An American Abroad

When Peter Uihlein arrived at Oklahoma State, one of the top college golf programs in the nation, he had big expectations. This was due in large part to the fact that he was a two-time American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year, but also because his father Wally is CEO at Acushnet – the parent company for Titleist. His time in Stillwater was certainly a success as he won multiple college tournaments and also claimed the 2011 Ben Hogan Award, which goes to the top college golfer each year – recognizing success in both colligate and non-colligate tournaments. His time on the golf course while unofficially representing the Oklahoma State orange was fruitful too as he won the 2010 United States Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay in Washington. Even with this success, some found it to be a curious choice for Uihlein to turn professional at the end of 2011 and not play the spring portion of his final year of college eligibility. Perhaps even more surprising was that he decided that Europe, and not his native United States of America, would be where he would try to forge the origins of a hopefully positive career trajectory.

During Uihlein’s first year as a professional he saw limited starts accompanied by limited success on the European Tour. His time on the European minor league circuit, the European Challenge Tour, indeed proved to be a challenge too as he didn’t claim his first top ten until late July. This was a turning point though and marked the beginning of a seven tournament stretch where he finished in the top ten six times. All things considered, 2012 was a successful maiden voyage into the world of professional golf as Uihlein finished 26^th in the final Challenge Tour rankings.

After a resilient first year as a pro, Uihlein broke into full stride in 2013 with two top ten finishes on the main circuit early in the year. Then, in May, he notched the first win of his European Tour career by claiming the Madeira Islands Open. This solidified the main tour as his home. Uihlein did not rest in his success though; he kept the momentum rolling throughout the year, and among other things, added two second place finishes late in the season. His success didn’t go unnoticed by his colleagues across the Atlantic either. Both Uihlein and Brooks Koepka (a young American following a similar career path to Uihlein) qualified for the PGA Championship and played a practice round with Phil Mickelson. At year’s end, Uihlein was 14^th on the European Tour’s ranking list – a tour and 12 places better than the year before. This gained him the honor of being named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.

At this point, Uihlein looked poised to continue to progress. Instead he regressed. With only two top ten finishes in all of 2014, Uihlein found his name next to the number 65 on the final European Tour rankings. Instead of getting to follow his friend Brooks Koepka, who finished 8^th on the European Tour order of merit bolstered by a late-season win in Turkey, to the United States to play the PGA Tour in 2015, he remained a nomadic American.

The year 2015 proved to be a solid year for Uihlein as he regained some form. There was nothing spectacular about it. He consistently made cuts and threw in the odd top ten. It was good enough to get him to the final event of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai playoffs, an honor that goes to the top 60 in the rankings. After signing his final scorecard in Dubai, his season added up to a 47^th place finish. Even though it was solid, it didn’t match up with the success that 2013 foreshadowed.

After showing some initial promise with three top tens in a row early in the year, 2016 ended up being Uihlein’s most difficult trek as a professional. Injuries stunted his season. He only played in 14 tournaments, and not surprisingly, he finished the 2016 campaign in 126^th place. Exclamation points had officially been replaced by questions marks.

What cannot be questioned is Uihlein’s resilience. It’s early in 2017, but Uihlein has already posted three top tens and eight made cuts in nine events on the European Tour. He also made a solid guest appearance on the PGA Tour as he finished T5 at the Puerto Rico Open, which earned him a start the following week at the Shell Houston Open where he finished T23. All of a sudden 2013 doesn’t feel all that distant. The PGA Tour seems within grasp, and indeed was, albeit for only a fortnight. A pro career that mirrors or even overshadows his amateur and collegiate career in wins and associated awards seems possible again.  For now, he continues down a road rarely traveled by an American professional golfer as he is back on the European Tour this week teeing up his golf ball at the Shenzhen International in China. I don’t doubt that this road will one day end up on the PGA Tour. When he finally does make it there as a full-time member, he will bring a wealth of experience and memories that he never could have amassed if he hadn’t left the safety of the States. Experience and memories he could only gain as an American abroad.