The more news Jeff Bardel makes on the golf course, the easier it is for him to spread the news that is most important to him.

Bardel, a Laurinburg native and 1993 graduate of Scotland High School, has committed his life to letting people know about God and what the power of faith has done for him. His is a powerful and compelling story, and he uses his personal example of devastation and redemption to help others turn their lives around.

Bardel lost his right arm during an industrial accident in Scotland County. The date was July 22, 1993, four days before his college orientation was to take place. Instead of letting it break him, Bardel overcame the setback and emerged as a stronger, more complete person.

Bardel graduated from Appalachian State University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Communications. After working for over a year as a reporter with The Laurinburg Exchange, Bardel moved to the RHEMA Bible Training Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; he graduated from the school in 2004 and is currently an employee there.

Bardel even coaches golf at RHEMA, something he said took getting used to.

"I like it. It's been a challenge," he said. "I guess when you're used to being a player and all you have to do is show up to the golf course and play, being on the other side of it is an adjustment.

"Now, I'm the one setting up the tournaments, setting up the practices. I get to play golf for free at least. That's one of the positives of it."

Bardel is definitely still a player. On July 20, 2006, he broke the world record for the longest drive of a golf ball hit with one arm — 263 yards. Coverage of his record-breaking drive was shown on ESPN's Cold Pizza, and was also the No. 6 highlight on SportsCenter's Top Plays.

Bardel's latest achievement came this week at the Oklahoma Amputee Golf Tournament at the Windstar Golf Course in Thackerville, Okla. In third place and trailing by four strokes after shooting an opening-round 83 on Monday, Bardel played the front nine 1-under on Tuesday and finished the second and final round with a 2-over 74 to win the tournament by one stroke.

There were 22 competitors at the event, and Bardel's fiercest competition came from a player who had played in the amputee national tournament, and who actually had two arms but was missing the fingers on his left hand.

"I shot a 38 on the front, and fell apart on the back," said Bardel of his opening round. "I only had 11 putts on the front nine on Tuesday; all my putts just seemed to be falling."

A lightning storm delayed the second day of the tournament. Bardel said that he and most of the rest of the players never got a chance to hit any range balls or warm up before the final round.

"On the first day, I was just really nervous," Bardel said. "I hooked my first drive (in the final round), but it was weird because I still felt really calm."

Bardel would save par and go from trailing by four to being down just two strokes after the first hole. He birdied the seventh hole and played well enough to win despite bogeying the 17th and 18th holes.

"It felt good to not have the tournament given to me," he said. "The greens were really fast out there, and there were a lot of slopes. It was a tough challenge."

Bardel is always quick to point out that his main objective in golf is to be able to use his success in the sport as an avenue to witness to people about Christ.

"The only reason I do it is to be able to open doors to share in my faith," he said.

Bardel is speaking more and more these days, to a broader audience. A good example is a recent trip to Treynor, Iowa, where Bardel spoke 13 times in four days, at schools, churches and to the elderly. Bardel speaks proudly about an alter call at a rally in Treynor where 107 people came to the front to accept Jesus into their lives.

"I travel around and speak at awards banquets and camps. I've basically been all over the United States, sharing my testimony," Bardel said.

On that horrifying day in 1993, Jeff Bardel nearly died on an operating table. Technically, he did die, as his heart stopped beating for a short time.

When asked to recount some more memorable examples of people's lives who he has affected, Bardel said, "It is tough because there have been so many," but he talked about two young people whose stories stood out.

"There was a kid, he was 12 or 13, telling me how his life was really hard — he had a tough family life — and he was cutting himself. He said, 'After hearing what you said tonight, I'm never going to cut myself again.'"

There was also a teenage girl who was quite surprised at how quickly she could be convinced to give her life over to God.

"She told me, 'When I walked into that building that night, I was an Atheist,'" said Bardel. "If me losing my arm keeps one person from going to Hell, then I think it's all worth it."

Bardel wanted to thank ibelieve, a campaign started by a youth group he works with, for sponsoring him at the tournament. To learn more about Bardel's story, visit .