Visacki collapsed into the arms of his caddie and best mate Kaylor Steger when he sunk his putt. He was later captured breaking down in tears of joy in a video call with his father, Mike.<\/p>\n
"Hey, dad," Visacki said over the phone.<\/p>\n
"Hey," his dad replied.<\/p>\n
Visacki: "How are you?"<\/p>\n
Dad: "I'm great."<\/p>\n
"I made it," Visacki said, choking back tears.<\/p>\n
Dad: "Ha! You did? Oh, I love you!"<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Visacki plays up to 45 tournaments a year, toiling away in lowly American events, and supports his dream by working long hours at a golf club and fitting in practice when he knocks off.<\/p>\n
He's driven more than 170,000 miles on his car, a 2020 Hondo Accord, over the last six years, travelling from his parents' home in Sarasota to tournaments all over the USA.<\/p>\n
Mini-tour entry fees alone are $400 to $600 and if he doesn't finish atop the leaderboard he barely breaks even.<\/p>\n
In his best year yet financially, 2018, he earned just $68,000, and his last paycheck from a mini-tour event was just $250.<\/p>\n
But a much greater reward for effort now looms, with the winner of the Valspar Championship set to walk away with $1.6 million.<\/p>\n
"No words can say what I'm feeling right now," Visacki said.<\/p>\n
"Sometimes, as much as I practice, and then I'm not succeeding the way I want to. And then for this, it makes everything so much sweeter.<\/p>\n
"They've (my parents) given up everything for me. They pushed me to be the best that I could. They sacrificed their dreams for me to be able to play professional golf. Words can't describe how much they've sacrificed for me."<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/sam_golf\/status\/1387328965388423169<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/TMZ_Sports\/status\/1387210081520001024<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/nypostsports\/status\/1387204090049015816<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/GCGolfToday\/status\/1387137910504402954<\/a><\/p>\n