Brad’s celebrity status is that he was the first
golfer to lose a national title to Tiger Woods.
The year was 1991 and Brad Zwetschke was ranked
number two behind Tiger in the U.S. Junior Amateur golf. In the championship
match Brad was three up after five holes, and two up at the turn at Bay Hill in
Orlando. It would be the first of many well publicized comebacks for Tiger who
tied the match and defeated Brad on the first playoff hole.
“Coming out of school all I wanted to do was play
golf and party. I lived the wild life.” Along the way he met Christina Mauldin, a
preacher’s daughter from the South side of Chicago. Brad is also from Chicago.
Within a year and a half they were married. “She thought she was marrying a
golf professional and I thought I was marrying an entertainer from Black
Television.” (Christina had done a stint on the program Heart & Soul.)
“ My wife is a strong Christian and my loyal
supporter. She accompanied me on tour, which was arduous, lots of travel and
expensive. Sometimes we slept in our van because we couldn’t afford the hotel
prices.
“In November 2001 we were touring in Australia and
we went into a little church in Brisbane. The preacher’s message was based on
John 21. The message spoke to me especially when Jesus asks Peter, ‘Do you love
me as much as these’ (referring to the fish Peter and his friends had just
caught). I identified with Peter who was
being asked to give up fishing. I felt I was being asked to put down my clubs.
Three months later I was driving to the Canadian
Tour Qualifying Tournament when I heard a message on the radio quoting John 21.
Again I felt the message speaking to me. I played in the tournament but I did
not qualify. My heart wasn’t in the game anymore. I quit golf.
“With the encouragement of my father-in law I
enrolled in New Orleans Theological Seminary.
“He too had
been called to the ministry by John 21.”
In August 2005, four months before Brad was to
graduate, Katrina devastated New Orleans. With two children and Christina eight
months pregnant, Brad borrowed a neighbor’s van and fled to Beatrice Alabama
where they knew a pastor who took them in.
“We lost
everything as our apartment was completely flooded. But God had spared our
family. Then another kind of flood hit. I
could not stop the flow of gifts of clothing, food and furniture that poured in
on us. It still hasn’t subsided.
“When it was time for Christina to have our fourth
child we moved to Bradenton , Florida to be close to the doctor who had
delivered are other children. I took a job as student intern in evangelism and
finished my final semester at the seminary on line. In December 2006 my
classmates and I received our degrees. Later I became the voluntary chaplain to
the Cincinnati Reds farm team then in Sarasota.
“God has used everything in my life for His
purposes. Golf had been my idol…now I’m
pictured in golf magazines holding a Bible. It took a while for me to accept
God’s forgiveness and to accept his grace. That has been huge for me.
“Tiger has become the king of golf. My notoriety as
being the first to lose a national title to Tiger still brings invitations to
speak at golf dinners and men’s retreats where I get to tell people about the
King of Kings.”
Brad Zwetschke
( Brad Zwetschke is now a U.S. Army Chaplain-Ed)
“Simon do you love Me more the these?”
“Yes Lord, You know that I love You.”
“Then feed My lambs.” John21:l5
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