Fairway Outreach, the charitable wing of Columbia’s annual City Tournament, has helped a host of young players discover golf, but perhaps none has done
as much with that head start as Columbia’s Danny Priester Jr. Now 24, Priester — who says he was inspired by Tiger Woods’ 1997 Masters victory — developed his game at Junior Golf Land and became a special project for Fairway Outreach and director Bobby Foster after Priester’s father died in a 2001 fire at the family home. After graduating from A.C. Flora and the United States Military Academy at West Point, Priester was commissioned in May as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He recently underwent combat training at Fort Benning in Georgia. Priester is the subject of a recent article by the U.S. Golf Association’s Rhonda Glenn. Glenn recounts Priester’s life story, starting when he was learning the game from his golf-crazed great-uncles Alvin Walker and Charles Samuel and grandfather Henry Walker. She includes the family’s struggles after Priester’s father’s death. Glenn calls Priester “a face on the long-awaited impact of the ‘Tiger Boom’” that golf officials hoped would spur play by minority youngsters. “Patience and the focus,” Priester said of golf’s lessons. “You can’t let distractions get in the way. One swing at a time, one shot at a time. One mission. One order. One plan at a time.” More Dustin. Lost in the wake of his victory at the rain-shortened AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was the fact Columbia native and former Coastal Carolina All-American Dustin Johnson put himself into the mix for a spot on the U.S. Presidents Cup team.
Johnson climbed into the top 10 of the Presidents Cup points list at No. 9. The U.S. will face a squad of international players (not including Europe) Oct. 9-11 at Harding Park Golf Club in San Francisco.