The Player Championship is not the only game in the city this week in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

In the past 15 years there is the Sawgrass Country Club, which is located on the other side of the legendary stadium course, the Hayt Collegiate Tournament, a 54-hole stroke event that attracts many of the best NCAA divs. I teams and that ends on Monday of the player week. An opening act before the main event.

In this year’s edition, the male team of the University of Texas, who took fourth place in the nation, put Alabama into the last round with a dozen shots. But the longhorns would not turn around. On Monday, four of her five players even shot a par or better to make Texas a win. The 20-year-old junior Luke Potter, who led Longhorn’s seven-shot victory in the Longhorns victory, carded a three-below 69 to claim the individual title.

Although Potter’s first NCAA triumph marked, he didn’t get out of nowhere. In 2019, Potter was the first high school golfer since Tiger Woods, which was appointed California Freshman athlete of the Year in 2019. A year later, at the age of 16, he became the youngest winner of the Southern California Golf Association. In 2021 he went back to the US junior amateur -semi -final and to the western amateur district.

Potter’s extraordinary family tree landed in the golf team in Arizona State, where he moved to Texas for two years last autumn. “I just didn’t get the best from my game” Texans daily. “It was mainly my fault just because when they come to college, every Mr. Golf is in their respective states and I just decided.”

But on Monday Potter climbed over the competition and made three birdies and an eagle to win the individual title to three and the only player who is two -digit week under par.

That evening the team celebrated their victory in the Airy Beach Club of Sawgrass CC, which overlooks the Atlantic. A legend of the University of Texas was present to take his congratulations into account: the four -time main winner Jordan Spieth, who is on the field at the Players Championship this week. The good times continued on Tuesday when the team struck through the site on the stadium course and watched the best players in the world when they prepared for one of the greatest events of the season. The squad went along and chose the brain of another longhorn -sized, Scottie Scheffler and said to some other celebrated alums, including Jhonattan Vegas and Beau Hossler. The team also discovered another former Longhorn, Doug Ghim, who grinded on the back of the range. Hook ’em The mood was strong.

“Texas Golf is 98 years old,” said John Fields, the Texas men’s coach of almost three decades, in a telephone interview on Wednesday evening. “It has 106 victories on the PGA tour. It has 10 large championships with six large champions. This is a proud program, and it hurts my heart that this would have happened, but I am a trainer and I know that 18, 22-year-olds make mistakes from time to time. That happened yesterday. “

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You may have heard Or saw what happened. This is the matter about this era of social media and cameras in every pocket: practical everything Goes to the public.

On Tuesday afternoon, Potter and one of his teammates had broken off the pack and stationed themselves behind the 18th Tea Box, where they hit Rory McIlroy on his way. This is the same hole in which players McIlroy, who played his ninth hole of the day in the first round, moved into the lake in the first round – which excludes the left side of the fairway. The water polo led to a lengthy and spirited discussion under McIlroy and its play partners Spieth and Viktor Hovland about where Mcilroy’s ball came into the penalty area. (Later in the afternoon, McIlroy moved another discount into the water, on the 7th, which in turn led to the examination of Spieth and Hovland about whether McIlroy had taken an appropriate drop.)

And in Mcilroys Tuesday Exercise with Potter from behind and left of the 18th tea box? Yes, Spray again. Another teeball.

The story could have ended easily, which would not make a story, but it didn’t. After the fate of McIlroy’s journey became obvious, Potter took McIlroy loudly enough to hear him to hear him. The Heckle contained a reference to the Masters 2011, where McIlroy, who was 54-hole leader, on the way to a devastating 80, who has followed him since then, fame the 10th hole in the last round.

It is not unknown for professional golfers to hear inconvenience from fans. Usually you let go (you never saw Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus or Tom Watson with a viewer). But not always (Greg Norman had his moments). And on this occasion McIlroy decided to get involved. He went to Potter and his teammates, stretched out his arm over the rope line and said to Potter’s teammate: “Can I see your phone?” Translation: I take your cell phone. McIlroy grabbed the device from the Potter teammate and then turned around and went away. In a video of the moment that was captured by a fan, which was shared by several branches, including barstool sports, and now has more than 1.7 million views of X, Potter and his teammate see what has happened. Soon after the incident, they were accompanied by the property. (The phone was returned.)

Should Potter know better than double a professional golfer? Most certainly. He is still young, but is long enough to know his customs and unwritten rules. In fact, in the case of Heckling there are at Players Championship written Rules that are set out in the official fan behavioral code that is:

The spectators are subject to the expulsion and loss of ticket rights for the following violations of the etiquette:

– –Make rude, vulgar or other inappropriate comments or gestures;
-Balen or physical harassment of players, volunteers, civil servants or spectators;
-a player or a disturbance of the game testified;
-Abehavior, which is unruly, disturbing, unsafe or illegal;
-Failing to follow the instructions of a championship officer, a volunteer or a security personnel

Has Potter regretted his actions? Certainly again. The sports department of the University of Texas refused to provide Potter for an interview, but Potter’s coach John Fields told me about his player: “He has a hole in his heart. He had no idea that what came from his mouth would lead to this way.”

Fields continued: “In terms of our program of the University of Texas, I think it is an embarrassing moment. It is particularly sensitive to me because our program is based on respect for the game, and I would tell you that we train 18 to 22-year-olds on a normal basis and not always make the right call, and that is my responsibility as a trainer and if you make a mistake, it is a learning moment. “

Fields said Potter had already written apology to McIlroy; PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan; Brendan von Thoughers, director of the PGA Tour University; and Scott Schroeder, the men’s golf coach at the University of North Florida, the Gastschule of the Hayt tournament. Fields would not say whether Potter is exposed to the university disciplinary measures.

“How we deal with the incident) is extremely important and is enough to say that Lukes pays the consequences for it,” said Fields. “In the future he will be a better man. I think that. ”

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Whether this path includes A house on the PGA tour is far too early to say. Potter is an excellent college player (and 60th place in the world in the world -golf -golf ranking), but there are thousands of players who fit this description.

Nevertheless, he seems to have found a spark at a university that was a breeding site for tour stars and still has enough time to develop and mature. “It’s just a profit environment here in Austin,” he told that Texans daily. “It is like an iron that sharpens the iron situation in this team because we all try to get it out, get better and win tournaments.”

Let us call it a learning experience, both within the ropes and in out, and this week a lesson delivers that Potter will probably not have to forget soon.

“I am sad that it is out there in public,” said Fields about the video. “At the same time, I agree because this world has become smaller in terms of social media and you have to be aware of it. People like Jordan and Scottie, Rory and Tiger have to deal with it every day. You know it’s a wake -up call for all of us. “