With two top-five finishes and a win last season, Trace Crowe had one of the best seasons in college golf. His 71.82 scoring average led the team and he was named to the All-SEC second team.
That would be a career year for many players, but Crowe is looking to build on it.
“Last year was a good stepping stone,” Crowe said. “I didn’t do as well as I wanted to freshman year, then last year I did pretty well. Hopefully this year, trying to raise the bar every year, trying to be an All-American.”
The Bluffton, Sc. native used the stepping stone metaphor repeatedly while describing his play. His time at Auburn could be considered one big stepping stone towards his ultimate goal of playing professional golf.
He took another big step over the summer when he played the US Amateur at Riviera, one of the most prestigious events in amateur golf. Crowe failed to qualify for match play after posting a 36-hole score of 6-over, but he considers it a learning experience.
“That was my second US AM. This year I was more relaxed,” Crowe said. “I played the year before and I was pretty nervous. This year I got some good experience, I didn’t go as far as I wanted to, but it’s a stepping stone, I’m only a junior so hopefully we can build on it.”
That building process began last week at Auburn’s first tournament of the fall season, when Crowe tied for third in the Carpet Capital Collegiate at 7-under after posting rounds of 68, 69, and 72. The team also finished in third place, five strokes back of winner Georgia Tech.
“The team, we didn’t have our best stuff, but we came in third. Third place individually was a good start for me to start off junior year, and hopefully we can take it from there,” Crowe said.
The third-place finish as a team was impressive considering Auburn’s lineup featured three freshmen playing in their first college golf tournament.
“They were all wide-eyed, waking me up every morning,” Crowe said. “They were all up way before we had to be. It was pretty fun to watch. It was their first tournament and they were nervous, I was too. But they’re really good players and they’re going to have to step up for us this year.”
Now a junior, Crowe will look to pass down some tricks of the trade to those wide-eyed freshmen. As for what he teaches them, it all starts with preparation.
“[I try to teach them] how to prepare for each tournament,” Crowe said. “When we get to sites, you don’t just go out and play, you’re more looking at the golf course. You’re trying to learn more because you only have one day to prepare. You have to try to learn as much as you can rather than worrying about yourself and your golf swing.”
As he prepares to take on more of a leadership role this season, Crowe continues to learn how to balance everything that comes with being a student-athlete.
“That’s something these freshmen have to learn about,” Crowe said. “I really struggled balancing everything my freshman year. I’d be running around with my head cut off. I wasn’t practicing efficiently. I was always worried about something else rather than just taking care of business throughout the day. Then you can focus on each aspect of being a college athlete.”
Crowe hopes that all these learning experiences will eventually add up to a career on the PGA Tour. He has a long way to go to reach that goal, but Auburn head coach Nick Clinard is confident that Crowe has the talent and work ethic needed to make that dream a reality.
“[Crowe] is a great player. He’s a very talented kid. He has a great work ethic, he’s got a great motor for the game," Clinard said. It’s just a matter of kind of cleaning it up a little bit.
"Ball-striking can be just a little bit better, a little straighter on his misses, and make a few more putts and he has a chance to play on the PGA Tour one day."
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