2008 Woodie Awards
Sophomore Jarin Todd discusses his PGA aspirations
Jordan Buskirk
Issue date: 11/8/06 Section: Sports
Born in Redwood, Wash. with a knack for golf, Jarin Todd has become SSU's own golf prodigy.
He recently broke the school record for lowest round and lowest tournament score in the Mauna Lani Intercollegiate Championships in Hawaii, which he won by four strokes, earning him his second victory of the year. Todd also won the InterWest Chico State Tournament in early October.
"I feel really good about the way I have been playing, I work really hard in my golf game, so it is nice to finally see some results," said Todd.
Yet his story begins years before, as a preschooler being picked up at lunch by his dad in order to hit some balls before that last bell rings.
At eight years old, Todd got competitive and started to compete in the Washington Junior Golf Association. Golf was his life, but the Washington weather posed a problem for year-around training, as Todd was limited in the playing and practicing he wanted to do during the fall and winter seasons.
"I wanted to go somewhere with better weather so I could play all year around, so that when I do get out of college I'll hopefully be good enough to make some money and work my way up to the PGA tour," said Todd.
His future plans are to make a career playing professional golf, and the first step in reaching that goal was to get out of Washington.
"I sent a lot of California schools my junior golf resume and didn't really get a lot of interest from anyone. Sonoma showed the most interest in me," Todd said.
Todd visited the campus, met with the golf coach Val Verhunce and some of the other players, decided it was a good fit, and chose to stay.
Being an underclassman and with the adapting that takes place, Todd confessed that the hardest thing is when he misses a lot of a class and then gets penalized for not being there.
"It would be nice if teachers were more understanding, but they don't seem to care," said Todd.
As for when he is on the links, "It isn't really anything new for me. I've played in hundreds and hundreds of tournaments so I know how to think on the course and how to deal with pressure that comes along with trying to win and being successful as a team," said Todd.
With four years still ahead of him, Todd plans on "learning something from every round and applying it to the next round," hoping to get a little closer each time to that spot on the PGA Tour.
"When I was 13 and won the Washington Junior Golf Association, Ryan Moore won for the 16-17 age group. He went on after that to be one of the most successful amateur players in the history of golf and is now pretty good on the PGA Tour," said Todd. "His success reminds me that if I work really hard I'll be able to accomplish a lot of the same things he has and eventually reach my goal of playing professional golf on the PGA Tour.
He recently broke the school record for lowest round and lowest tournament score in the Mauna Lani Intercollegiate Championships in Hawaii, which he won by four strokes, earning him his second victory of the year. Todd also won the InterWest Chico State Tournament in early October.
"I feel really good about the way I have been playing, I work really hard in my golf game, so it is nice to finally see some results," said Todd.
Yet his story begins years before, as a preschooler being picked up at lunch by his dad in order to hit some balls before that last bell rings.
At eight years old, Todd got competitive and started to compete in the Washington Junior Golf Association. Golf was his life, but the Washington weather posed a problem for year-around training, as Todd was limited in the playing and practicing he wanted to do during the fall and winter seasons.
"I wanted to go somewhere with better weather so I could play all year around, so that when I do get out of college I'll hopefully be good enough to make some money and work my way up to the PGA tour," said Todd.
His future plans are to make a career playing professional golf, and the first step in reaching that goal was to get out of Washington.
"I sent a lot of California schools my junior golf resume and didn't really get a lot of interest from anyone. Sonoma showed the most interest in me," Todd said.
Todd visited the campus, met with the golf coach Val Verhunce and some of the other players, decided it was a good fit, and chose to stay.
Being an underclassman and with the adapting that takes place, Todd confessed that the hardest thing is when he misses a lot of a class and then gets penalized for not being there.
"It would be nice if teachers were more understanding, but they don't seem to care," said Todd.
As for when he is on the links, "It isn't really anything new for me. I've played in hundreds and hundreds of tournaments so I know how to think on the course and how to deal with pressure that comes along with trying to win and being successful as a team," said Todd.
With four years still ahead of him, Todd plans on "learning something from every round and applying it to the next round," hoping to get a little closer each time to that spot on the PGA Tour.
"When I was 13 and won the Washington Junior Golf Association, Ryan Moore won for the 16-17 age group. He went on after that to be one of the most successful amateur players in the history of golf and is now pretty good on the PGA Tour," said Todd. "His success reminds me that if I work really hard I'll be able to accomplish a lot of the same things he has and eventually reach my goal of playing professional golf on the PGA Tour.