Drew McGhie

PERSONAL – Drew lives in Roseville, California with his wife Amanda and daughters Stevie (3) and Joey (2). He has built a good life for himself as a furniture salesman and enjoys playing golf as much as possible in his free time. He’s a member of the Whitney Oaks Golf Club and, if you’ve ever played there, no that any course he travels to is easier than his home course.

 TIE TO THE MONTEMAR – Most of our ties to the Montemar can be traced back to one event. Had I not decided to move into the house on Montemar there’s no way I find this group of people elsewhere. If Jake didn’t make Matt’s sister cry there’s no way he would have found this group elsewhere. I feel like things are a little different with Drew, almost as he was destined to be a part of this group.

Drew’s eventual entry to the Montemar is a bit of a “small-world” story. San Jose, California has a population of  over a million and the greater Sacramento area is close to that as well. A couple million people running around both places.

 5 or 6 years ago I was at a wedding in Clear Lake for my ex-wife’s best friend – Nicole. Drew McGhie was at the same wedding for his great friend – Billy. I had never met Drew, but had known his wife from when she used to work at a restaurant around the corner of from my house. I remember chatting with her quite a bit at the wedding and I also remember meeting Drew and his brothers at the bar of the casino. I didn’t talk much – I can be a reserved guy until I get to know somebody – but I remember listening to the McGhie brothers and being impressed by how much they knew about sports. As much as I liked Drew and his wife and brothers, this isn’t when Drew’s story to the Montemar started. No numbers were exchanged, I moved to Sacramento, got divorced, and I didn’t see him for some time.

 Until one day when I was at my good buddy Simon’s house, 2 hours from San Jose. Simon’s wife also used to work at the restaurant where Drew’s wife worked and they knew each other from back in those days. Drew and Amanda had recently moved up to Roseville and Amanda and Misty had connected. Drew and Amanda have been hanging out ever since. They are great people to be neighbors with and Drew is a great player for the Montemar.

 ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MONTEMAR – Drew got one of his brothers, Luke, into this tournament last year and a good buddy of his, Mike, will join us this year. I’ve got a feeling Drew has some other buddies who like to play and who will join us in future years. Adding on to this last sentence a year later – Drew got three more guys, John DeSantis, Greg Mena, and Dan Velez.

 WHAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN IN 2023– The short notice of last year’s inaugural tournament didn’t give Drew enough time to get time off work and he missed the opening round of the tournament. That didn’t stop him from showing up on Saturday and cleaning house. He set records for best better-ball round and earned the single day point total win for the day. He also had no distractions last year. This year Drew will have to deal with the fun and excitement that Talking Stick and Scottsdale present. Drew loves the casino and he’s got no wife or young kids he needs to get home to. If he can control his urges to party for three consecutive days Drew may find himself in contention come Sunday. If not, we could be calling last year’s Darkhorse round a fluke.

 WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN 2023 – Drew shit the bed in the worst of ways. He had a chance to prove what he did in Sacramento was legit but he failed big time. Perhaps it was the casino, or late nights getting hammered, or the smallish handicap he earned the year prior, or the dumb luck that’s built into the scoring system, but even those things all put together shouldn’t have resulted in him finishing dead last out of 40. Dead last.

 WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN 2024 – Drew needs to get his balls back; both literally and figuratively. The man plays too much golf and does so regularly at a golf course that’s much tougher than most we’ll play. In two years at the Montemar he’s showed both sides of his game; the one that can dominate a stiff track like Darkhorse, and the one that makes Talking Stick O’odhaam feel like he just played a round at Bethpage Black. Drew needs to prove 2022 wasn’t a fluke and to do so he needs to show up to Idaho ready to play. Idaho has some of the dumbest casino laws in the country, and perhaps the lack of actual card games (everything is machine operated) will keep him away from nights that don’t end, and the man will get the required allotment of sleep required to play the game he needs to play. He’s got some pretty good bonus points and this guy here (me) realizes how big his referral points could end up being. Hopefully he catches better luck this year and ends up in the top 10.

 ODDS TO WIN – 18-1

FUN FACT – Drew is a huge San Francisco 49ers fan - not really fun or cool at all - I hate that team. What is cool and a fun fact though is his daughter’s names – Stevie and Joey.

MONTEMARS PLAYED – 2 (2022 – SACRAMENTO, 2023 - SCOTTSDALE)

MONTEMAR ROUNDS PLAYED – 4 (2022 – DARKHORSE, 2023 – TPC SCOTSDALE/TS O’ODHAAM/TS PIIPAASH)

LIFETIME POINT TOTAL – 289.5

JACKETS WON – 0

TOP 3 FINISHES – 0

TOP 5 FINISHES – 0

TOP 10 FINISHES – 0

BEST FINISH – 14TH (2022 – SACRAMENTO)

RECORDS – Tied for 2 (Individual net wins in a round – Darkhorse – 22. Individual net wins lifetime - 1)

TOURNAMENT HANDICAP - 23

INVITED BY – Tim Wat

PLAYERS INVITED -  2 (Luke McGhie, Mike Sloan, John DeSantis, Greg Mena, Dan Velez)

PRIZES DONATED – Nothing yet but I’d guess Drew comes through with something good.