A golf tournament is a golf tournament.
George Washburn says he has been boring that idea into his brain all week. The last "serious" tournament Washburn said he took part in was the Frederick City Championship last August.
Yesterday, he played in the first round of the U.S. Senior Open at Caves Valley Golf Club.
"That's quite a change, isn't it?" said Washburn, who resides in Frederick and was one of three players to make the Open - his first pro tournament - at the Mitchellville sectional qualifier. "I'm trying to downplay this whole thing. I'm trying not to look at the superstars too much."
Washburn's spot on the driving range Wednesday was adjacent to Allen Doyle, the top player on the Senior PGA Tour last year. Tom Kite, who won 19 titles on the PGA Tour, was farther down the range. Washburn's locker is next to 34-time PGA Tour winner Tom Watson.
"It's amazing being inside the ropes and the locker room with the people you see all the time on TV," he said before shooting 8-over par through 13 holes in his rain-shortened first round. "I don't know what the protocol is, but I don't think we're allowed to ask for autographs."
It's not that Washburn, 55, hasn't tried to bring his game to the national stage before. After his 50th birthday, he turned pro and went to qualifying school, but failed to earn a tour card in 1996 and 1997. He played in 10 qualifiers from 1997 to 1999, but he didn't make any tournaments.
After the frustration of missing event after event, Washburn applied for reinstatement of his amateur status so he could play locally- like the Frederick City. He decided to try to qualify for the Open, less than an hour from his home, only as a matter of convenience.
"That was the only reason I did it really. I knew I could stay at home and not have to pay that much to play here, as far as hotels and food go. I have college bills to pay," said Washburn.
Washburn's first round got off to a steady start. He hovered near par for the first few holes (2-over through five), but then he stumbled, bogeying the sixth and ninth holes and triple-bogeying the par-5 seventh to finish the front nine with a 7-over 43. Washburn dropped another stroke before play was suspended due to severe weather.