For years now, MasterCard has, following a list of costs for items or services, remarked in its tagline that the final experience is “priceless.” That was certainly the case for Clarkson University Golf team member Tyler Cline (Tuxedo, NY) when he had the opportunity to pick the brain of one of the top professional golfers in the world, Sergio Garcia.
Cline, a sophomore and one of the top golfers in the Liberty League in his first year with the Golden Knights, was able to gain the experience thanks to another member of the Tuxedo Club, a private club in southern New York. Unfortunately for him, the meet and greet with the famous Spanish golfer wasn’t a freebie.
“The other members (of the Tuxedo Club) were mostly around 50 years old and we each paid one member that has a special MasterCard,” Cline said. “The people with that card are invited and he brought 11 of us with him.”
The event took place in Paramus, NJ at one of the top 100 courses in the United States, the Ridgewood Country Club. There, Cline and the other 11 members of his party enjoyed lunch, a round of golf, a clinic with Sergio Garcia, and dinner along with a question and answer period with Garcia. Oh, and he also got to play one of the par-3 holes with one of the top golfers in the world.
“I was already a huge Sergio fan since I started playing, and this made me look up to him more,” Cline said. “He discussed during his 40 minutes or so (during the clinic) that the warm up is really important and to take the warm up with easy swings to get into a rhythm. He also said to picture something you want to happen, not what you can do wrong.”
The sagely advice from the 32-year-old Garcia should certainly help Cline in the future. Last season, Cline posted an average round of 78.9 and earned Liberty League Second-Team All-Star status. So far, Cline has shot 75 and 79 in his two rounds of competition.
