From playing for Petrel pride to playing for prize: Scott Pugh ’11
In the world of golf, there are three major levels of play: junior, amateur, and pro. Only a select few college athletes who have both the talent and resources go pro—and Scott Pugh ’11 wants to join that club.
A four-time all conference player, Scott is one of three Petrels to become two-time All-Americans in the history of OU’s golf program. He’s had the lowest scoring average on the team for the last two years, and was a major player in the Petrels’ storied 2009 NCAA Division III National Championship win. Now, with his NCAA days behind him, he wants to focus on making it in the professional golf arena.
Scott says he’s wanted to go pro since he was a child—back in the days when he used a make-shift golf club that his grandfather pieced together to fit Scott’s four-year-old frame.
“Although the reasons for pursuing a professional golf career have changed through the different seasons of my life, I have always wanted to play golf on the professional level,” said Scott. “There was not a [specific] point in time [that] I realized I could play on the professional stage, but after looking back on my time as an amateur and seeing my success, [I knew] that I needed to advance to the next level—the professional level of golf.”
As part of his push to go pro, Scott’s family will host a golf tournament on July 31 to help defray the costs of his first year on tour, estimated at $25,000. The tournament, to be held in Carlisle, Penn., is called the Scott Pugh Project. Scott plans to begin pro play this fall at the Peach State Professional Golf Tour, a major development tour for those at the entry level of pro golf. There, he hopes to have at least one top-3 finish, and advance to more competitive fields. His ultimate goal is to swing with the heavy-hitters in the famed PGA Tour, which he hopes to accomplish in one to three years.
In more than 30 years of coaching OU athletics, Coach Jim Owen said he’s had only five players attempt this route, and if anybody can make it, Scott can.
“Scott has the gift of perseverance,” says Coach Owen. “One of the main ingredients to this is being patient enough and persistent enough to weather the storm. This kind of endeavor takes time, and professional golf is super competitive at every level and stop along the way—which goes back to Scott’s will and ability to win…his perseverance and persistence gives him a great opportunity. ”
For more information about the Scott Pugh Project or to help Scott in his pro golf endeavors, email Bob and Cindy Pugh at [email protected].
