Mike Sweeney, a golfer who has lived out of his car while chasing his dream of becoming a professional, got one step closer to his ultimate goal this week.
Sweeney, who lived in his car for months in order to save money, qualified for the HomeTown Lenders Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour, winning in a Monday playoff to enter the official field for the event that starts Thursday in Huntsville, Ala. Sweeney spent much of his savings on the $500 entry fee for the qualifying tournament, but it paid off.
“Officially in the field for the @htlchamp this week on the @kornferrytour after a round of -7 & a 2 hole playoff to seal the deal,” Sweeney posted on Instagram.
The Korn Ferry Tour is a minor league for the PGA Tour, with the top 30 players in the standings at the end of the season earning PGA Tour membership for the following year. Sweeney qualified for the playoff by holing out for eagle on the 18th hole, and ended up advancing by scoring par on the second hole of the playoff.
Sweeney, who recently was the subject of a profile in MondayQ, grew up in Connecticut and was taught how to play golf by his father.
He spent months living out of a 2014 Hyundai Elantra, showering at the gym at his father’s apartment complex.
He has held a number of jobs, working as a “sandwich artist” at Subway, an assistant at a club in New York and even as a rapper under the name MikeyD860.
The Elantra eventually stopped running, and Sweeney is now couch surfing. During the tournament, he will be staying in a hotel room that his father is paying for. The room costs $500 a week, and reviews of the hotel had complaints of bed bugs and sex workers frequenting the parking lot.
To Sweeney, it’s all worth it, and now he has his best shot at a career in pro golf this week when he tees it up in Alabama.
