Parkville Student Wins National Golf Gold

It all came down to one shot.

Blaine McGlothlin, 19, sunk a 4-foot putt on the third day of the Special Olympics Golf National Invitational Tournament, winning a gold medal in his division of the competition.

McGlothlin, a student who has Down syndrome, played the round taking alternating shots with his father, Rick, over a nine-hole course. The dramatic putt put them one stroke ahead the second place finishers.

Monday morning, Rick and Blaine were on their way back from The Wigwam resort in Phoenix, AZ where they spent the weekend playing, but we were able to catch up with Blaine's mother Sharon McGlothlin.

"They are so excited," she said. "They won on the last shot, Blaine sank a 4-foot putt to win."

Sharon, who had recently been at Parkville High, said Blaine's classmates are excited for him too.

"They have a bulletin board for him," she said. "They want me to bring him to school tomorow to get some more pictures. It's great, Blaine loves being in the spotlight."

A gold medal isn't only thing the golfing pair are bringing home from Arizona, either. Rick also won the grand prize in a raffle—he'll come home with a flag autographed by golf great Phil Mickelson from his last PGA championship win.

The McGlothlins managed to shoot a 55 during round one, a 68 during round two, and a 58 during round three for a medal-winning score of 181.

Blaine, a former Havre de Grace resident and Perryville High student, qualified for the tournament when he won gold at the state competition in September 2011. Later this month, Blaine and Rick will again compete at the state level and hope to bring home the gold again.