The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 5A
No mulligan
for McKay
By MATT JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer
Freshman golfer Billy McKay
always loved the University but,
he almost didn't make it to Ann
Arbor.
He didn't sign with the Michi-
gan men's golf team until the last
hour of signing day.
"I was torn between here and
Michigan State, or I could've
waited and looked at some schools
in the South," McKay said. "I defi-
nitely feel like I've made the right
decision in comingup here."
Given his outstanding back-
ground, the Wolverines are lucky
to have him.
Before coming to Ann Arbor,
the Grand Blanc native attended
the prestigious Leadbetter Acad-
emy in Florida for his senior year
of high school after leading Grand
Blanc High to a state title in the
fall of 2004.
But McKay is known in golf
circles for his two appearances
in the Buick Open at his home
course, Warwick Hills.
In 2005, he tied Tiger Woods
with a 1-under par 71 on the first
day of the tournament. He ended
up missing the cut after a sec-
ond-round 84, but the highlight
for McKay was his eagle from 127
yards out on the par-five 16th hole
during the first round.
"That was the shot of the day
on CNN, and I also got on ESPN,"
McKay said.
McKay said most of the pro
golfers treated him well at the
Buick Open, but they gave him a
different reception in 2006, when
he competed using a sponsor's
exemption. The first year he
played in a qualifier to be included
in the field.
"The second year it was a bit
more intimidating," McKay said.
"You've actually taken a spot from
somebody else trying to get their
tour card. Most of the guys were
very nice to me, but I didn't get as
many welcomes as I did the first
year. But I didn't let it affect my
game at all."
McKay has always been treated
well by 1995 PGA Championship
winner Steve Elkington, a close
friend of McKay's family.
"His caddy and my parents
were pretty good friends, and
that's how I met Steve in the first
place," McKay said. "When I was
little he'd always teach me little
games about putting and chipping
in the basement."
McKay said the practice rounds
he played with Elkington before
his appearances in Buick Open
were some of his favorite golf
experiences.
Despite his past success,
McKay is focused on helping the
Wolverines win their firstcBig Ten
title since 1952.
Michigan coach Andrew Sapp
and junior Tim Schaetzel had
nothing but praise for McKay's
game.
"His golf swing is really fun to
watch," Schaetzel said. "He's hit-
ting it a long ways, and he's hitting
it really close to the hole with his
irons. Some of the things he can
do with the golf ball are things the
rest of us really can't do."
Sapp agreed: "I think his shot-
making ability is the strongest
part of his game. If he can become
avery good putter, it won't be long
before he's all-Big Ten."
McKay has picked up his play
in the spring season. After falling
in and out of the lineup during the
fall, he's now second on the team
with a scoring average around 75.
Someofthatsuccesscanbe attrib-
uted to his relaxed, yet focused,
demeanor.
"Billy's pretty laid back,"
Schaetzel said. "He jokes around
a little, but when it comes time to
compete, he's very focused."
On the par-four 18th hole dur-
ing the second round of the Pine-
hurst Intercollegiate, McKay hit
his tee shot into the water and
ended up making a 10-foot putt
for bogey. Still, Sapp said McKay
pumped his fist in celebration of
his 1-under par round rather than
being angry about the bogey.
"We kind of joke that you can't
tell whether he's 5-over par or
5-under par on the golf course,"
Sapp said. "He doesn't get overly
emotional whether he's made
three birdies in a row or three
bogeys in a row."
PHOTO iY RODtIGO GAYA AND ZACH MEISNE/Dily
LEFT: Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson was fine with his star player's decision to leave early. RIGHT: Former Michigan starJack Johnson will have more in commo
with his old coach than just playing hockey in Ann Arbor. After tonight, both will have begun their professional careers without playing in the ninors.
Johnson folows Red's lead
By IAN ROBINSON
Daily Sports Writer
When Jack Johnson steps onto
the ice for the Los Angeles Kings
tonight, he will follow in the foot-
steps of Michigan coach Red Beren-
son.
After the Wolverines won the
1962 NCAA Consolation game
over St. Lawrence in Utica, N.Y., a
representative from the Montreal
Canadiens, the team that drafted
Berenson, approached the then-
senior about joining.
"I remember saying to him 'I'll
only play if it's in the NHL; I'll never
play in the AHL,' " Berenson said.
After driving through the night,
Berenson was in the lineup as the
Canadiens took on the Boston Bru-
ins at the Boston Garden and made
history as the first college athlete to
transition directly into the NHL.
At the time, there were just six
teams in the league.
It was the start of the Regina,
Saskatchewan, native's 17-year
NHL career that transformed into
an NHL great and hockey legend.
"Red went to college at a time
when no one of his caliber was
playing college hockey," said John
U. Bacon, University lecturer and
author of "Blue Ice: The Story of
Michigan Hockey".
Tonight, another former Wolver-
ine will make the same transition.
Unlike Berenson, who graduated
that season, Johnson has forgone
his final two years of collegiate eli-
gibility to sign with the Los Angeles
Kings.
Many in the hockey world believe
that Johnson's NHL debut is com-
ing one or even two years late. But
few understood Johnson's loyalty
to the school he committed to in
ninth grade.
"You didn't have to recruit Jack
Johnson," Berenson said. "You
didn't have to sell him on Michigan.
He and his family, this is where
they wanted him to come from day
one."
At theJ2005 NHL Entry Draft, the
Anaheim Ducks passed on Johnson
with the No. 2 pick because of his
commitment to Michigan, which
he displayed on draft day with a
maize-and-blue tie. The Carolina
Hurricanes selected him with the
next pick and made numerous
offers to Johnson throughout his
first year at Michigan, pressuring
him to sign. Eventually, they traded
his rights to the Kings in Septem-
ber.
Berenson commends Johnson
for holding out as longhe did. When
the coach was in school, there were
no agents.
"Once a year they would (tell
me) that I should leave school, that
I would never be a hockey olaver
if I stayed in school and so on,"
Berenson said. "But I didn't listen
to them."
Forty years later, things are dif-
ferent. Berenson says NHL teams
have been "all over Johnson."
"The biggest thing to me was
that Red supported it," Jack John-
son, Sr. said Sunday. "He told him,
you're doing the rightthing."
Johnson is also deciding at the
right time.
Berenson now has time to find
another player to fill Johnson's ros-
ter spot, and the Kings want John-
son playing with them in the NHL.
"Jack is leaving at the right time
for a spot in the NHL," Bacon said.
"Other players have not done that."
Berenson's two complaints about
players leaving early are when the
player doesn't show a commitment
to academics and when the player
leaves college to spend two or three
See BERENSON. age 8A
p U -
E EGPHILOSOPHICAL THINKER
~ ~
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