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Tee Time with Chris Williams
November 23, 2016 03:12 PM | Golf
Among football, baseball and golf, senior Chris Williams always knew golf was what he was intended to play. The contentment he felt on the course made the decision was an easy one.
“I started playing golf mainly because of my dad. I played other sports in high school but golf was his favorite sport so I started playing with him,” Williams said. “It was just the one I enjoyed the most. I enjoyed practicing golf way more than any other sport I played.”
Following in the footsteps of his father, Williams started playing in a nationwide junior skills competition - Drive, Chip and Putt. This championship was open to boys and girls ages 7-15. It marked his unofficial entry into competitive golf. A few years later, at the age of 12, he was finally able to play in true tournaments.
Williams left the state to attend Costal Carolina but transferred to West Virginia when they started a golf team in the middle of his sophomore year. He is now a senior on the squad.
“Growing up, WVU was where I always wanted to go,” said Williams, who hails from Scott Depot and graduated from Winfield High.
Williams spent a semester on the team before they were able to compete.
“It was different. It kind of sucked because you didn’t get to play tournaments, but I had fun just hanging out with the guys. It was definitely worth it,” Williams stated.
Once the team was able to compete, Williams played 31 rounds in 11 tournaments for WVU. During his junior season- WVU’s first varsity season in more than three decades - he ranked fourth on the squad with a 76.29 scoring average.
After sitting through the Mountaineers’ unofficial season in 2015, Williams was fortunate enough to participate in the program’s first-ever Big 12 Championship in 2016.
“Those are some of the best players in the country, so it was just cool being able to play against them,” Williams added.
Williams isn’t the only West Virginia native on the squad who came to Morgantown to finish out his collegiate career when WVU reintroduced the program. Close friend and now classmate Alan Cooke transferred from USC-Beaufort prior to his junior year.
“I think he’s my best friend on the team. We’re in the same situation, so we understand it more and we connect well on the course and off. We talked about the transition at the beginning,” Williams commented.
As seniors in their final campaign, the homegrown duo are guiding the Mountaineers to new heights in the new era.
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