FGCU golfer swings with the pros at the PGA Tour in Texas

Writer: Zach Oliveri
Published: Updated:
fgcu men's golf
Joe Sullivan holding Valero trophy. CREDIT: TWITTER/X @PGATOURU

After winning a college tournament, Joe Sullivan, a Florida Gulf Coast University golfer, was given an automatic bid to play in an official Professional Golfers Association tour event with some of the best in the world.

His family flew all the way from England to cheer him on.

After making a putt, Sullivan’s dream came true. He was playing at the Valero Texas Open on the PGA Tour with the best golfers the world has to offer.

“It was definitely different. It took a few days to get used to. But it was fun I enjoyed it. I embraced it and had a lot of fun,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan entered the event wanting to play well, but he didn’t let that overshadow the moment.

“I wanted to have fun. I didn’t want to put any pressure on myself anything. There’s plenty of other opportunities I’ll have, so went out there focused on the opportunity, not the threat,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan’s supporters included his family, who flew from England to Texas so they could witness his pro debut.

“Having that support, my brother and my sister she doesn’t know too much about golf, but having her out there is just amazing,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan’s FGCU coach, Andrew Danna, was also at the debut. He recalled a drive that Sullivan smacked in the second round.

“The two players he was playing with are pretty great players. And Joe was pretty far down there and it was like an ‘aha’ moment. Like, wow, one of our current players is playing in the PGA Tour this week. It was pretty emotional,” said Danna.

When WINK News first met Sullivan back in September, after qualifying he said it was a dream of his since he was a young kid. But, was it everything he dreamt it was?

“It was even better. It was amazing. Obviously, I’d love to do that every week, but just one week was good enough for me,” said Sullivan.

For Sullivan, it’s all about continuing to work hard so he can do it every week.

Sullivan said he had hundreds of messages from people. In fact, he had so many he had to put his phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode.

He missed the cut with a score of six over par but learned a lot from the experience.

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