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The University of Mississippi Athletics
SPOTLIGHT: Randolph Rises To The Top
9/23/2010 | Men's Golf
Sept. 23, 2010
By Kim Ling
Associate Media Relations Director
Earlier this month Rickie Fowler was named to the Ryder Cup team in his first full year on the PGA TOUR, quite the feat for a rookie. Ole Miss senior golfer Jonathan Randolph remembers playing with Fowler as a junior golfer and watching him win tournaments as a freshman in college. The two are the same age. Randolph hopes to one day experience the same kind of success Fowler has enjoyed.
"My first big junior tournament, I got paired with Ricky Fowler. So I've been watching and playing with the best players for a long time," Randolph said. "You go play with some of these guys like Ricky and others and you beat them and you realize 'hey I can do this.' It's very encouraging and helps inspire you more."
Randolph started golfing with his dad at the age of four. He began playing competitive golf at 12. When he was 13 he was a standard bearer (walks with each group and tells what each player is to par) at the PGA TOUR event in Madison. That's when he knew golf was definitely in his future.
"I loved it. Just watching those guys gave me the bug. I told myself that one day I wanted to play professionally. I got to be inside the ropes when I was 13 and 14 years old. I got to feel the rush of the crowd when they were hitting big shots. It's different from watching (on TV) then when you're standing 10 feet from them and you've been walking with them all day. You can feel the emotions of it. It drew me in."
Despite coming from a Mississippi State family, when it came time for Randolph to choose a place to continue his golfing career, the 2009 Mississippi State Amateur Champion picked Ole Miss.
"I really love Coach (Ernest) Ross. He's done a great job with all the facilities up here. When he was recruiting me, he was building a new driving range. He's gotten us a new chipping area, putting area and a sprinter van. I got on board with someone who loved golf as much as I did and wanted us to get better. He's doing everything he can to facilitate me getting better and moving on to the next level. It was the best fit for me," Randolph said.
During his first two years, Randolph helped the Rebels earn NCAA appearances. Last year, he put up one of the best seasons in Ole Miss men's golf history.
A winner three times during the year, Randolph became the ninth All-American in the history of the program and ended the year ranked No. 6 in the nation. The All-SEC first team selection set several Ole Miss records including lowest stroke average in a season with an SEC leading 70.44. In seven starts in the spring he posted six top-three finishes.
Already this year, Randolph has been named one of the top 10 players to watch by Golf World and Golfweek. He says it gives him motivation to try and top the success of 2010.
"I definitely want to win more tournaments, because that will help the team win more tournaments," said Randolph when talking about his goals for this year. I really expect our team to be a lot better this year, because of the experience we have back. We want to make it to Oklahoma for nationals this year, but you can't do that without the little things. I just need to keep doing what I've been doing and let the dominoes fall into place."
Ross echoed his star player.
"I think we are going to have a great year," Ross said. "We did not have any seniors last year, and Randolph was the only junior, so we are coming out with a much more experienced squad."
Ross is glad he recruited Randolph and says the All-American is dedicated.
"He is a great leader for our team, with his attitude on and off the course. He works really hard and expects to be one of the best players in America."
Following his senior year, Randolph plans to remain an amateur through the fall of 2011 in an attempt to make the Walker Cup team.
"Walker Cup is next September. That would be the peak of amateur golf. The plan is to stay an amateur next summer and turn pro after Walker Cup," the finance major said. "I finish up my degree next fall. I am going to have a semester left, so I'll be getting ready for Q-School and playing some tournaments while finishing up my degree."
Randolph got an opportunity this summer to see what it's like out there on the professional circuit, as he and the rest of the 2010 All-Americans earned an exemption into the Nationwide Tour event in Ohio.
"It was really neat. A lot of those guys are one step away or have won on tour before. I'd been traveling all summer and all of a sudden I show up at this event with these guys who have been playing together at tournaments all year. I thought if you make it on tour and only get one exemption this is what it feels like. I really enjoyed it. It was cool walking out to the range and seeing players I recognized from my freshman year who were seniors at Georgia and Florida. It felt like a college tournament. It's really nice to see how close you are to that next level."
For now though, Randolph is concentrating on his final year at Ole Miss. The next level can wait.
"The team is returning all five starters from last year's second place finish at the SEC Championship. We've made it to NCAAs four years in a row, and we're looking forward to going to nationals and making some noise there," Randolph said.
