"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
online golf column
by
Chris Dortch

May 21, 2007

He played in three major championships before his 21^st birthday, heady stuff for anyone, let alone someone so young. But Luke List never wavered as he walked his carefully chosen path to what he hopes will be golfing glory.

When List, the former Chattanooga Baylor School star, signed with Vanderbilt four years ago, he did so with the full intention of staying in school, getting his degree and experiencing what he thought would always be one of the most unforgettable chapters of his life, regardless of what the future held.

As his college career winds down, with only the NCAA Championships later this month ahead of him, List reflected on his decision to resist the lure of professional golf, which couldn’t have been easy each time he demonstrated to himself—at a pair of U.S. Opens and the Masters—that he the game to compete on the PGA Tour.

Seeing some of his contemporaries—former Kentucky star J.B. Holmes comes quickly to mind—bag victories on tour might also have given List pause, for he’d beaten Holmes and several other current tour players during his distinguished college and amateur career.

Through it all, List held firm. When his last putt in the NCAA Championships falls, he’ll pick his ball out of the cup and walk off the course a collegiate golfer no more. He’ll do so with no regrets, no feeling of opportunities lost.

“Absolutely no regrets,” List said. “The college experience is one you can’t recreate anywhere else. It’s been a great four years. It’s been fun. I’ve learned so much about myself and my game. You need a sense of who you are and a level of maturity that comes from college you can’t get anywhere else.

“I wouldn’t trade this for anything else. I’ve enjoyed my teammates and friends. Vanderbilt’s treated me very well. Nashville has been great. I would do it the same way if I had to do it again. I’ll be able to draw on so many experiences … ”

List left that last sentence unfinished, but it’s clear where he plans to draw on his Vanderbilt experience. The PGA Tour is in his future. But before then, there’s a full summer of amateur golf and a few goals left to attain.

The first opportunity comes later this month, when a young Vanderbilt team competes in the NCAA Championships. The Commodores enter the NCAA field with a rush of momentum—their remarkable final-round 21-under-par 267 shot at the NCAA West Regional in Phoenix, Ariz. was the low round in a tournament where birdies and eagles were flying low all week.

How fast was the pace in Phoenix? Consider that South Carolina won the 54-hole regional at 44 under par. Wake Forest, East Tennessee State and Oregon State all shot 25 under, and yet had to battle in a playoff to become one of 10 teams to advance to the championship rounds.

Vanderbilt, which wasn’t even certain of being invited to the NCAAs, comfortably secured its spot in the finals by shooting 38 under, good for fifth place.

Ironically, List wasn’t a huge factor. In the final round, his 2-under-par 70 was overshadowed by the 65s turned in by sophomore Jon Curran and junior Billy Whalen. Both those players and freshman Hudson Johnson, who shot a final-round 67, finished ahead of List on the leaderboard. He tied for 62^nd.

None of that matters to List, who all season served as elder statesman on a young team—an invaluable contribution. And that isn’t to suggest his game slipped in his senior year. Though he calls his last go-round “an OK year,” List led the SEC in scoring average through the SEC Tournament.

Nothing would please List more than to cap his college career with an NCAA Championship. That’s not likely to happen given the strength of field, but if the Commodores don’t win, it won’t be for lack of effort.

List knows a thing or two about effort, on and off the course. During his time at Vanderbilt, he put as much work into his studies as he did his considerable golf game. Earlier this month he graduated with a degree in Human and Organizational Development.

List might never utilize that degree when it’s him against the field, as it is every week in pro golf. But his course work meshed perfectly with college golf. “It taught me a lot about leadership qualities,” he said.

List gets one last opportunity to lead, and then he’s on his own. He’ll play in the Palmer Cup in June and take the full plunge into the national amateur circuit in hopes of playing well enough to land a long-coveted spot on the U.S. Walker Cup team.

“I would love to represent my country one more time,” List said.

List, bitterly disappointed two years ago when the USGA extended only an alternate spot on the Walker Cup team, has learned from that experience. If anything, he wanted to play on the team too much. That might have affected his game.

“I put too much pressure on myself last time,” List said. “I’m just going to go out and enjoy it. You hear all the stories about the guys playing for the U.S. Ryder Cup team putting too much pressure on themselves. I’m going to try not to do that this summer.

“It would be great if I’m on the Walker Cup team. I’ll play my hardest and see what happens. But there’s no sense in thinking about it over every shot. It’s not life and death.”

Regardless of whether he plays on the Walker Cup team, List knows what comes next. Agents have been standing in line for the chance to represent him when he turns professional. Once it’s permissible under amateur rules to do so, List will choose an agent and then forge another path, one he’ll travel for the rest of his life.

The first part of the journey will include Monday qualifying and, List hopes, sponsor’s exemptions, with a goal of earning enough money in fall tournaments to avoid the PGA Tour’s qualifying school. But if Q school is in List’s future, he’s ready for it.

“I’ve always felt I’ve had the game for the next level,” List said. “These next couple months have been right there in front of me my whole life. It’s here and now, and I’m ready for it. To get to play golf for a living—it doesn’t get any better than that. I’m excited about the challenge.”

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