PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Sam Ohno thought his college golf career had ended unceremoniously when the Ivy League canceled all sports for the spring academic season.
University of North Florida men’s golf coach Scott Schroeder had a better idea.
Ohno, a 22-year-old Dartmouth senior, competed in the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational at Sawgrass Country Club, March 28-29, as an unattached individual, finishing T-34, at the club where he and his family are members.
“It was more than I could ever imagine,” Ohno said. “It was the icing on the cake for me.”
Like many college athletes, Ohno probably didn’t appreciate how much being a member of Dartmouth’s golf team meant to him until it was taken away. He played 2 ½ years for The Big Green, enjoying the team camaraderie and competing at some of the best courses in the Northeast before the spring 2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19.
Then in July, the men’s golf team was one of five teams eliminated by the school. Although Dartmouth reinstated the program in January, the Ivy League is the only conference in the country that isn’t competing in athletics. It was a cruel ending to Ohno’s college golf career, but one that he accepted amidst the larger concerns of a global pandemic.
“I learned something from him just how he dealt with adversity,” said Ohno’s father Rob, an executive with the PGA Tour and AJGA board member. “I thought he might throw in the towel with golf, but he’s used the time to get better.”
Schroeder knew Ohno from his junior golf days and, prior to Dartmouth eliminating the golf program, Schroeder had wanted to invite the team to play in the tournament so that Ohno could compete at his home club as a senior. Schroeder wondered if there was another way that Ohno could still compete in the Hayt, an annual spring college tournament hosted by UNF.
“I tried to temper his enthusiasm because who knew if it would work out,” Rob Ohno said.
Schroeder filed the necessary paperwork and Ohno had to adhere to the same COVID-19 protocols as any of the golfers in the field and be tested 72 hours in advance of the competition. Schroeder also had to get sign off from all the other coaches and conferences competing in the tournament, any of which could have killed the idea, but in an unprecedented gesture of sportsmanship and goodwill, the teams participating in this year’s event agreed to allow Ohno to compete in the individual competition.
“No one came back with any concerns,” Schroeder said. “Anytime you can do something for a kid that’s been thrown some curveballs, why wouldn’t we as adults?”
It’s unclear if a host team has ever invited an individual golfer that wasn’t part of an invited team. Unattached athletes aren’t uncommon in individual sports such as cross country and track. To distinguish himself as an unattached player, Ohno had to buy a new golf bag to replace his Dartmouth one and couldn’t wear a team uniform.
“I just dressed like I would every other day to play,” he said.
Other than that, he was just another college kid trying to make birdies in front of a vocal following. Sawgrass Country Club’s Director of Golf Stefan Brunt encouraged the club membership to come root Ohno on and he had the largest gallery, including regulars in his Saturday morning group.
Despite experiencing some rust after a long college tournament layoff, Ohno acquitted himself quite well, improving his score by a shot each round (75-74-73-222), and finishing second amongst the individual participants. Next up for Ohno: Mackenzie Tour Q-School next week at Callaway Gardens in Georgia. But after losing out on playing his final three semesters of college golf, Ohno will never forget how Coach Schroeder went out of his way to allow him to go out on a high note.
“How many people get to play at their home club in a tournament let alone your final event,” said Ohno. “How amazing is that?”
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