Local golf record holder reflects on 2020

Published 5:13 pm Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Local golfer Yancy Methvien reflects on the record he broke a year ago this month.

In 2019, Methvien broke the record for the most rounds in a golf played in a year. He broke the record on foot rather than using a golf cart. The record formerly stood at 878, but he brought it up to 911.

In 2020, he wasn’t as busy as he wanted to be.

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“I would have loved to have done a lot more, but the pandemic put a hold on a lot of it,” Methvien said.

At the beginning of the year, he was invited to Orlando to the PGA Merchandise show.

“I got to test out every piece of equipment, I got to meet so many famous golfers and golf legends,” Methvien said. “It was insane.”

He was also invited to the 2020 Masters Tournament in Augusta, but portions of the event were cancelled due to the pandemic. He was recently invited to the upcoming year’s competition.

Methvien even played 100 holes in a day in New Orleans this year for to help raise money for charity.

“There’s a lot of things I wish I could have done, but they’re on pause right now,” Methvien said.

Methvien has had golfers reach out to him for advice, both for the sport and for their personal lives.

“I’m still trying to figure out how I fit into the world of golf. I’m not a traditional golfer,” Methvien said. “I’ve seen it all at this point, so it’s pretty flattering.”

While he wasn’t able to travel too much this year, he still played golf whenever he could.

“It’s unfortunately been an extremely boring year,” Methvien said. “I still played around 300 rounds this year.”

In a typical week this year, he would play 27-36 holes in a day or five rounds of golf. He played at Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s golf course this year. But when Wolf Hollow closed down due to the pandemic, he played at other courses.

“I didn’t miss a beat this year,” Methvien said.

After spending 2019 being committed to breaking the record, Methvien made sure to rest up during 2020.

“I got more of it than I cared for,” Methvien said. “But I’ve been lucky to do that and keep up a good golf game.”

This year a few golfers took a run at his record to see if they could beat it.

“It was pretty cool, because it’s a big commitment,” Methvien said. “But they didn’t make it to April. They put up some pretty good numbers though.”

Methvien hopes 2021 is better for himself and those around him. He also hopes to check some items off of his bucket list.

“I’d love to do the Masters, for me that’s a bucket list thing,” Methvien said. “I’d love for everybody’s life to get closer to normal. I want people to be able to get around worry free. A lot of what I want for 2020 doesn’t necessarily involve me. This year has been hell for a lot of people, so if there’s anything I hope 2021 brings is more normalcy.”

He also hopes to have another adventure like his record-breaking year.

“If I’m really lucky, maybe the same thing that touched me in 2019 will inspire me to do something in 2021,” Methvien said. “There’s a lot of cool things to do in Mississippi, I’m sure I’ll find one of them.”