THANK YOU, ELIZABETH!

Writing Letters to a Future Champion has taught me many new skills and lessons, but at the core has been time management. The book project was launched in earnest during the darkest days of the Covid-19 lockdowns. I had plenty of time on my hands, but as we moved into summer, I was faced with writing a book that was taking on a much larger scale while returning to my job at CBS as the lead walking reporter for our PGA Tour coverage.

Elizabeth Mixon and her family, all Furman grads. At lower left, front, Elizabeth. At lower right, daughter Eleanor; at upper left, daughter Sarah; at upper right, Elizabeth’s husband, Ben.

The latter, beginning June 7, would require me to travel for eleven straight weeks on the road. There were many elements that went into making a safe and successful run from coast to coast (and many places in between) during a pandemic, but at the core was time management.

I’ve always led an on-the-go life, but it was my college roommate at Furman, Elizabeth (Belcher) Mixon, who taught me how to write, sequence, and keep a schedule. She also taught me to look ahead to events on the horizon. As a double major at Furman, she had little margin, and as a student-athlete with plenty on my own plate, Elizabeth was my model for management.

People have since remarked, “I cannot believe you found time to write” while getting back to televised golf. Truth was, it was fairly easy because Covid protocols did not (and still do not) allow us to be out of our rooms for meals, etc. Not even trips to the gym.

Writing became a wonderful release. Meeting our deadline to submit all materials to the printer by late February was something that became a mark on my I-calendar, color-coded in brown, like the sport coat Mr. Pulver often wore to our lessons.

So thank you, Elizabeth, for your lessons to me in the mid-1980s that made the tribute to Mr. Pulver and his letters/lessons run on time and with such joy and learning.