Selection # 3 Ted Prestwood

Ted Prestwood - Selected with the 1st pick of the 2nd round, #3 overall by The King's Court

When transplants move to North Carolina they talk about how great it is to live in a place that has four seasons. For the Triad Golf Association and organizers of the King Invitational, the Ted Prestwood Saga has seen more seasonal changes than a Doppler-radar. First, in true Brett Favre-fashion, there was the whole "this is my last trip" to the King Invitational speech that Prestwood gives as a rite of passage following each season's Sunday K.I. finale.

Then came the announcement in the spring that Prestwood, feeling squirrely after early season successes on the TGA Tour, was uncertain as to what the future may hold for his golf game and more specifically a potential return to the 2009 King Invitational.

With the blistering summer heat came news that Prestwood had officially retired from King Invitational competition. He routinely told other tour players, officials, and even close friends and family that he would no longer be making the annual trek to Myrtle Beach for the King Invitational. He even held an impromptu news conference at Wallburg's Meadowlands Golf Course where he told gatherers, including media representing the TGA, that "you have seen the last of Ted Prestwood at the King Invitational."

By the time summer's green leaves had turned into luscious fall gold and then faded to dormant brown, rumors began to swirl that Prestwood was growing restless. One TGA Tour official, who asked to remain anonymous for this story, had this to say of an incident that took place at Prestwood's High Rock Lake vacation home. "Several TGA players were at Ted's lake retreat and after a day of heavy drinking, he began to press them about who would be at the '09 event and throwing his name out as a potential candidate."

Each of the players rumored to have been present at this event (Wayne Hunt, Jackie King, Turtle Moore and Dru Broadway) all refused to provide any details and no one would confirm nor deny this meeting.

Regardless of reasons, though, it soon became apparent that Prestwood's queries about the 2009 event were more than just a passing interest. Prestwood repeatedly denied that his indecisiveness had anything to do with money. At one point, negotiations between King and Prestwood hit such a snag that King employed former TGA President Hunt to become the Chief Negotiator for Player Personnel and his primary free-agent target immediately became Prestwood.

"I received a voicemail from Big Jack on a Sunday and he basically said he was through. He mentioned that he thought Ted was playing unfair and that he didn't see any way of bringing him into the fold for '09," Hunt said.

"I had heard that at one point Ted was very close to signing with the Jones Group for 2009. There was even talk about him becoming a Player/Manager for the Jones Group and a head-to-head Jones Group vs. King Court match taking place at this year's King Invitational. At that point, I knew that losing Ted wasn't an option," continued Hunt.

"I had seen the Brett Favre saga play out in Green Bay. There are some fans in Green Bay that will never forgive the club for Brett becoming a Jet and there are some cheeseheads that have turned there back on #4 forever. I couldn't let that happen here. I knew Ted becoming a Jones Groupie would leave some of our faithful disappointed at us for not getting a deal done to keep him here. But, I also knew that some of our turtleheads would never look at him the same."

Hunt refused to go into any specifics about the details in Prestwood's contract other than to say that he is playing 2009 on a one-season deal with a mutual option for 2010. He did say that K.I. officials are looking at this as Prestwood's swan song with the organization and wanted an opportunity to be able to send him out in grand style.

Prestwood's 6th straight King Invitational appearance looks to be his final K.I. event although he pledges to remain a member of the TGA Tour.

• Role on The King's Court: Elder Statesman
• School: Chattanooga High School
• Personal: Wife, Kaye. Sons, Butch and Tony, Daughter, Becky.
• Other notable athletes drafted #3 overall: NBA Hall-of-Famer Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls, 1984) NFL Hall-of-Famer Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions, 1989)
• Hobbies: Camping, fishing, spending time with his grandchildren: Heather, Addison, Colby & Brady
• Favorite teams: Miami Dolphins and Duke Blue Devils
• Did you know? Every golf-playing member of Ted's family has a hole-on-one except him. This includes his father, sister, brother, brother-in-law, nephew and most recently, his son-in-law
• Who would play Ted in the sports movie version of the King Invitational? Grumpy Old Men star Walter Matthau