![\"\"](\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/09\/Drive-Shot.jpg\")
<\/a>RANDALLSTOWN, Md.<\/b> – Amid an ongoing pandemic, some people have discovered an abundance of free time on their hands since many activities have been postponed or canceled. One soldier in the Maryland Army National Guard utilized off-duty time to rekindle his love for golf.<\/span><\/p>\nU.S. Army Capt. William Cagney IV, commander of B. Co. 629th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, MDARNG, received notification that he was selected to participate in the All-Army Golf Team Trials which is currently delayed due to the ongoing pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI started playing a little [golf] in 2019 when I went to [a Counterintelligence Officer Course] at Ft. Huachuca and noticed that the All-Army Golf Team competed in Arizona while I was there,\u201d said Cagney. \u201cWhen I saw the scores posted, I knew I could get back to that level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Cagney\u2019s opportunity to participate in the trials required him to shake off nearly a decade of rust in order to regain past skills.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhile I have many golf accolades, the issue I ran into was that the majority were not recent,\u201d stated Cagney. \u201cI quit playing golf after college and took an almost nine-year break from the game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Capt. William Cagney, right, and his brother-in-law Robert Cantwell.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Cagney expressed that his inspiration to play comes from family, specifically his brother-in-law, Robert Cantwell. Cagney explains that Robert did not have golf experience but learned the game to impress and bond with the family. Eventually, Robert developed a love and passion for the game like Cagney.<\/span> Cantwell\u2019s willingness to learn golf to build a family connection was something he found admirable.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was Robert who helped get me motivated about golf again and inspired me to fully immerse myself in the game,\u201d stated Cagney. \u201cI witnessed him go from a hacker to a 12-handicap in a matter of five to six years.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n During the height of the pandemic,\u00a0Cagney used his spare time to get back into the swing of things\u00a0on the golf course, as outside activities were best for practicing safe social-distancing procedures.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI used 2020 and the limitations of activities due to COVID19 to play significantly<\/span><\/p>\n more golf and build my game,\u201d said Cagney. \u201cI played in some smaller events to measure my progress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Cagney\u2019s resume alone was not enough to get him qualified. For consideration to join the team, he had to prove himself on the golf course by displaying recent skills along with current tournament scores. Cagney applied to a variety of tournaments including the U.S. Amateur Championship qualifier.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI gambled on myself and applied for the largest tournaments I could get into,\u201d said Cagney. \u201cWhile I missed qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship, the scores were enough to impress the program director and get me selected for the team [trials].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n According to Cagney, his military career contributed to his golf endeavors by allowing him to maintain composure during stressful situations, resulting in an elevation to his golf game.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI would certainly say that my military experiences have prepared me for this challenge and given me new strengths I did not have when I was younger,\u201d said Cagney. \u201cServing as a commander, I know ensuring that I\u2019m squared away is a must if I am going to issue orders and requirements to my Soldiers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to being the 629th EMIB company commander, Cagney also works full-time for the MDNG as an intelligence officer, which kept him busy this past year supporting the state\u2019s COVID-19 response. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Some of Cagney\u2019s responsibilities during pandemic operations included providing intelligence briefings to the adjutant general of Maryland and other senior leaders. He also led his unit\u2019s response, which provided support to COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites, as well as the 59th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, the All-Army Golf Team Trials have been delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Cagney speculates it will likely take place in the spring or summer of 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t happy to hear that it was delayed but I like to look at everything as a glass half-full,\u201d said Cagney. \u201cI\u2019m going to use that extra time as an opportunity to keep preparing and improve my game to make sure I\u2019m ready next year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Article by Staff Sgt. Chazz Kibler, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment; Courtesy photos RANDALLSTOWN, Md. – Amid an ongoing pandemic, some people have discovered an abundance of free time on their hands since many activities have been postponed or canceled. One soldier in the Maryland Army National Guard utilized off-duty time to rekindle his love Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":6853,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6826"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6869,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6826\/revisions\/6869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a>During the U.S. Amateur Championship qualifier, he shot a\u00a074 during his first round, which is two shots over par, and shot a 70 during his second round, totaling 36 holes in one day, finishing in a tie for 19th place.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"