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Complete Forecast for  Jul 23 2008

By JOE BUIE
Staff Writer

Army Sgt. Joey Bozik was no different than the average golfer Monday at The Cascades Golf Club.

Bozik had his ups and downs, his good and bad shots.

But the manner in which he played a round of golf was quite inspirational, and a big reason for events such as The Cascades Wounded Warrior Pro-Am.

Bozik, who was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq on Oct. 27, 2004, is a triple amputee.

He still has his left arm and half of his right arm. The other half is supported by a prosthetic limb. Both legs are artificial.

He’s able to play his favorite sport using a specially made single-seat cart, his personalized golf bag draped over the front.

“The seat swivels 360 degrees,” said Bozik, who will turn 30 on Friday. “It allows me to get out on the golf course, drive up on the greens and tee boxes, and it gives me a base of stability so I can swing.”

The cart he drove Monday was donated to the wounded veterans at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Bozik has his own cart at home, and has been using it for about a year.

“I was about 16 when I started playing,” said Bozik, who can drive the ball over 200 yards. “The bug bit me really bad before I went to Iraq and was playing a lot. Since my injury, it’s the one thing that I’ve really wanted to get back to and continue doing.”

The only assistance Bozik needed Monday was for someone to tee up his ball. Otherwise, he would take a club from his bag using his left hand and then attach his right prosthetic to the club. He would then turn his seat to the side and brace himself against it, both feet on the ground, and take a full swing.

“I’m decent … I’m working on it,” he said. “I’m much better on the course than the driving range. I love it and it’s a great game. I’d just like to go out and compete and hold my own.”

The other love of his life is wife Jayme Peters, whom he married Dec. 31, 2004 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Jayme, ironically, is a 1998 graduate of Bullard High School. She met Joey through an exchange of e-mails in 2003.

“I had a friend in college that got deployed to Afghanistan and while he was there he met Joey, who was also deployed there,” said Jayme, who also attended Monday’s pro-am. “He thought Joey and I were perfect for each other, and said we needed to e-mail each other.

“We e-mailed for three months and hit it off from the beginning. Joey drove to Texas when he got back home and we decided to make it work.”

The plan was to carry on a long-distance relationship for about a year while she finished up at Texas A&M and he fulfilled his military contract. Joey had been deployed to Iraq in March 2004.

Jayme figured she would graduate and move to North Carolina (Bozik is from Wilmington), but then Joey’s life would be changed forever later that year.

After waking up from a long coma and knowing his permanent condition, Joey gave Jayme a chance to walk away — no hard feelings.

She didn’t leave.

“Why do you want to stay with me?” Joey asked.

Jayme answered, “You still have your brain and your heart and that’s all that matters to me, and he said I think we should get married. He called my dad for the first time after his injury and my dad was so ecstatic and gave us his blessing.”

Joey was one of seven wounded veterans to play in the pro-am. The others, who were flown in from Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, were Sgt. First Class Scott Adams, Sgt. Scott Johnson, Sgt. First Class Anthony Parnell, Staff Sgt. Anthony Velez, Sgt. First Class Clayton Post, and specialist Jeremy Voss.

“Today’s a fantastic event on a beautiful golf course,” Bozik said. “Tyler’s a great community. You can’t go anywhere without seeing an American flag somewhere or support on a billboard for our veterans.

“For them to put together this tournament on such short notice and have everyone turn out, it’s fantastic. We’ve been greeted with warmth and open arms.”

Notes:

The tournament had 23 teams of one pro and four amateurs. The cost was $1,000 per team. The pro-am proceeds will be delivered to the following Wounded Warrior Projects: Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Brooke Army Medical Center, the preeminent burn unit in the United States; and to Disabled Sports USA, providing re-acclimation programs for war veterans. … Celebrities at Monday’s pro-am included singer Neal McCoy, actor Bubba Gilliam and former Major League baseball player Mickey Tettleton. Former Senior PGA golfers Charles Coody, Mark Hayes, Rives McBee and Robert Landers also played in the event. Landers gave away signed copies of his book, “Greener Pastures.” … State representative Leo Berman (R-Tyler) was the master of ceremonies. McCoy sang the national anthem. … At 12:24 p.m., two Blackhawk helicopters did a fly-over at The Cascades to a round of applause. … Pro golfer Dick Goetz help spearhead the pro-am.