St. Albert graduate enjoys "playing" at PGA

One day he was getting applause from Tiger Woods' gallery. The next day he played with the last U.S. Ryder Cup captain.

Those were unexpected thrills last weekend for the 1982 Council Bluffs St. Albert graduate Mike Sparks at the PGA Championship.
"I'm certainly not used to playing in front of crowds like that," Sparks said. "I just tried not to get in their way or be a distraction."

Sparks, 41, served as a non-competing marker on Saturday and Sunday after an odd number of players made the cut. He already had been heavily involved with the tournament at Baltusrol, in Springfield Township, N.J., as the vice president of the New Jersey section of the PGA.

He played the third round with Vaughn Taylor, two groups in front of Woods. The final round was with Hal Sutton, the 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup captain.

So many people were following Woods, Sparks said, that every green was ringed with spectators as he and Taylor played through. As nervous as he was hitting his first tee shot of the day, he said, it was worse stepping up to the tee on the fourth hole, the course's signature par-3 hole.

"Fortunately I hit a good shot, right to the middle of the green," he said. "There must have been 4,000 or 5,000 around that green, and they applauded loudly, even though nobody really knew who I was for those two days."

Sparks knew before Saturday that he might be needed as a marker. It was first offered to the head pro at Baltusrol, Doug Steffen, who declined but encouraged Sparks to take it. Sparks ran it past his fellow officers in the New Jersey section, and the section president volunteered to caddie for him.

What amazed him was how fast word got around that he was "playing."

"There were a lot of club members, family and friends out there," he said. "Even Hal Sutton said, 'I think there's more people out here for you than for me."'

Sparks attended Nebraska College of Business in Omaha, then moved to New Jersey in 1986. He was an assistant when the 1990 U.S. Senior Open was held at Ridgewood. He has been a head pro for 14 years, the past two at Royce Brook. Married, he's the stepfather of two teenage children.

He said he hasn't gotten back to the Omaha area often since taking the Royce Brook job. His mother lives in Florida and his father splits time between Iowa and Arizona. A sister lives in Omaha.

"I still have to get home for Nebraska football," he said. "I could brag for 15 years back here during football season, but the last couple of years I've had to tone it down."

Published August 18, 2005.
By: Stu Pospisil - Staff Writer Omaha World Herald