Player Profile: Texas' John Bearrie
18 Apr 2013
by Benjamin Larsen of AmateurGolf.com
see also: , John Bearrie Profile
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-- Texas Golf Association
Entering the 2012 season, it was only a
matter of time for John Bearrie.
After years of oh-so-close finishes and a
spattering of victories, the amateur golf
community in the great state of Texas
knew that Bearrie's spot at the top wasn't
an 'if' but a 'when'.
Well, that time was this season as Bearrie
took home the
Texas Golf
Association's Player of the Year
Award with five separate victories,
which helped him move all the way up to
No. 11 in the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com
Texas Player Rankings. A host of NCAA
stars and freshly-turned professionals
stand between Bearrie and the top spot.
In 2012, Bearrie won the
Texas Mid-Amateur
Championship --- a win he calls the
biggest of his amateur career --- and the
Fort Worth Mid-Am. He also took home top
honors in three TGA Medalist Series
Events.
Following the announcement of Bearrie's
Player of the Year Award, amateurgolf.com
caught up with the rising amateur:
amateurgolf.com: For starters,
what's your background in golf?
John Bearrie: My dad taught me
the game when I was nine years old and
ended up going to school at small
university in Texas (Hardin Simmons
University in Abilene). I played my entire
college career and never won a golf
tournament.
AGC: When did you see your
game really take a jump to the next level?
JB: Well, I got married in 1995
and quickly decided to stop playing. But I
realized after a year or two of marriage
that I needed golf, so I got back at it. I've
always been a late bloomer. Around the
age of 30 was when I really started to get
serious and getting back into the game.
That's when I started playing the TGA
events.
AGC: Of all the victories this year,
along with your
2010 Texas Mid-Am Match Play
title, what is your proudest moment on
the course?
JB: Winning the
state Mid-Am this year with my
Dad caddying for me and helping me get
around was my proudest moment. In the
past, if you looked at my results, you'd
see that I'm the guy that finishes in the
Top 10 a lot and struggled getting it to the
next level. This year, it was the biggest
win for me --- the breakthrough of sorts.
I've always had a pretty good swing but
getting over the hump of winning had
always been a problem.
AGC: What changes in your game
or preparations and practice routines
helped you make such big strides?
JB: For me personally, it's all
about getting the ball in the hole. I
actually put my putting stroke in the
hands of Pat O'Brien --- an absolute
genius with the putting stroke. He's
helped a log of guys on tour and he's
really helped me. In 2010, I won the state
match play and that was a big hurdle for
me and it was no doubt attributed to
better putting.
AGC: Finally, what are the must-
play events on your seasonal calendar?
JB: The
Canadian Mid-Amateur
Championship is an event I've really
liked playing in. The venues are great and
the weather in the summer is terrific.
There's been a number of us from Texas
that have gone to play in it. I always try to
never miss the Texas State Amateur and
at the end of the year, we have a Ryder
Cup-style event called the
'Shootout'.
The top players from the North and South
(of Texas) face off.