GREENSBORO - No golfer plays all 44 PGA Tour tournaments in any given year. They need occasional rest.
They'll never do what former Greensboro resident D.J. Gregory is close to achieving. He's walking four rounds of every tournament, including the recent British Open. The Wyndham Championship is his 33rd straight event.
He'll complete the circuit in November.
That much walking and traveling would fatigue anyone. For Gregory, 30, it's an enormous challenge. He has cerebral palsy. He struggles around courses with only the aid of a cane.
He wants to inspire others with disabilities, but his main motivator is a fanatical love of golf. He plays occasionally, shooting 105 to 115.
"Some days are more tiring than others," he said, climbing the uphill 10th fairway at Sedgefield Country Club, following the player assigned to him, Davis Love III.
"But I'm living a dream. Every day out here is a dream."
At the PGA Championship near Detroit last week, he fell twice, his 21st and 22nd tumbles. He makes note of each on his blog, accessible through the PGA Tour Web site. His goal is no more than 44 falls, or one a week.
His most demanding course so far was in Hawaii. "Up and down, up and down," he said, "not a level spot on it."
He was finding Sedgefield "a little tough."
As he and his sister, Ann Gregory of Houston, went from the putting green to the 10th tee where Love began his round, caddies, golfers and CBS crew members hollered greetings. He's a celebrity. The New York Times and USA Today and many TV stations have featured him.
He's authorized to walk inside the gallery ropes, but stays in the crowds, not wanting to distract the players.
Gregory doesn't fear being a distraction on occasion. At age 12, he attended the Kmart Greater Greensboro Open at Forest Oaks. He was watching the pro-am that included North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith.
Gregory went under the ropes onto the fairway, shouting, "Dean, Dean." He told the coach his family was good friends of one of Smith's friends, Greensboro businessman Brokie Lineweaver. Smith said any friend of Lineweaver was a friend of his.
Gregory's parents, Don and Jackie Gregory, lived in Starmount for 13 years. They belonged to Sedgefield and later the Greensboro Country Club. They live in Savannah now.
A few weeks ago, Gregory was assigned to walk with Carl Pettersson, whose first-round 64 has him tied for second in the Wyndham, one shot off the lead. They discovered they graduated from Grimsley High the same year and back then lived within three blocks of each other. But neither remembered the other.
After earning bachelor's and master's degrees in sports management from Springfield College in Massachusetts, Gregory did research for a Canadian fund-raising company and sold items on Ebay. He gained entry to the tour with help from CBS sports announcer Jim Nantz, who will be in the TV tower at Sedgefield this weekend.
When word spread of Gregory' intentions, sponsors responded. Southwest Airlines flies him to tournaments. Footjoy provides shoes and Ashworth clothing. Outback Steak House feeds him when he's not accepting dinner invites from people he meets. Marriott gives him a discount because his father works for the hotel chain.
What's next for Gregory after November? He negotiating a book deal and is close to hiring a ghost writer. As for future employment, "I'd love to work in golf for sure," he says. "We'll see."
Contact Jim Schlosser at 601-9879 or beale1@clearwire.net
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