Jackson State's Tim O'Neal lives the challenge of the African-American golfer

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Washington -- Walter Payton's brother, Eddie, had been a hell of an athlete himself -- a football, baseball and basketball star who grew into a good enough NFL return man to once take back a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in the same game. He could zigzag his way around a golf course, too, ultimately playing to a 2 handicap and becoming one of the most successful college coaches in America at Jackson State.

Eddie Payton had seen a lot from tee to green by the early 1990s, but nothing quite like the high school recruit out of Savannah, Georgia, he scouted one day on an unsolicited tip, a kid named Tim O'Neal.

"He watched me hit my first tee shot and my second shot and just drove off," O'Neal recalled Tuesday as he prepared to play in the U.S. Open. "He didn't say anything. I had no idea where he went."



And there was a pretty good reason for that.

"I only needed to see those two swings to decide to offer him a scholarship," Payton said from his office at Jackson State. "I've never seen a swing that fluid and powerful. Everyone works toward creating one that will repeat over and over, and whenever you see it, you know it."

CONTINUE READING