A few weeks ago, Mizzou’s senior golfer, Jace Long, found himself sitting on top of the nation’s best collegiate golfers list. With aspirations to join the PGA Tour after graduation, Long has made quite a name for himself early in the season. Although the sports management major has fallen back this week to number three in the rankings according to Golfstat, Her Campus Mizzou caught up with Long to discuss what it was like to be the nation’s best golfer on the nation’s number 11 team.
Her Campus Mizzou: When did you start playing golf, and how did you get started?
Jace Long: I started playing golf at the age of three. My family lived on a golf course. We lived on the ninth hole of a nine-hole golf course, and I had three older siblings that played, and my dad also played.
HCM: So did you guys play together a lot as a family?
JL: Yeah basically I was young enough to where I could go out with them and ride along in the golf cart and just tag along. And then when I was old enough to swing clubs, I joined along.
HCM: What’s it like to be the number one collegiate golfer right now?
JL: It’s an accomplishment. It’s something that I’m proud of, but it’s something that keeps me motivated to stay at the top. It’s something where I’ve also been pushed by my teammates.
HCM: Besides being named number one, what is your greatest golf accomplishment, on or off the links?
JL: All-American from last year comes to mind. Being able to get a college education.
HCM: Do you like playing golf more in the fall or in the spring?
JL: I like playing in the fall just because I play a lot in the summer, so I’m able to come from summer and just keep playing. With the weather we might have a little break in between fall and spring where we can’t play. We have about two months. We keep playing, but it’s in between tournaments.
HCM: How has the team made the jump to number 11 this season?
JL: We have a group of five guys that can really play and have played really well. We’ve had fun traveling, and we’re a close group of guys. Nobody dislikes each other, and we all get along. I think that really helps.
HCM: What is your dream golf course to play on?
JL: St. Andrews just because it’s kind of the home of golf. It would be a cool experience. I’ve never played there, and I think I would really enjoy it.
HCM: Has there been one golf course that you have played at that’s stuck out as your favorite or the coolest?
JL: I played at TPC Sawgrass, which is in Jacksonville, Fla. They have a big PGA Tour event there, and I played it when I was 16 years old. So that was just really cool for me, and a really cool memory.
HCM: What’s the strangest thing that’s happened to you while hitting a golf ball, like have you broken windows or hit any animals?
JL: I’ve hit a lot of things. I’ve actually hit my sister in the leg twice. My dog ran out in front of me when I was swinging, and I hit him right in the stomach. I drove a golf cart in the lake.
I think I was four years old. I got behind the wheel and just took off. I drove straight into the lake. Yeah I mean I broke a window on a house last year; not on purpose, but it happens.
HCM: What are your plans after college?
JL: Turn professional. I want to pursue that dream, see where that road takes me and play as long as I can.
HCM: What are the steps you have to take to get there?
JL: I’ve actually started the PGA Qualifying School. I played in the pre-qualifier a couple weeks ago, and I made it through. There are three stages, so if I make it through everything, I get my PGA Tour card.
HCM: So if you have any free time outside of golf, what do you like to do?
JL: I like doing anything outdoors. I like to fish, play tennis, ride my bike around and shoot guns. I just like being outdoors.