The PGA Industry Stage Powered by CapTech got a taste of Hollywood Thursday night with a sneak peek at “The Long Game” – an inspiring golf-themed movie set to be released later this year – and a chat with actor Dennis Quaid (pictured) and director Julio Quintana (pictured).
Based on Humberto G. Garcia’s 2010 golf novel, Mustard Miracle, “The Long Game” tells the true story of five Mexican caddies who worked at an exclusive golf club in 1950s Texas but weren’t allowed to play there. The ragtag group formed their own golf team, practiced on a homemade golf course and went on to win the 1957 Texas State High School Golf Championship.
The event, hosted by the Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis (pictured), featured two different clips from the film, which is still in the editing phase and also stars Jay Hernandez as the boys’ resilient golf coach.
“This movie is not as much about golf as it is about character and the American dream,” said Quaid, who stars as the golf club’s head professional who helps Hernandez coach the boys to victory. “It’s truly an American story, and I love the time in which it’s set.”
Quaid had previously worked with Quintana on Blue Miracle, also based on a true story about a Mexican boys home that entered the world’s biggest fishing tournament with a washed-up boat captain to save their cash-strapped orphanage.
“There are lot of sports stories, but ‘The Long Game’ encapsulates a lot of the American ideal: come here, work hard and become successful,” said Quintana, whose parents lived under Castro’s regime before coming to the United States and settling in California, where his father became the first member of the family to earn a college degree.
An avid golfer himself, Quaid said he plays 80 to 100 rounds a year and counts St. Andrews, Long Island National Golf Club and Pebble Beach as his favorite courses – with a goal to play Augusta National. “Golf is a way get out there and forget about everything else,” he said. “I love the game. It’s a mystery in a way.”