A tattooed teddy bear with a Glock isn’t what you’d expect to find on a pro golfer’s arm. But for John Greco, it’s perfectly on brand – just like his surprising run at this year’s PGA Tour Q-School finals in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The 30-year-old from Cupertino, California, has been thriving in conditions that have left many competitors struggling. While other players stressed about the brutal 40 mph winds that sent scores soaring, Greco saw it differently.
“You’re playing final stage, and it’s blowing 40, and everybody’s falling apart, that sounds like fun to me,” he said with a grin.
Saturday brought calmer conditions, and the scores showed it. The course played nearly four shots easier than Friday’s nightmare round.
Matthew Riedel and Alistair Docherty took advantage, both shooting 67s to share the lead at 6-under heading into Sunday’s final round.
Japan’s Takumi Kanaya sits alone in third at 4-under, while four players are tied for fourth at 3-under – including Greco, who caught fire with four birdies in his final eight holes.
It’s quite a story for a guy ranked 2,397th in the world.
Greco’s path to professional golf wasn’t exactly traditional. Growing up in the Bay Area, he and his brother played $2 rounds at a nine-hole course thanks to a youth program. He couldn’t even afford a full set of clubs, riding his bike to the range with just a few irons bungee-corded together.
His first real set? Nike blades – just like his hero Tiger Woods used at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
After starting at a community college and finishing at a small NAIA school, Greco turned pro in 2017. He’s bounced around minor tours, with just one top-25 finish in 11 events on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica last season.
This is his first time reaching Q-School’s final stage, where PGA Tour cards await the top five finishers.
“I don’t have the pedigree that plenty of other guys have,” Greco said. “But we start from the same tee box, nobody gets any help because they played really good last year. That’s like super freeing.”
Known as @champagnejohnnie on Instagram, Greco isn’t letting himself think about what’s at stake. “Obviously you want to play against the best players for the biggest amount of money,” he said. “But none of that affects the next shot.”
As for that eye-catching tattoo? It’s for his fiancée Karianne, nicknamed “Dangerous Kar-Bear,” who owns a couple Glocks herself. Greco proposed to her last month after they both finished a half marathon.
Tomorrow at TPC Sawgrass’ Valley Course, he’ll be coming out guns blazing – whether the conditions cooperate or not.
