In the footsteps of Turner and Pearce?

21/2/2009

Golfer Thomas Campbell (1999-2003) hopes a greater understanding of the unique mental challenges of the game will lay the foundation for a professional career.

Thomas Campbell (1999-2003)

Thomas, now 23, is in his third year as a member of the golf team at the University of Minnesota, has the goal of playing professionally and says his time at college was proving invaluable.

‘‘My golf has improved a lot technically since my time here,’’ Thomas explained this week.

‘‘I have got a lot stronger from working out five times a week, along with golf-specific fitness training and stretching.’’

He says the major focus of his game was now the mental side of the notoriously fickle game. He has been working with a sports psychologist and feels he has made good progress.

‘‘Things have come a long way. Mainly, I’m focusing on patience, accepting the shot or result, and understanding that you don’t have to hit the big shots all the time.

‘‘I have finally realised that golf is all about hitting fairways and greens, and holing the odd putt. It’s not really rocket science.’’

Thomas hopes to turn professional after his college career and play lower-tier tours as he bids to make it on the PGA Tour. His Minnesota Golden Gophers are ranked 62 among the hundreds of NCAA division one colleges heading into the spring season. But unlike the major college sports, basketball and football, the golf rankings don’t actually mean much. The more important statistic is winning percentage.

Minnesota is at the .650 mark (meaning 65%) and must stay above .500 (50%) to reach the post-season. The winning percentage is calculated by the number of teams a college finished ahead of at a tournament. His team includes 14 players, eight Americans and others from Sweden, China, Scotland, Japan and Australia.

He has just finished a training camp in Arizona and an alumni challenge event, where he played at the Whisper Rock course. The first event of Minnesota’s season is the Big Ten match-play in Orlando this weekend, followed by the NCAA Shootout in Puerto Rico at the end of the month.

Minnesota also plays in the Augusta Invitational in early April and gets tickets for a practice round at the Masters.

Thomas is living with three team-mates in an apartment right on campus and just across the road from the athletic facilities. He has graduated Bachelor of Science in Sport Management but has more than a year of eligibility left to play college golf, so he has begun a master’s degree in Education in Kinesiology, specialising in sport and exercise science and sports psychology.