June 26, 2008

CHARLOTTE, NC — After finally being able to put his personal struggles out of mind, Chris Milam found his golf game and got himself 73 points towards the 2008 Virtual Tournament on Saturday.

Chris scored 9 pars on Saturday worth 36 points at Stonebridge Golf Club. The round was a career-low for total strokes by two strokes. The point total was far and away the best effort of the year.

"That was then and this is now," said Milam of his round. "There is no question there has been some hacking in the past, but those days are behind me."

He has been a fixture at the biggest event in men's amateur golf since January 2006.

"I feel like I am re-emerging as a new player, a new person," he said Tuesday. "I feel like I am never, ever going to think about last year again. I am not ever going to think about it. That was then and this is now. I feel like from now on, I am only going to think about now."

He is coming off a 34th place finish at the 2008 Carl Spackler Open that most would have considered ordinary, but now 34th looks promising. Milam finished in 55th and 42nd in previous years.

"Right now, golf is getting a lot more fun," he said. "I know I am not fully mentally recovered, but I feel like I am getting there. This past year, I have been able to become a better player and stronger player than I ever was before. And I feel like I am on the road to that. I want to be able to prove to myself how much better I can be."

Chris Milam has slid upward into a tie for 20th position inside the 2008 Virtual Tournament. He has averaged 60.1 points per round. There are six months left in the season-long national tournament.