His nickname is Champagne Johnnie, and his mustache could’ve been featured in the western movie “Tombstone.” He also tipped the scales at No. 2,397 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Everyone loves pulling for a David against the Goliaths in professional golf but there was another primary reason why golf fans were rooting for Cupertino native John Greco at December’s PGA Tour Q-School Finals in Florida.
The now 30-year-old Greco, who contended to the end for one of five cards at PGA Tour Q-School, was a feel-good story due to his childhood background. As a kid growing up in the South Bay, Greco’s family didn’t have a lot of money.
He played a variety of sports growing up, but golf was deemed too expensive until his parents found Youth on Course while in high school. Thanks to Youth on Course, which allows juniors to play for $5 or less, Greco was able to develop his game and eventually compete in college (first at San Jose Community College, then at William Jessup University).
Now in his ninth year as a pro, Greco flirted with earning a PGA Tour card but fell short (T-26), settling for at least eight guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, the Tour’s top developmental circuit, for the first time. He’s one step closer to his dream of playing on the big stage thanks, in part, to Youth on Course.
When did the PGA Tour become a dream of yours?
JG: Probably pretty late relative to other golfers. I played other sports growing up. Golf was a little too expensive for us growing up. Thankfully we had Youth on Course. Once I found that in high school, that was a big part of being able to play more golf consistently because my dad saw those green fees and was like, ‘OK, this is like a once-a-month thing.’
I remember after my freshman year of high school I literally had these beginner clubs – they were half hybrids – and I played on the high school team and then that summer I worked a job at a summer camp so I could save up and buy a proper set. Of course, I bought the Tiger Woods Victory Red blades with the Tiger Woods logo on it because Tiger's the man. That's also when I saw Tiger at the (2010) U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. That was when I was like, ‘I want to do that.’
Q. Where did you grow up? What was the first course you really started going to?
JG: I grew up in the Bay in the Cupertino area near San Jose. I learned to play at this little nine-hole executive course. It's got three par 4s, and then six par 3s called Pruneridge Golf Club (in Santa Clara). We were out there a lot, me and my brother, Henry. My dad would just drop us off, especially when he found out about Youth On Course. It was two bucks to play, which was more in our price range. We played there a bunch and they were really nice to us out there.
I remember biking to the range with three clubs strapped to my bike because my dad didn’t think it was a good idea for me to take the whole bag. So, I would bungee cord three clubs – driver, 7-iron, wedge – to my bike and then ride to the range.
Q. What's the biggest tournament you played in as a junior or amateur golf?
JG: There was this local tournament at San Jose Country Club where I played well a couple of times but I usually got waxed by (Junior Tour of Northern California alum) Justin Suh. He was actually good at golf and I was just figuring it out. He was so good. He is so good! He was the local kid that was killing it at that age and he's a few years younger than me.