By Mike CoxMWC423@bellsouth.net

Det Cullum, golfer at Dreher High School, held the sign for Miguel Angel Cabrera and K. J. Choi at the US Open. Photo contributed by Det Cullum The US Open is golf's national championship in America. All professional golfers have requirements they must meet in order to compete. The contest is also open to any amateur player who must prevail in a series of grueling qualifying tournaments.

The event is played Father's Day weekend each year in one of the storied courses around the country. This year, Winged Foot, in New York, hosted the competition.

The Open is best known for putting the players through the most demanding test of their skills possible. Slick, super fast greens, narrow fairways, and high rough are US Open trademarks. The winner is usually more of a survivor than a victor. Most of those who watch like the idea of seeing the world's best golfers brought to their knees and turned into mistake making, excuse spouting, duffers like the rest of us.

Det Cullum is a golf junkie. Last year, as a freshman, he made the varsity golf team at Dreher High School. He works hard at his game and expects to make a living with drivers and putters as an adult.

During the 2005 Open, he was on the tournament's website and spotted a link offering him the chance to work at the 2006 contest. With his mother's help, he got an application completed and mailed and was offered the opportunity to spend seven days at Winged Foot carrying a sign inside the ropes at the US Open.

Cullum felt the best time he had was walking through the gates for the first time and seeing the lush course, the trees, and historic buildings. It was surreal.

He said, "Seeing the golfers playing for a living and competing in the national championship made all my practice time worth it. When I am hitting balls at 7 am, and wondering why; now I see what's possible.

Cullum was surprised at how deep the rough was. He said, "You see it on TV, but until you stand there in grass higher than your ankles, you don't get the true picture."

Cullum was disappointed that the boundary ropes for spectators were too far away. Also, Tiger Woods was too busy to interact with the fans. "He's the most popular golfer and should spend more time signing autographs," said Cullum.

The aspiring golfer said he learned more about course management. "It was impressive watching the golfers plan each shot and have an idea of how to play the entire round before hitting a single shot."

Cullum said he will always remember a group of young men laughing and joking on the rain. When a seat next to them became available, they offered it to an older couple. The guy doing the talking was Sergio Garcia, one of the top ten golfers in the world. He was acting like any other regular guy.