Kevin Hall might have a good laugh if he were aware of all that goes on around him on the golf course.
He was on the first tee at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am when the starter reminded the gallery that no cameras were allowed and “please make sure your cell phones are turned off.” In New Orleans, as Hall stood over a 6-foot birdie putt on the first green, a volunteer instinctively raised a sign that said, “Quiet, Please.” Then, realizing who was about to putt, he shrugged and slowly lowered it.
Hall’s world has been quiet as long as he can remember.
Meningitis that nearly took his life at age 2 robbed him of hearing. But he refused to surrender a normal life filled with big dreams. He was not sure where they would take him until a family friend put a golf club in his hands, setting in motion Hall’s hopes of becoming a PGA Tour player like no other.
“People will always see me as deaf and black,” Hall said through a sign language interpreter. “I don’t think people will see me as just another golfer. It just won’t happen. That’s my story. I guess it will always be my story. But the positive thing about it is that I can use my story to inspire other people, to help them see that they can do what they want, and to help them pursue their dreams.
“If I can help one person, that would make me happy.”
Hall’s dream remains a work in progress, although patience and perseverance are two traits he knows well.
Determined to succeed, he became one of the top junior golfers in Cincinnati. He was good enough to become the first black to receive a golf scholarship at Ohio State, great enough to win the Big 10 championship two years ago by 11 shots.
Hall was medalist at the first stage of PGA Tour qualifying last year, but didn’t make it further. He now plays on mini-tours, and he tries Monday to qualify on the Nationwide Tour. He also asks PGA Tour events for sponsor’s exemptions, receiving five the last two years, although he has yet to make the cut.
But he is no charity case.
“When I write my letters to tournaments, I tell them that I’m deaf and I tell them that I’m black,” Hall said. “And then I tell them I don’t want them to look at me as different. I want them to look at me as a person who got through life, fighting, working hard. And I want them to look at me as a person who wants a chance — a chance to play with the best players in the world.”
