Omar Uresti recalls record nine consecutive birdies at 1994 Shreveport Open

Omar Uresti first met Chi Chi Rodriguez at Andy Bean’s World Pro-Junior event in the early 1980s.

Uresti was 12 years old, Rodriguez an eight-time TOUR winner.

“My dad knew who Chi Chi was,” Uresti said. “He went up and started talking to him. So we played a couple of practice rounds together.”

Little did they know, they’d eventually be linked in golf history.

Uresti, 51, set a PGA TOUR-sanctioned record with nine consecutive birdies in the third round of the 1994 Shreveport Open, en route to his first career Korn Ferry Tour title in a six-hole playoff over Pat Bates.

The University of Texas alum’s historic stretch at Southern Trace CC began on the 158-yard, par-3 fourth, and concluded with a lengthy birdie in the 18- to-20-foot range at the 426-yard, par-4 12th. Uresti went on to shoot 9-under 63 at the 6,915-yard layout – playing with persimmon woods and a balata ball – leading to his first title in his 25th Korn Ferry Tour start.

With his ninth consecutive birdie, Uresti broke the TOUR-sanctioned record set by Rodriguez at the 1987 Silver Pages Classic on PGA TOUR Champions.

The mark has stood the test of time, equaled but unsurpassed. Mark Calcavecchia made nine straight birdies in the third round of the 2009 RBC Canadian Open, with Kevin Chappell following suit in the second round of the 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier.

On the Korn Ferry Tour, Uresti stands alone – seven players have since recorded stretches of eight consecutive birdies, but never nine.

Uresti’s remains the sole nine-birdie streak converted to victory.

“The biggest thing was the zone,” remembered Uresti, whose previous mark was five consecutive birdies in an amateur event in his hometown of Austin, Texas. “I remember walking off the 11th tee … I was playing with a local, Perry Moss, and he had a decent crowd following him, probably a couple hundred. I got on a roll, and next thing I know, it seemed like there were almost 500 people out there watching.

“I’m walking off the 11th tee (after making seven straight birdies), and I remember this gentleman walking up to me, offering me … he says, ‘Hey man, I’ve got this Civil War belt buckle. I’ll give it to you.’ I’m like, ‘Not right now.’ It was crazy.

“Hit some great shots, made some great putts. It was a pretty special day for sure.”

After graduating from the University of Texas in 1991, Uresti spent time on mini-tours before earning his Korn Ferry Tour (then Nike Tour) card for the 1993 season. He finished No. 62 on the money list, his season highlighted by a third-place finish at the Miami Valley Open, while driving between most events.

He would share hotel rooms with fellow Tour peers including Jim Furyk, Scott Deserrano, Chris Rule and Moss. Sometimes, beds were awarded via low score.

“We would all just cram into one hotel room,” Uresti said. “We’d sleep on the floor, a couple per bed, sleeping four or five people in a room.”

At Final Stage of the 1993 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, Uresti arrived at the final hole of the sixth and final round needing a birdie to secure his first TOUR card.

“My brother (Rusty) was caddying,” Uresti said. “I said, ‘Bro, I’ve got to hit driver. I’ve got to make birdie.’ I thought I hit a pretty good drive; the wind pushed it, and it landed in the fairway bunker.

“The ball rolls 20, 30 yards through the bunker and goes into the water. I take a drop, now I’ve got to hole it … I ended up making quad, missed by five.”

The next fall, Uresti finished T10 at Final Stage to earn his TOUR card, eventually making 374 career starts and recording 52 top-25 finishes (in addition to 210 Korn Ferry Tour starts and 60 top-25s.)

Before embarking on his TOUR career, though, he made history.

Uresti arrived in Shreveport on the strength of an early-year victory at a Sunshine Tour event in the country of Eswatini, and had made three cuts in five 1994 Nike Tour events to that point.

Utilizing a MacGregor driver, Ram Tour irons and a Wilson 8802 putter, he opened in rounds of 65-71, completing the final three holes of his second round on Saturday morning (par-par-birdie).

After missing birdie putts inside 15 feet on the opening three holes of Round 3, the record streak began.

Twenty-six years later, Uresti doesn’t quite remember every detail. But he’s pretty close.

“Two of the best shots I hit … Nos. 9 and 10, I hit 5-iron from 175, 180 to 3 feet,” Uresti said. “The 11th hole, I hit a wedge to a foot. Those are the ones that stand out.

“The second birdie, I made about a 15-footer … the sixth hole was a par-3; I made about a 25-footer. Then I finished it out with another 18- to 20-footer on the 12th hole. I still remember most of it fairly well; there are a couple shots in there, like on the seventh and eighth holes where I remember not what the putts did, but hitting them in there 8-to-10 feet; one was a par-5 where I think I pitched it from 30 or 40 yards to 6 feet. Then maybe a 6- or 7-iron to 8 feet as well.”

Playing with Moss and Mike Schuchart, Uresti arrived at the 225-yard, par-3 13th with a chance to take the streak to double digits.

“I want to say it was a 1-iron … I think it was my 5-wood,” Uresti said. “I hit it onto the fringe, probably 15-18 feet from the hole. I chipped it up to about a foot, then tapped in.

“Then I birdied the next hole.”

Rusty was on the bag that week, one of his first weeks as caddie before ultimately making a career of it – spending six full seasons with Uresti on TOUR (1995-2000), and currently working with Jeff Maggert full-time on PGA TOUR Champions.

That week in Shreveport, Rusty played a crucial role on the greens.

“It was one of the few times we had done it so consistently, where he was actually helping me line up my putts,” Uresti said. “So he would be behind me, I’d get kind of lined up, he’d say, ‘That looks good,’ and he’d walk off, and I would go.”

The Uresti brothers stayed with the Basil Rathbun family off the fifth green – Mr. Rathbun was an airline pilot – and the family had a game room with ping-pong and two golf holes in the carpet, “to putt back and forth,” which was put to good use throughout the week.

The Rathbun family also crafted a banner to support their guest as he navigated the front nine at Southern Trace.

“I would walk off No. 5 green, and they would sit up on the balcony and hold up their arms in the shape of an O,” Uresti said.

Uresti played the final round with David Duval, shooting 71 to Duval’s 75, and entered a playoff with Bates despite a bogey-bogey finish.

After halving five consecutive playoff holes, Uresti took the crown on the sixth extra hole, the par-5 first at Southern Trace.

“He hit it about 25 yards further than I did,” Uresti remembered. “He’s 6-foot, and I’m 5-foot-6 … (On the sixth extra hole), he hit it a little left and through the fairway, into a fairway bunker. He had to lay up. I hit 3-wood and smoked it to the front part of the green; I had about a 15-footer up and over a ridge.

“He missed the green left and chipped on to 5-6 feet. I chipped to a foot and tapped it in to win the tournament.”

After 45 holes over two days, including a record birdie streak, Uresti had secured his first PGA TOUR-sanctioned title.

Since that week in Shreveport, Uresti “hasn’t even come close” to stringing nine consecutive birdies together. He remembers making five in a row at Riviera one year in the TOUR’s now-Genesis Invitational, yet not even attaining the tee-box honor.

“I was playing with Scott McCarron,” Uresti said. “He eagled 10 and 11 and took the tee from me.”

The original scorecards remain intact, held in picture frames in Uresti’s home. For the golf lifer who has played “at least a couple hundred rounds a year” since age 4, the streak stands the test of time.

Each year, Rodriguez holds a charity event in San Antonio, and Uresti is a frequent participant.

Uresti hits balls, Rodriguez chats with the crowd, and often the streak is brought up.

Twenty-six years after surpassing Rodriguez’ mark, Uresti’s endures.

“It’s good memories,” Uresti said.