By Mike London
Salisbury Post
VASS – A student at Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law, Michael Childress spends more time in libraries than on golf courses these days, but he can still hit it long and straight.
Childress surprised himself – and maybe everyone else – on Sunday by winning the 17th annual North Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship at Woodlake Country Club.
“I would have to say it’s the No. 1 thing I’ve ever won and I’ve been playing in Carolina Golf Association events since I was in the eighth grade,” Childress said. “I can’t remember the last time I won a tournament, and this event had a deep field with a lot of accomplished college golfers.”
Childress seriously hasn’t been playing a lot. Law school, especially, that first year, is tough. He’s probably playing less golf now than he ever has.
“Growing up in North Carolina, we kind of take having daily access to great golf courses for granted, but golf for me as a law student in Philadelphia usually has meant hitting an $8 bucket of balls every other week,” Childress said. “That’s not great for my golf game. But I still love to play. I still love to compete.”
Childress didn’t have lofty expectations, but he competed in this year’s North Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship because he earned an exemption for it in the summer of 2025 when he made a strong run to the semifinals when the event was held at Rock Barn Country Club in Conover.
“So I managed to get through my group of four at the start of Match Play, and then I went into the Round of 16,” Childress said. “I had a good week. I played solid golf. In some ways, I played more freely than I ever have. I know I’m a law student now, not a professional golfer, and I was just enjoying the opportunity to play the game on a fine course and compete against outstanding players.”
Childress won 4 and 2 in the Round of 16. He got through the quarterfinals with a 4 and 3 victory. The semifinal was a tough one, but he prevailed 1-up.
“All of a sudden, I’m in the championship match,” Childress said. “The thing I had to remind myself before we started was that I’d played more than 100 holes this week, so I was probably going to hit a few bad shots in the championship match. Whatever happened, I was determined to be patient, to give myself a chance.”
Childress, 26, got off to a fast start in the championship match.
“I made a good birdie and a good par and my opponent kind of gave me a hole, so I’m up three after three,” Childress said. “After 10 holes, I was up four. My thinking was to finish it early and not let him sneak back into the match, but he played very well and definitely worked his way back into it. Instead of ending it early, we had to go to the 18th, but I was able to win 2-up.”
Childress grew up in Salisbury as part of a notable sports family. He was a standout player for Cannon School in Concord and signed with the University of Richmond. He was one of the top golfers in Richmond history. Because of COVID, he wound up playing five seasons (2018-23) for the Spiders. He shined academically, as well on the course, and was able to complete a double major, graduating with degrees from Richmond’s business school and from the school of leadership studies.
Law school appeared to be the logical next step, but Childress was a good enough college golfer that he wanted to try to make a living at golf. He didn’t want to look back with regrets when he was 40, so he turned pro and gave it his best shot, competing in GPro events in 2023 and 2024. The competition made him better. He had to improve just to have a chance to make the cuts.
“I learned a lot, learned that I was pretty good, but I still wasn’t as good as I had believed I was,” Childress said.
Childress helped coach Richmond’s golf team during the 2024-25 school year, passing on what he had learned to younger golfers.
He also applied to regain his amateur playing status. He was able to do so after a waiting period of about nine months. As an amateur, he’s able to compete in events like the NC Match Play Championship.
“There was a time when I went into every tournament I played wanting badly to do well to improve my resume and to improve my ranking,” Childress said. “But maybe I had things backwards. It may not make a while lot of sense, but I think when I committed myself to being a law student, it actually helped my golf game. There’s no pressure at all on me now. I just go out there and have fun.”
Childress hopes to return to North Carolina to work after law school. He would love to play in the local golf events such as the Labor Day Four-Ball Tournament at the Country Club of Salisbury.
