Mickey’s clubhouse

Flames golfer has best average in Big South

Liberty junior golfer Mickey DeMorat continues to separate himself as one of the best golfers in the Big South conference and the country.

DeMorat was named Big South men’s golfer of the week for the week of Oct. 14 after his performance in the Tar Heel Intercollegiate Tournament.

DeMorat shot a four-under-par, 140, for the 36-hole tournament. The tournament was shortened to 36 holes due to inclement weather caused by Hurricane Matthew, according to libertyflames.com.

DeMorat shot 26 pars and only three bogeys over the two rounds. He ranked 12th out of 81 competitors in birdies with seven, according to libertyflames.com.

DeMorat leads the Flames with a 70.63 stroke average on the season and ranks 75th in the first Golfstat individual rankings of the year. He has the highest ranking of any golfer in the Big South.

This is the second weekly award DeMorat has received at Liberty after being named the Big South men’s golfer of the week Feb. 25, 2016, according to libertyflames.com.

DeMorat said he is satisfied with his play thus far this season and strives to be the best he can be.

“I’m happy with the way I’ve played so far this year,” DeMorat said. “My goal is to have a chance to win every tournament that I play in and be in the top 100 players in the country as well as be named an All-American.”

DeMorat said he sets goals for himself based upon his performances in tournaments.

“I write down my goals in a journal as I’m looking at my statistics,” DeMorat said. “It helps me to see what I need to work on in practice. It’s how I base what I should be working on.”

DeMorat said these goals are mainly for preparation purposes and he does not focus on them during tournaments.

“I try not to think about them while I’m playing,” DeMorat said. “I just try to focus on getting the lowest score I can.”

DeMorat said his love for golf started at a young age.

“My grandfather is the one who really got me into the golf,” DeMorat said.

“He got me my first set of clubs and would take me to the course and shoot with me.”

DeMorat, a Florida native, said he used to attend professional tournaments with his grandfather and admire the golfers there.

“I used to watch the Arnold Palmer Invitational,” DeMorat said. “One golfer that I really admired was Ernie Els. I wanted to copy his swing and the way he played the game. He made everything look easy.”

Ernie Els, nicknamed “The Big Easy,” is a professional golfer with 19 career PGA Tour victories.

Although DeMorat loved golf from an early age, his journey to playing golf was uncommon.

“One thing that was difficult for me was that I didn’t start playing in junior golf tournaments until I was around 15,” DeMorat said.

“Before that I played baseball and basketball in addition to golf. The guys that I was playing against had been playing golf only since they were 7 or 8. I was getting beat really badly at first.”

DeMorat said that although waiting to focus on golf made his journey challenging, he does not regret playing other sports.

“Playing multiple sports gave me a good fundamental skillset and a strong competitive drive,” DeMorat said.

DeMorat said his approach to the game has changed in his second year playing golf at Liberty after transferring from East Florida State after his freshman season.

“This year I know what to expect more from tournaments, and I’ve become more detailed in my preparation and confident in my abilities,” DeMorat said. “My mindset has changed, and I understand more of what it takes to compete.”

DeMorat said that coming to Liberty ended up being the best decision for him.

“Playing at Liberty made me a better player because I had to adjust to competing against people who were just as good as me,” DeMorat said. “I could previously do poorly and still have a chance to win tournaments, but not anymore.”

DeMorat and the Flames continue the season in search of a second consecutive Big South championship.

Cockes is a sports reporter.