Mike Colandro

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4:36 p.m. EST, February 20, 2013​

The trials and tribulations of professional golfer Mike Colandro were presented to the residents of Pompano Beach recently at Palm Aire's Herb Skolnick Center.

Colandro entertained the crowd by singing golf parodies and conducted a book signing of his newly released book "Almost An Aussie".

The auto-biography covers Colandro's early beginnings from being a caddie to becoming a World Champion golfer on the PGA tour. Born in Harford, Conn., Colandro got an early introduction to the golfing elite when he sat on the lap of Arnold Palmer at the tender age of 3 at the local golf club. At the 1980 Hawaiian Open, things came full circle when Colandro was teamed up with his idol when the pair got to play in front of Arnie's army.

Colandro had the dream of becoming a professional golfer and possessed a love for the game that propelled him to overcome some challenging times. Playing on the US PGA tour in 1979, he lost his playing card but pursued his dream by playing overseas on the Asian, European and Australian tour.

Achieving success down under led to victories back in the U.S. at the Hartford Open and the Maine Open. His biggest victory was striking Kiwi magic by winning the 1987 New Zealand Open over the likes of Greg Norman, Bernard Langer and Sandy Lyle. That was followed by taking the 1992 Victoria Open in British Columbia. Playing the U.S., Australian and British Opens was a highlight but the relationships built over the years were most important.