Noah McWilliams earns spot in U.S. Open qualifying

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - Noah McWilliams is a junior at Benton high school. School’s out for the summer but McWilliams is still working just on a different course.

“Close to 40 hours maybe 35 hours a week including practice time and playing,” said McWilliams.

McWilliams learned the sport of golf from his father whose always giving him advice on his game.

“He tells me not to get discouraged if I hit a bad shot. Everyone will hit a bad shot, you just have to focus on the next one,” said McWilliams.

That focus and encouragement has powered Noah to new heights. On May 19th, he shot a 5 under par at Hurricane Creek in Anna, Texas. This score was good enough to move Noah on to a qualifying event for the U.S. Open.

“I’ve had some recent struggles with golf. So, this time through we just shot a good round and moved on,” said McWilliams. Noah went on to shoot a 10 over in the qualifying event which was good enough for tied 84. It still not for sure if he will make the open, but McWilliams will still continue to practice until to give himself as many chances as possible.

“I always remember this quote from Muhammad Ali. He didn’t like to practice, but he knew i was necessary to be a champion. So he kept practicing.”

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