UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- The Penn State men's golf program is going to have a successful year if junior Ryan Davis's impressive summer is any indication.
Not only did Davis finish as the second alternate spot in the U.S. Open sectional qualifying, but he also won the 2018 MGA MET Amateur Championship, a feat that he hopes will propel his morale and translate into success this season.
"For me personally, that gives me a huge confidence boost and hopefully, I can kind of transfer that to the team and we can have a good season as a team as well," said Davis on his 2-1 match play championship in New Jersey this August.
Head coach Greg Nye also notes the impact that Davis's success will have this season.
"You learn about the stage that you're on, and Ryan's been on some big stages, and he applied that this summer at the MET from some of his really terrific collegiate experiences, and he'd seen it before. He was comfortable in that setting and knew how to be effective," said Nye. "As Ryan goes through the tournaments we're playing this fall, he is going to rely upon having seen something before and he's going to apply his new skills in his awareness in those upcoming challenges."
As Davis has grown throughout his collegiate career, Nye notes how he has changed through his experiences traveling, and the comfort level that Davis has achieved as a result of his experiences on this team.
"The other area in which Ryan has definitely grown in is understanding his game and golf courses that we play, and how he can best manage his own game, play within himself, and then manage the golf courses as we play them in the varying weather conditions that he faces. He's much more adept in all of those areas," Nye said.
A native of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, Davis credits his passion for golf to his father, Eric, who introduced him to golf as a young kid. "I've basically been playing my whole life," he said.
A successful high school and collegiate golfer, Davis and his teammates have a close bond in a very individualistic sport.
"We have practice every day from 3-6 p.m., so we're pretty much always with each other… I mean we're obviously helping each other grow and just trying to get better, so we are pretty much just always encouraging each other," said Davis.
Davis's personality attracts the respect of his team and his coach. "He's a team-oriented guy," said Nye. "Look forward to any contribution he makes with any team-oriented challenges, initiatives, and the fun stuff we do, we look for Ryan to be right in the middle of it."
With only one player graduating last year, the team has several veteran players to guide them to success in 2018-19, and one of those players will be Davis.
Davis has been very successful individually his entire career in Happy Valley. During his freshman year he came in eighth at the NCAA Regional in Washington, and he came in second his sophomore year at Ohio State's home tournament, the Kepler Intercollegiate.
Davis also noted the team success over the years is something the group is looking to build on.
"As a team, I think we've won four college events since I've been here, which is pretty huge. It's pretty tough to win as a team, and we've had a solid team for the past couple years," said Davis.
The Nittany Lions will get their first taste of competitive action this weekend when the group travels to Duke for the Rod Myers Invitational Sept. 8-9. Penn State has played in this event in each of the last three seasons.
"I feel good about this particular group going into Duke this weekend," said Nye. "They've seen this (course) before. I think they're motivated, they're right on point and I think that they've got a great chance at performing well, again."
With Davis's summer experience helping lead the way, the team is ready to get this year going.
