27-year-old Michael Visacki, who has “37 wins on the West Florida Pro Golf Tour alone and is considered one of the best mini-tour talents in the country,” qualified for his first PGA Tour event in dramatic fashion on Monday, holing out a 20-foot putt on the 2nd playoff hole.
Here’s the emotional phonecall he made to his father to share the news:
Making his dream a reality.
After an emotional Monday Qualifier, @VisackiGolfer now gets his first TOUR start in front of a home crowd. ? pic.twitter.com/ihKCJXsUxE
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 27, 2021
It’s getting a little dusty in here. . .
"I made it." ❤️
Michael Visacki fights back tears as he tells his father that he's reached a lifelong goal of competing on the PGA TOUR.
He successfully Monday-Qualified for the @ValsparChamp. pic.twitter.com/5ci5L1KoLp
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 26, 2021
Visacki told PGATour.com that his parents “sacrificed everything for me” and that it was a “really special moment”:
PGATOUR.COM: The phone call with your dad has gone viral. What have your parents meant to your career?
Visacki: They sacrificed everything for me. They have given up everything for me. They knew I was able to do it and they were always there for me. My dad cried, my mom cried, and I cried. My mom was driving when she called me, she had to pull over and she had to take a minute. She just cried for a couple minutes. They know I can do it, and to have it finally happen, it just means the world to me and to them. It was just a really special moment.
Amazing:
PGATOUR.COM: You made a 20-footer on the second playoff hole to get through, what were your emotions when you saw the putt fall?
Visacki: I saw Chris’ putt go a little bit to the right. A guy I played with this morning had the same putt and it went a little to the right also. So, I told my caddie I think we will keep it on the edge. We picked the spot and trusted it. Four feet before the hole it went right over the pitch mark we had picked out. I was just thinking I hope it has the right pace. When it went in, I almost dropped to the ground. I could barely stand.
Visacki’s dad said in an interview in 2012 that he “never wanted to have a mansion or an RV or a plane. What I have is him, and all I wanted was for our son to excel in what he likes and what he wants”:
His dad, to a Florida newspaper in 2012:
“I never wanted to have a mansion or an RV or a plane. What I have is him, and all I wanted was for our son to excel in what he likes and what he wants.” https://t.co/kKHLQ8sFSU https://t.co/Sg5hh6GuRR
— SeanFitz_Gerald (@SeanFitz_Gerald) April 27, 2021
And he got his wish:
“It’s quite expensive; I cannot even put a finger on it,” Mike Visacki said.
And yet, he has no regrets about supporting his son’s dream of playing pro golf.
“I invested all I had, and I don’t care,” said Visacki, 57, who runs a medical transport business in Sarasota.
— SeanFitz_Gerald (@SeanFitz_Gerald) April 27, 2021
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