As the wee hours of Saturday morning’s practice rounds for the 2019 Women’s U.S. Amateur began, a thick fog coats the entrance to Old Waverly Golf Club.
Passing the guardhouse and heading down Magnolia Drive, the course is deathly silent. Play does not begin for another few minutes.
There’s a peaceful serenity to the scene as the clubhouse comes into view.
Guarded by a circular patch of flowers and shrubbery, the columned building is aptly reminiscent of that of Augusta National Golf Club — home of The Masters.
“If you look at Augusta they probably do it the best,” said Wilkes Bryan, Old Waverly’s chief operating officer said. “And we strive to do the best and they’re just a great model to try to follow.”
With practice rounds for this week’s tournament that morning, a handful of players have made their way to the putting green just between the clubhouse and the first tee box.
The fog is thickest here. It rolls across the narrow fairways and subtle hills of holes No. 1 and 9 that run parallel to each other just off in the distance.
The early morning dew is progressively erased with cleat marks and the wheels of push-carts — though the natural scene still persists.
For nearly 31 years Old Waverly has harbored this placid beauty and challenged golfers from around the world on one of the country’s most prestigious courses — one conceived by Wilkes’ father and founder George Bryan.
“Some days it seems like it was yesterday and, when you think about it, it’s been a long time,” he said. “But it’s been a lot of ups, mostly highs.”
Building an all-star squad
Bryan Foods began as a small operation in West Point in 1936. George’s father and uncle began the company and turned it into one of the South’s premier meat packing operations.
The business was eventually purchased by the Sara Lee Corporation in 1968.
For years, George worked as an executive. But in the early 1980s he proposed a new venture in the state his family’s company called home for so many years: a state park golf course in West Point.
Much to his chagrin, legislation for the initial project fell short.
Heading back to the drawing board, George decided to start a championship club of his own. With a group of project managers that numbered about 30, he began the outlines for what is now Old Waverly.
Seeking a marketing figurehead and course designer for the project, George turned to charismatic Georgian Jerry Pate. The 1976 U.S. Open winner brought the course name recognition in golf circles.
Pate also helped enlist Bob Cupp — a former club pro from Florida who had designed a number of courses with PGA legend Jack Nicklaus.
When Cupp hopped on board, George had his all-star squad.
“(Pate) got Bob and they formed a partnership to build the course and design it,” George said. “And they were a really good team. Jerry was a good marketing spokesperson and Bob was good designer.”
Construction at Old Waverly began in the mid-1980s. The course opened in September 1988 as Pate, LPGA golfer Heather Farr, two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw and three-time LPGA Championship winner Nancy Lopez played its inaugural round.
“Everything just seemed like it was a perfect fit,” said Wilkes, a freshman at Mississippi State at the time.
‘We all signed the line’
Old Waverly is no stranger to major tournaments.
In the club’s almost 31-year history it has held the SEC Women’s Championship, the Women’s U.S. Mid-Amateur and, most notably, the 1999 Women’s U.S. Open won by World Golf Hall of Famer Juli Inkster.
This week’s U.S. Women’s Amateur is the latest big-ticket event on the club’s resume.
In its pitch to host the event, Old Waverly’s leadership leaned on its previous experience hosting large-scale tournaments.
“We know that Old Waverly can put on a great test and we know that they can put on a great championship,” United States Golf Association Championship Director Rachel Sadowski told The Dispatch. “History is very important to the USGA and the fact that they’ve hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in 1999 is a really big deal. I think the players here will see that as a big deal.”
The USGA announced Old Waverly’s winning bid in March 2017.
“Mr. Bryan got a call and we talked it over and thought it was best to host here,” Old Waverly Head Golf Professional Greg Flannagan said. “And we all signed the line and (are) now fortunate and excited to have 156 ladies test their skills here at Old Waverly.”
A sense of accomplishment
As the sun gleamed over the practice green just below the clubhouse, George Bryan and Pate traded words.
The two have remained friends for more than three decades, though Pate doesn’t get out to Old Waverly much anymore. Saturday, Bryan insisted he take him around the course to show off the latest developments in its design.
“He’ll always have a lot to say about that,” Bryan quipped. “He wants to change this and do that.”
Today, Wilkes runs the day-to-day operations, though George is still heavily involved and lives on property.
Close to 31 years since the opening of Bryan’s dream course, Magnolia Drive will serve as the red carpet for the best women’s amateur golfers in the world this week. And as has become an annual tradition at Augusta, Old Waverly is once again at the center of the golfing world.
“It goes by so fast — it’s like a flurry,” Wilkes said. “You’re working so hard every day to make sure everybody is doing their jobs and when you get through you have this sense of accomplishment.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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