By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
MIAMI, Okla. — Andrew Giuliani makes his NGA Hooters Tour debut today in the seventh Buffalo Run Casino Classic at Peoria Ridge Golf Course.
Yes, that Giuliani, the son of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.
“I’m excited to be out here,” Giuliani said. “It seems like Ryan (Majors) is doing a great job running the tournament. I’m excited to put the peg in the ground on Thursday.”
Defending champion Jeff Corr and season money leader Ted Potter, who’s won almost $110,000 after last week’s victory in Tunica, Miss., are in the field. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m., and the 72-hole tournament runs through Sunday.
Giuliani started playing competitive golf about seven years ago and turned professional five months ago. He’s been playing in mini-tour events in Florida and the Carolinas and has one top-5 finish, two top-10s and five top-15s in 15 events.
“I’ve had some ups and downs already,” he said. “I’m excited to be playing where I am right now.”
Giuliani’s college career certainly had its ups and downs and ended on a downer. He played three years at Duke, but before his senior year, he was dismissed from the squad by coach O.D. Vincent.
According to published reports, Vincent accused Giuliani of driving out of a parking lot too fast, tossing a putter, breaking a driver and throwing an apple at a teammate during an argument.
Giuliani has filed a lawsuit against the school, claiming the coach wanted to cut the roster size and exaggerated these incidents as a way to cut him. He’s seeking an unspecified amount of damages.
Last month a U.S. magistrate judge in North Carolina recommended dismissing the lawsuit, but Giuliani’s attorney says he wants the case to move forward.
“I can’t say much because the lawsuit is going on,” Giuliani said. “What I can say is the first two years when I played under Coach (Rod) Myers, a legend in the college game, were phenomenal. He’s one of the people I looked up to. He passed away after my sophomore year. He coached 34 years at Duke. He was a great guy.
“I was able to get out and get my degree, which I’m extremely proud of. It’s nice to be moving on, turning pro and being able to play out on the tours now.”
9-11
Giuliani was in school on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when he heard about two airliners crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
“It was an extremely sad day for anybody,” he said. “It’s still a day I think about. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was shocking, obviously, extremely devastating.
“I had just that morning seen the towers. It was a beautiful September morning ... still felt like summertime, as beautiful as you can imagine. An hour before I’d seen them standing tall like they always had, and what happened afterwards obviously was incredible disheartening.”
A third hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C., and a fourth plane, after some passengers and flight crew members attempted to regain control, crashed in rural Pennsylvania. A total of 2,974 victims and 19 hijackers died in the attacks.”
In the aftermath, Giuliani witnessed the outpouring of patriotism.
“New Yorkers showed their spirit that day,” he said. “It was not limited to New Yorkers ... Americans showed their spirit that day. I saw firefighters at Ground Zero from Kansas City, from California, even from Europe. It was incredible seeing people understand what was going on and want to lend a helping hand.”
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Giuliani to make NGA Hooters Tour debut
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