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Sports In full bloom Carolina's John Bloomfield has blossomed into a star By Bryan Della Volpe Staff Writer It’s a warm day in the Caribbean. A warm wind blows in off the green ocean. A 9-year-old John Bloomfield and his brother walk the small nine-hole course looking for golf balls. “Wfe would find maybe 60 balls, clean them up and sell them,” he remembers. “If we could, my brother and I would try to play about three times a week.” What began as a way to make some mon ey turned into a pastime for Bloomfield. But tennis was Bloomfield’s main in terest. His mother, who was the No. 1 ranked woman player in Jamaica, intro duced him to the sport while he was growing up. “I credit my mother for my compet itiveness,” he said. “She was always there to support me and tell me that I was good enough to do it. She has been the biggest influence on my golf career.” It wasn’t until high school that Bloom field turned to the game of golf perma nently. He played for his high school golf team, St. Michael’s School, in his native Jamaica. Before long, he was storming through the amateur ranks there, taking second place in the 1995 Barbados Open and winning the Eastern Caribbean Am ateur Championship. The next year, Bloomfield picked up where he left off, placing second in the ‘96 Trinidad Open and capturing the Caribbean Amateur crown. After becoming such a successful play er as an amateur, you would think Bloom field would have had Division-I schools knocking down his door. This wasn’t the case, however. “Caribbean players do not get much exposure,” Bloomfield said. He ended up walking on the squad at Rollins College in Orlando, Fla. But he said the program there wasn’t what he wanted. “I needed to go somewhere else,” he said. Bloomfield then heard about South Carolina coach Puggy Blackmon from a friend who went to Georgia Tech. Black mon was at Tech at the lime. “When 1 heard Coach Blackmon was going to USC, I had to make the change,” he said. After redshirting the 1997-’98 sea son, Bloomfield started his career as a Gamecock in the fall of ‘98. That season, he played six rounds for the team, accu mulating a stroke average of 73. At the Louisiana Collegiate Tournament, Bloom field shot a season-low 70. That was only the tip of the iceberg. Spring 1999 brought more success for Bloomfield. Over 24 rounds, he had an average of 74, with a low score of 69 at the East Regional of the NCAA tourna ment. This fall, Blackmon says Bloom field has developed into an “explosive player” and “has the ability to shoot low.” Bloomfield has faired very well this sea son, shooting low scores in the majority of his tournaments. The highlight of the season was Bloomfield’s first collegiate win, coming in the Taylor Made Red Riv er Classic. In that tournament, he fired rounds of 65, 66 and 66, shooting a career-best score of 19-under-par. For Bloomfield, that tops the Caribbean Amateur title. “This win is a bigger accomplishment than the Amateur Championship,” he said. “It’s golf at a higher level.” Bloomfield has been carried over that higher level of play all season. His tour nament finishes include a 22nd place at the NCAA Preview and a top 10 finish at the Ridges Intercollegiate. My goal this year is to definitely win another tournament and become one of the top 10 players in the nation,” he said. The SEC and NCAA championships are both goals this year for the Gamecock golf team. And if Bloomfield and the rest of the Gamecock duffers continue to score low, another birth in the NCAA playoffs is inevitable. Last year, the Gamecocks finished 20th in a field of 30. “This year’s team is as strong if not stronger than last year’s,” Bloomfield said. “As long as everyone continues to im prove, an NCAA championship is not out of reach.” However, as he knowSj golf is a fick le sport, where a player can be leading the field at 6-under after the first round and be in the back on the pack at 6-over after the second round. “My favorite thing about die game of golf is never knowing what to expect,” he said. “You stand over the ball and say, ‘OK, where is this one going?’ but when you hit that perfect shot, there is no feeling like it in the world.” Winning an NCAA championship might compare, though. ESPN The Magazine A convenient, portable version of the excitement and attitude of ESPN. Special $13 Discount Student Rate! Use attached coupon or call 1-888-335-ESPN ....| STUDENT SAVINGS Certificate Please send me ESPN The Magazine at the special student rate of 26 issues for $13. 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