Britt Pavelonis isn't much different than the rest of us during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Harrisburg professional golfer usually has anywhere between 10 or 12 tournaments under his belt.
Currently he has none.
That will change Saturday when he tees off in the 84th Annual Irvin Cobb Championship at Paxton Park Golf Course in Paducah, Ky., this weekend.
Pavelonis, one of 40 golfers in the pro division, will tee off at 10:54 a.m. The 51-year-old will be joined by southern Illinoisans Mark Faulkner (Marion, 9:23 a.m.), Jan Jansco (Johnston City, 9:23 a.m.) and John Riegger (Metropolis, 1:04 p.m.) All three are past winners of the Irvin Cobb.
Pavelonis has been a part of the field at the Irvin Cobb for 20-plus year and just like all the other times, he's looking forward to being a part of a prestigious field.
"One thing is for sure, this is the latest I can ever remember playing my 'first' tournament. Usually, I'm playing the second week of January or at least sometime in March, but I'm looking forward to getting out there and having fun. Hopefully, everyone will be rusty like I am. I know it beats just hitting balls on the range or putting on a practice green, which is really, all I've been doing. This will be fun.
Joining Pavelonis in the event, and playing as an amateur is Britt's father, Bob, who is 73 and was just recently inducted into the Union University Hall Of Fame as a two-sport athlete, playing both basketball and baseball and was the first Union student-athlete to be named to all-conference in two sports.
Also headlining the event is Princeton, Ky., Emma Talley, who will be the first female to play in the all-male field. Talley was a three-time (2008, 2010, 2011) Kentucky state girls golf champion. She played collegiately at Alabama and won the 2017 Island Resort Championship on the Symmetra Tour.
Spyder Dann covers prep and college sports for the Southern Illinois LOCAL Media News Group. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.
