Higham leads USU golfers
Somewhere, a father is teaching his young son or daughter the game of golf with hopes they will become the next champion, like Tiger Woods. For Tanner Higham, whose favorite golfer is Woods, that happens to be the story of his life.
“I’ve been golfing since I was two or three years old,” Higham said. “I started playing in tournaments when I was 5 and have kept playing ever since.”
Higham, a junior from Shelley, Idaho, comes from a family of golfers. His father played and coached golf for many years, and part of his coaching included Higham and his siblings. Higham’s high school golf team, which included many of his cousins, won the Idaho state championship all four years he played, setting the stage for an opportunity to play here at USU.
USU golf coach Dean Johansen said Higham could have excelled at any sport of his choice.
“He’s just a phenomenal athlete,” Johansen said. “He probably could have played college football, basketball and golf all at either D-I or D-II levels. He’s a straight-A student, brilliant kid and one that leads by example. He’s not really flashy or talk a whole lot of crap, and that’s the best kind of kid to have.”
The 2011-12 season is Higham’s third year with the team. He has already had two top-five finishes this season, and hopes to win a tournament this year.
“He has really come into his own this year,” Johansen said. “This summer has been key for him and he’s doing really well for us.”
Despite golfing for most of his life, Higham doesn’t have any plans to pursue a career in professional golfing.
“Unless the next two years go really well, then maybe,” Higham said. ‘But for now I’ll just enjoy college golf. There’s not much better than that.”
Higham leads a team with a lot of new players stepping up to fill in holes left by departing seniors. His example has already proven him to be a strong role model for the young squad.
“He has a really good short game,” said freshman Seokwon Jeon. “One thing I have really learned from him is he stays on an even keel. No matter what’s going on, even during tournaments, he stays calm.”
Freshman Reed Platke said Higham is a great person to be around.
“He knows how to play in tournamen
ts and he turns it on when he needs to,” Platke said. “If I could do that, that’d be great.”
Johansen said he sees a lot of potential in the newest members of this year’s team and will look to Higham to provide team leadership.
“This is the biggest turnover we’ve had since I’ve been the coach,” said Johansen, who has been the coach for the last 13 years. “Seven of the ten guys on the team are new this year. It was nice, actually. It brought a fresh, competitive feeling to the crew, and a lot of the freshmen have stepped up and have done really well.”
The USU golf team will travel to Boise, Idaho for the Boise State Invitational on Sept. 24-25.
– j.dahl@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @jdahl3