, the Golden Bear Tour, the Hooters Tour and, finally, the Nationwide Tour, before making it through Qualifying School prior to the 2005 season.

He’s a real original, and is the kind of guy that the Tour needs to promote. I had to laugh when he practically invited people to come and party with him when he gave his hotel room number during a live television interview.

There’s a great profile on ESPN.Com.