Which College Did … Go To?

Arnold Palmer went to Wake Forest University

Palmer had a unique path through college to the professional ranks. He accepted a scholarship to play at Wake Forest but left school to join the Coast Guard. Following a 4-year stint in the military, Arnold returned to college and competitive golf. Palmer won the 1954 U.S Amateur and turned professional later that same year.

Ben Crenshaw went to the University of Texas

Crenshaw had an impressive college career while competing for the Longhorns of Texas. He won back-to-back-to-back NCAA titles from 1971 to 1973. Later in 1973 Ben decided to turn professional and quickly found success, winning his first event (at the time, he was only the 2nd person to ever achieve this). Crenshaw’s Hall of Fame career continued from there.

Billy Horschel went to the Gators of the University of Florida

Horschel was a 4-time All-American (3-time first team) and the SEC Player of the Year twice. Billy was selected to compete on two Walker Cup teams and 1 Palmer Cup team. While in college, Billy was the medalist at the 2006 U.S. Amateur, setting a USGA record by shooting 60 in his opening round. Horschel turned professional in 2009 and earned his PGA tour card via Q-school.

Brooks Koepka went to Florida State University

Brooks had a strong, but not remarkable career for the FSU golf program. During his time at Tallahassee, Koepka won 3 times and was a 3-time All-American. Brooks turned professional in 2012 and spent several years on the Challenge Tour in Europe before finding success on the PGA tour.

Bryson DeChambeau received a “full ride” to play golf at SMU (Southern Methodist University)

Bryson had an impressive collegiate career. In June of 2015 he won the NCAA individual title and later that same year he won the U.S. Amateur title. He was the first SMU player to win the NCAA title. DeChambeau is one of 5 players to win both the NCAA title and US Am in the same year. The others are Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and Ryan Moore.

Ultimately, Bubba Watson ended up playing for the Georgia Bulldogs

Following high school, Bubba Watson played for Faulkner State Community College where he was a junior college All-American. After success at this small school, he was able to transfer and join the Georgia golf team. During this time in Athens-GA, Bubba helped lead the team to a SEC championship.

Collin Morikawa played for the University of California

During his time as a Cal Bear, Morikawa won 5 college tournaments, including the 2019 PAC-12 championship.

Collin was a member of two Arnold Palmer Cup teams and competed in the Walker Cup.

He performed so well during his college years that he reached #1 in the World Amateur Golf rankings prior to graduating.

How many Majors has Collin Morikawa won?

Daniel Berger went to Florida State University

Berger played for the FSU Seminoles for two years before turning professional. During his time in Tallahassee, he won several events and led the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) in stroke average at 69.36. As a sophomore Daniel tied for 2nd place in the NCAA tournament. Berger was a two-time first-team All American.

Danny Willett went to Jacksonville State University (in Alabama)

Coming from England, Willett earned a golf scholarship to play at Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Danny was the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and won all-OVC honors both seasons he played in college. Willett played in the 2007 Walker Cup and reached #1 in the World Golf Amateur rankings in March of 2008. He turned professional later that same year.

Dustin Johnson went to Coastal Carolina University

Dustin Johnson played golf for Coastal Carolina University. Their nickname is the Chanticleers, which is a proud and fierce rooster. During his time in school Johnson won several large amateur events and participated in the 2007 Palmer and Walker Cups. DJ turned professional in late 2007.

Fred Couples went to the University of Houston

Freddie accepted a scholarship to play golf for the University of Houston. He was college teammates with Blaine McCallister and Jim Nantz. While in college and at only 19 years old, Couples won the 1978 Washington Open. Following college golf, Couples enjoyed a Hall of Fame professional career.

Gary Woodland started at Washburn University, but transferred to Kansas after his freshman year

Coming out of high school Woodland enjoyed playing basketball more than golf. He attended Washburn University on a basketball scholarship, but after 1 year transferred to Kansas to play golf. Pretty impressive that Gary received scholarships for two different sports during his college career. Woodland was a standout for the Jayhawk team, winning 4 college events.

Jack Nicklaus went to Ohio State University

Quite possibly the greatest golfer of all time played collegiately for Ohio State University. While in school Jack won the U.S. Amateur twice and the NCAA individual title once. He was the first player to win both in the same year. Nicklaus also played on two Walker Cup teams during his prestigious college career.

Jon Rahm attended Arizona State University

When Jon Rahm arrived on campus, he spoke almost no English but learned quickly and dominated on the golf course. He won 11 college golf tournaments, including the PAC-12 championship and the NCAA Regional. Rahm won the Ben Hogan award for being the best player in college twice during his career at ASU.

Jordan was a University of Texas Longhorn

Spieth wasn’t at the University of Texas for very long, turning professional halfway through his sophomore year. He did make his mark on the program, helping the team win a national title during his freshman year. He won three times and had the team’s lowest stroke average. Jordan was named the Big-12 Freshman of the Year.

Justin Thomas went to the University of Alabama

Justin won 6 times during his career for The Crimson Tide golf team. Thomas helped his team win the national championship in 2013 and was awarded the Haskins award (college’s top player) in 2012. Justin turned professional following his sophomore year at Alabama.

Keegan Bradley went to the St. John’s University

Keegan won his high school state tournament as a senior but was lightly recruited and ended up playing for St. John’s University. During his four-year collegiate career, Bradley won 9 times. Following his graduation in 2008, Keegan turned professional and worked his way through mini tours prior to finding success on the PGA tour.

Kevin Kisner went to the University of Georgia

Kisner played 4 years of collegiate golf for the University of Georgia, graduating in 2006. He partnered with fellow PGA tour players Brendon Todd and Chris Kirk to win the 2005 NCAA National Championship. Kevin turned professional in 2006 and made his way through mini tours to find PGA tour success.

Luke Donald went to Northwestern University

Luke grew up in England and came to the U.S. to play college golf for the wildcats of Northwestern. Donald won the 1999 NCAA individual title, breaking a scoring record that was set by Tiger Woods. During his college career, Donald became the first amateur to win the Chicago Open. Luke turned professional in 2001 and eventually made it all the way to the #1 spot in the world golf rankings.

Matt Kuchar played for the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech

Matt Kuchar was a two-time college All-American, and he received the Haskins award (best college player) but was more well known for what he did as an amateur during his college years. Kuchar won the 1997 US Amateur championship and was the low amateur in the 1998 Masters and US Open. Matt turned professional in 2000.

Matthew Fitzpatrick played for Northwestern for 1 semester

Matthew found golf success at a young age, winning the U.S. Amateur in 2013 and playing in the Masters and the U.S. Open. He enrolled at Northwestern in 2013, but only played there for one semester before leaving school to pursue full-time golf. Fitzpatrick turned professional in 2014.

How many Majors has Matthew Fitzpatrick won?

Matthew Wolff went to Oklahoma St. University

Wolff originally committed to play golf at USC but changed his mind and joined the OK St. team. In his first season he was selected as first team All-American and won the Freshman of the Year award. As a sophomore, Matthew continued to excel winning 3 times in a row early in the season and ultimately winning the NCAA individual title. Following his sophomore season, Wolff turned professional and quickly used his unorthodox swing to win on the PGA tour.

Max Homa went to the University of California, Berkeley

Homa’s college career started a little slow, but by his junior year he was collecting awards that included 3rd team All-American and 2nd team All-PAC-12. As a senior, Max won the PAC-12 championship, highlighted by a first round 61. Max received a 1st team All-American selection his senior season before turning professional and becoming a Twitter sensation.

Patrick Cantlay played for the UCLA golf program

Patrick Cantlay did not waste time making his mark on the college golf scene. As a freshman he won 4 tournaments and was named the Haskins Award winner for being the best college player. He was the PAC-10 player of the year. You could call his college career short and sweet – he turned professional following his sophomore year. Cantlay was ranked as the #1 amateur in the world at the time.

Patrick Reed started his college career at Georgia, but finished at Augusta St. University

Reed joined the Georgia golf team after high school but had a couple of ‘off course’ related incidents that led to his dismissal from the team. He transferred to Augusta St. where he led the team to back-to-back national titles. After the 2nd national title, Patrick Reed turned professional.

Paul Casey went to Arizona State University

Paul Casey came from England and joined the golf program at Arizona State University. Casey won 3 straight PAC-12 championships from 1998-2000 and broke that tournament’s scoring record in 2000 – a record previously owned by Tiger Woods. Paul helped the Great Britain & Ireland team win the 1999 Walker Cup. Casey joined the European Tour in 2001.

Phil Mickelson decided to play golf for Arizona State University

Mickelson had one of the best college careers of any player in the history of the game. He won 3 NCAA individual titles and 3 Haskins awards (best college player). Phil also carried his team to a team title in 1990. In total, Mickelson won 16 college tournaments. While at ASU, he won a PGA tour event (Northern Telecom Open) as an amateur.

Rickie Fowler attended Oklahoma St. University

Fowler had an impressive career as a “Cowboy” at OK St. University. During his time in college, he competed on two Walker Cup teams and made the cut playing in the US Open as an amateur.

Other significant golfing achievements during Rickie Fowler's college years included:

• his first collegiate victory, winning the 2007 Fighting Illini Invitational by 1 shot,
• winning the Western Junior in 2005,
• winning the Sunnehanna Amateur in 2007 and successfully defending in 2008, and
• being a member of the 2008 Eisenhower Trophy team that came in second.

Rickie was recognized as the best collegiate player in 2008, winning the Ben Hogan award.

How many Majors has Rickie Fowler won

Why is orange Rickie Fowler's final round colour?

What is Rickie Fowler’s Ryder Cup Record?

Scottie Scheffler went to the University of Texas

After winning the 2013 U.S. Junior, Scheffler joined the University of Texas golf team. During his time as a Longhorn, Scottie helped Texas win 3 Big 12 conference championships and was given the Phil Mickelson Freshman of the Year award in 2015. As a collegiate player, Scheffler twice qualified for the U.S. Open and played as an amateur.

Stewart Cink went to Georgia Tech

Stewart Cink played 4 years of collegiate golf for the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Cink turned professional in 1995 and has put together an impressive professional career spanning 25+ years. His first professional win was in 1997 and his 7th PGA tour win happened in 2021 with his son caddying for him.

Tiger Woods ultimately selected Stanford University

Tiger spent two years in the Stanford golf program before turning professional. He won his first tournament as a freshman and was selected as the PAC-10 Player of the Year. During Tiger’s college years he won 3 US Amateur titles and the NCAA individual championship. Woods was dominant as a junior and continued this trend during his college career.

Tony Finau did not attend college

Finau received some college scholarships to play basketball, but instead made the decision to turn professional in golf and play the mini tours. It was a long and winding road for Tony that included 2nd place on the Golf Channel’s Big Break golf reality show. It took Finau 5-6 years to gain his footing in professional golf.

Viktor Hovland went to Oklahoma State University

While playing in college, Viktor was slightly overshadowed by teammate Matthew Wolff, but had an impressive career. Hovland won the 2018 U.S. Amateur (first Norwegian to win) and qualified for the 2019 Masters where he finished as the low amateur. Viktor was low amateur in the U.S. Open the same year and rose to the #1 spot in the World Golf Amateur rankings.

Webb Simpson went to Wake Forest University

Simpson played golf for Wake Forest University on an Arnold Palmer Scholarship. During his time in college, he competed on winning Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams. Webb was a 3-time All-American and was named the ACC Player-of-the-Year in 2008. Simpson turned professional in late 2008.

Will Zalatoris went to Wake Forest University

Zalatoris followed up a 2014 win in the U.S. Junior by attending Wake Forest to play golf. Will was named the ACC Player of the Year in 2017 and competed on the Walker Cup team that same year. Zalatoris played for the Demon Deacons for 3 years prior to turning professional and climbing his way through Monday qualifiers and mini tours to PGA tour fame.

How many Majors has Will Zalatoris won?

Xander Schauffele started his career at Long Beach State University but transferred to San Diego State prior to his sophomore year.

In his one year at Long Beach State Xander was named the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year. Schauffele set several school records during his three years at San Diego State, including lowest tournament in relation to par (-17) and lowest career stroke average (71.5). He won 3 college tournaments during his career and was in the top 10 on the World Golf Amateur rankings prior to turning professional.