Dell Technologies will be a homecoming for Peter Uihlein
"I’m a New England boy through and through when it comes to sports.’’
For Peter Uihlein, playing a PGA Tour event in New England is special. Not only is it because it’s his first season on the Tour, but it’s a return to the area where his story with the game began.
Uihlein is from New Bedford originally, and his trajectory to becoming a professional golfer set to tee off at this week’s Dell Technologies Championship originates from warm summer days when the game is at its peak in New England.
“My parents would drop me off at a country club in New Bedford every morning where we were members,’’ Uihlein recalled. “And then they would just pick me up at night. So they would let me be at the course all day. That’s kind of where I learned to fall in love with golf.’’
In those informal, carefree moments, far from the pressure of the PGA Tour, Uihlein developed the foundation of his game. Perfecting it beyond the summer months proved difficult in the climate of the area. Golfing in the winter was hit or miss.
“There was an indoor driving range at a dome,’’ Uihlein remembered, “but the dome popped because the winter was so bad.’’
Along with a homegrown love of the sport, Uihlein’s personal ties to golf run deep. His father, Wally, was the longtime president and CEO of Acushnet, a golf manufacturing company that owns brands such as Titleist and FootJoy.
Eventually, he left the area to further his golfing development, forging a career that’s begun to take off in the last year.
“It’s been a lot less traveling obviously for me this year, which has been nice,’’ said Uihlein. “I’ve spent a lot more time at home, which has probably been the biggest thing. We’ll see how far I can get.’’
Before making the PGA Tour, Uihlein played all over the world. On multiple occasions, this threatened to interfere with a core component of his New England roots.
“I’ve watched two Super Bowls in Dubai,’’ he said. “I think it was 3 or 4 in the morning. I remember I had a flight from Dubai to Malaysia, and I completely just changed the flight to the next day so I could watch the game.’’
Uihlein isn’t able to get back to New England very often, but he acknowledged, “I follow the Sox pretty much every night, and the same with the Patriots and Celtics when they’re on. I’m a New England boy through and through when it comes to sports.’’
And yet it’s a rarity that the Massachusetts native is able to spend much time in his home state.
“It’ll be nice, being close to home and being up in that neck in the woods for a longer period of time,’’ said Uihlein, who is 83rd in the FedEx Cup standings after tying for 48th place in the Northern Trust over the weekend. “I can’t tell you the last time I spent a week there.’’
As for TPC Boston as a course, Uihlein has a degree of faintly remembered familiarity.
“I actually played TPC Boston years ago, maybe 10-12 years ago,’’ Uihlein said. “They’ve made some big changes since then. They changed the fourth hole into a drivable hole I think, and they changed a hole on the back nine so it kind of goes downhill and to the left quite a bit.
“It’ll be nice to see it, but at least I kind of have an idea of what to expect because I’ve played it before.’’
It’s fortunate timing for Uihlein to play in 2018, given the PGA changes that will occur after this season. As of 2019, the Dell Technologies Championship as fans know it will cease to exist. TPC Boston will be used in 2020, but the event in its current iteration (which has existed since 2003) will enter a rotation with New York and New Jersey.
Yet Uihlein is continuing to enjoy the moment.
“It’ll be my first time competing professionally up in that area, and it’ll be awesome,’’ he said. “It’ll be nice to at least play that once before it changes.’’
Dell Technologies Championship schedule
Wednesday: Practice round, 8 a.m. (not open to the public)
Thursday: Pro-am, 6:30 a.m.
Friday: First round, 8:20 a.m.
Saturday: Second round, 8:20 a.m.
Sunday: Third round, 8:40 a.m.
Monday: Final round, 8:40 a.m.
Television coverage
Friday: 2:30-6:30 p.m., Golf Channel
Saturday: 3-6:30 p.m., Golf Channel
Sunday: 1-3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3-6 p.m., NBC
Monday: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Golf Channel; 1:30-6 p.m., NBC
