It has emerged in the wake of Graeme McDowell’s RBC Heritage Classic victory last week how his lost mother was rescued by a life guard on a Hilton Head beach.
Scott Ohlson spends his summer holidays as one of five full-time beach patrol officers on the beaches of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
Seven days prior to McDowell’s play-off victory, Ohlson was doing his rounds when he got a radio to say a woman had been missing for three hours. The woman turned out to be Marion McDowell, mum of the 2010 US Open chamion, who got lost trying to find her son’s rented beach-front dwelling.
Graeme McDowell with Scott Ohlson and moments after he captured the RBC Heritage. (Photo @tourmiss)
She told Ohlson she had arrived at Hilton Head late on Saturday night, and with it being very dark the only thing she knew was that her son’s address was a number 38.
“At 10pm, all the lights on Hilton Head are turned off during turtle nesting season, so this probably led to her initial confusion,” said Ohlson.
“I had a map of the beach-front home so we drove along the beach, trying to find the right house with a 38 in the address.”
After finding the house and dropping her off, Ohlson then received a call from his manager to advise the woman was McDowell’s mother, and to make sure the sure she had been reunited with the family as the house’s call-back number wasn’t working.
Ohlson rushed back to house and knocked on the door to be greeted by McDowell’s fiancée, Kristin Stape and then McDowell.
“It took me a second to realise who McDowell was,” said Ohlson.
Both expressed their thanks to Ohlson given the stress McDowell’s mum endured and also having first met her she was some three miles from the rented house.
McDowell then organised full clubhouse tickets for Ohlson along with his father, Ken and mother, Keri and they attended all four days of the event on the Harbor Town course.
Ohlson was also at the back of the 18th green last Sunday to witness McDowell capture his first regular PGA Tour event in defeating fellow US Open winner, Webb Simpson.
Ohlson was then invited to sit in on McDowell’s post round press conference and afterwards got a photograph with the new RBC Heritage Champion, along with McDowell signing his tournament pass with the words: “Scott. Thanks for rescuing my mom! All my best, Graeme McDowell.”
Scott’s Ohlson’s signed tournament pass. Photo @tourmiss
He gave McDowell his business card and the pair has promised to catch-up next year when McDowell will defend his title.
