BY Scott Sparks
VN SPECIAL WRITER
Ever since age 7, I’ve had one dream and that is to play on the PGA Tour.
That’s still my dream, the reason I wake up every day.
I grew up watching my older brother play highly competitive golf.
He was my role model. I wanted to do the same thing.
My brother is ten years older than I am, so growing up I would go to his tournaments.
That’s really when I got attached to the game.
He ended up having an outstanding junior career and signed to play college golf at the University of Detroit Mercy.
Fast forward nine years, I was a sophomore in high school and it was early February.
I was talking to my dad about college golf.
I was talking to him about how all the buddies I grew up playing against were getting scholarship offers from big-time schools, and I was just over here practicing really hard with nothing to show for it.
What my dad said next will stick with me for the rest of my life: “Son, if you just keep working hard and don’t get caught up in the recruiting stuff, you’ll end up just fine.”
And that’s what I did.
I stuck to my game plan and it worked.
In June 2014 of my sophomore year, I was at the Michigan State Golf Championship held at the Grand Valley State University course.
I was known by then because I’d won some tournaments earlier in the year, which got my name out there, but I definitely wasn’t the favorite.
Let’s just say my dad’s words fueled me that week.
After round one, I was the leader after shooting a 67, five-under-par round.
I ended up being the state champion that year, and it was amazing.
That moment was the biggest and most crucial moment in my life, because I realized something.
I realized that I belong with the best.
After the tournament, I started getting recruited heavily by a lot of bigger institutions around the country.
Big Ten schools began to take note, as did some MAC schools.
It was a hard process to choose the right school, but after having a dozen or so schools interested in me, there was only one school that was the perfect place for me.
And that was the University of Detroit Mercy.
Remember my saying that I followed in my brother’s footsteps?
I truly did. Coming here was exactly what I wanted to do and I’m doing it.
I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
