ACE Grant
Smylie Kaufman: An improbable journey
By Chris Ceman (@AJGACeman), AJGA Communications
Sitting at the top of the golf world, just days after his first PGA TOUR win, Smylie Kaufman is at a place in his career where he has never been before. Now on top of the FedExCup Standings, the former LSU Tiger has a tee time waiting for him at Augusta National next April.
When a final-round 61 flashes across a PGA TOUR scoreboard, it’s easy to cast the score as just another impressive performance from one of the best in the world. For Kaufman, this is uncharted territory.
Kaufman’s journey from the local golf scene into the upper echelon of golf’s finest players was an arduous one. It was a path lined with the same obstacles that many players and their families have grown accustomed to as they chase their dreams.
Like many AJGA players, Kaufman began his career by playing in the AJGA Junior All-Star Series and working his way int
o Open tournaments. He earned his lone AJGA victory in 2008, earning him a spot in the Rolex Tournament of Champions and the CB&I Boys Championship, but what could have been his breakout season did not go as planned. He missed the cut in three of his first four AJGA Invitational opportunities.
“Every time I would go to a big AJGA event, I would see the list of college coaches in attendance written out on the leaderboard,” Kaufman said. “I knew I just needed to keep moving up the ranks, but it didn’t always happen.”
To make matters worse, like so many other junior golfers, Kaufman’s opportunities on the national stage paralleled the economic depression of the late 2000s, and Smylie’s father Jeff lost his job.
“We applied for an ACE Grant during that time,” Jeff said, ”it was instrumental for us to continue traveling to events.”
The AJGA ACE Grant provided Kaufman with an opportunity to continue playing at a national level even after his father lost his job. The continued exposure along with Smylie’s determination to get back to basics, propelled him to success in the later stages of his AJGA career.
“It has happened a lot throughout my whole career, at every level,” Kaufman said. “I know what has to be done during the stretches when I’m struggling. I go back and simplify the game, take it back to the fundamentals. I just play the game at its most basic level.”
In his final three Invitational appearances, Kaufman never missed a cut, and earned his highest finish, a T12 at the FJ Invitational.
His performances on the national level caught the eye of the LSU coaching staff, and he signed his National Letter of Intent to play for LSU in 2010.
He had reached his goal, but not his full potential. Playing in one of the biggest conferences at the collegiate level proved to be as difficult as the steps that came before it. He had to fight just to earn a spot playing in tournaments.
“College was really a struggle for me,” Kaufman said. “I had to work so hard through it, but it always seemed like I was able to produce when I really needed to.”
In the spring of his senior year, Kaufman says his game finally emerged as he always thought it could. In 2014 he graduated from LSU with a marketing degree, and took a shot at his biggest dreams.
He quickly earned a spot on the Web.com Tour and took full advantage. His first win on the Web.com Tour came at Victoria National Golf Club, the same location where he was presented with the USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award in 2008. Weathering the long season, he played his way into the Web.com Tour Finals and earned a top-15 finish. This gave him an opportunity to prove himself amongst the best of the best.
He opened up the 2016 PGA TOUR season with a win and a top-10 finish. Without the support of his family and the ACE Grant, Smylie may not have made it this far, but one thing has remained the same throughout his career, he continues to fight for every opportunity.
“At this level, it’s the same as it was during my junior golf days. I just need to keep working my way up the ladder.”
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