As many of you know, our motto here at the NTPGA Junior Tour is #WHOSNEXT ®. The NTPGA Junior Tour is well represented by its alumni on the PGA, Web.com and LPGA Tours. Currently, there are 22 former Junior Tour members competing professionally including Jordan Spieth, Cody Gribble, Ryan Palmer, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lang and many more.
But, our #WHOSNEXT® motto doesn’t just apply to future professional golfers. It applies to our former members currently showcasing their talents at the collegiate level all across the country.
In this bi-monthly blog series, we will be featuring former Junior Tour members who are currently playing golf. Every other week we’ll check out what they had to say about their time playing on the NTPGA Junior Tour, and gain some insight into what it’s like to play college golf.
We know it is the goal of many of our current members to move on to play golf in college. Are you the next college golfer? #WHOSNEXT®
Kasey Vigoda - NTPGA Junior Tour Member 2012-2015
Junior at St. Francis College
Communication Major
Graduating in May 2019
Q: What are your post graduation plans?
A: I hope to pursue a career in Sports Broadcasting.
Q: How old were you when you became an NTPGA Junior Tour Member?
A: 14 years old
Q: How did being part of the NTPGA Junior Tour help or impact your golf game?
A: Any minute you spend on the course is practice. Competing in this program was not only good to see where I ranked in my age group, but it helped me learn the right way to play while doing so.
Q: What was the biggest thing you learned while you were a part of the NTPGA Junior Tour?
A: Competing is the most important thing in this sport. You never know how good you are, or how good you can be without playing against other people in your age group.
Q: What is one piece of advice you would give to current NTPGA Junior Tour Members?
A: Play in as many tournaments as you can. A lot of the time, it is more impactful than banging balls on the range.
Q: How did the NTPGA Junior Tour help prepare you for playing golf in college?
A: Learning the rules of the game was huge. If I didn’t compete in as many tournaments as I did, I would have been so lost in college competition. I am now the captain of my Division 1 team, and I have the NTPGA to thank for it.
Q: Please describe what your personal golf recruiting process looked like.
A: I knew that I wanted to go to school in New York City at a very young age. That being said, I did a lot of recruiting for myself. It was almost impossible to have coaches reach out to me from that far away. I emailed lots of coaches all over New York City with my scores, my recruiting video, and just a little bit about myself and that made all the difference for me.
Q: How does playing in college differ from the NTPGA Junior Tour?
A: Aside from not having a stroke max and playing longer yardage, there really is not much of a difference between the two. You are a part of a team in college and while the individual scores do get rewarded, the team aspect is a lot of fun.