GAME CHANGERS

love of the sport

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY DERRICK DAVIS

J

Jeremiah Austin dons a black cap of his own design, emblazoned by a majestic lion chowing down on a golf ball, as he strolls out onto the course to crush a drive 170 miles per hour.

The 16-year-old Brunswick High School junior has flash, but it is built upon years of tireless work and a genuine love of the sport.

Austin is changing the game, but he’s doing it the old-fashioned way — hours upon hours on the golf course. Jeremiah has already proven he has what it takes to succeed and go far in a sport that requires resolute dedication. There was no better representation of his extraordinary efforts than his recent trip to Pebble Beach to compete in the PGA Tour Champions’ PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee.

It’s not so much Jeremiah was picked to be a part of an exclusive competition that paired 78 junior golfers from around the country into teams with PGA Tour Pros in front of a television audience on Golf Channel, obviously a major honor in its own right, but the long, arduous road he took to get there.

The field of juniors was selected by a national panel of judges based on their personal growth and life skills learned through First Tee’s programs, in addition to their playing ability.

Anyone familiar with Jeremiah had no doubts about the former two qualifications, but a lot of talented golfers would be applying, and only if they could produce a handicap of 6 or below.

Thus, Jeremiah set out on a mission to add more rounds to his ledger and lower his handicap, accomplishing both in a matter of months that saw him spend nearly every day on a golf course.

Playing in six Georgia State Golf Association events, Jeremiah saw his handicap plunge from a 10 down to a 3 with three wins, as well as a second- and a thirdplace finish. That run saw him rise up to 13th in the junior tour’s Boys 15-18 Intermediate Division rankings and earned him an automatic invitation to the GSGA Tour Championship in November.

He also came up with a way to pay for part of his busy itinerary, creating the One United Jeremiah Austin Benefit Classic, which was held at Sapelo Hammock Golf Club in September.

Now averaging scores of 75-76 per round, Jeremiah has come a long way from his days knocking pinecones around his yard. Well, everything but his swing.

Jeremiah comes from a family line of state-champion wrestlers, and he played football, soccer, and baseball. He ran track. But he quickly gave it all up upon discovering golf.

Impressed by his grandson’s hacks at yard debris, Richard took Jeremiah to the Golden Isles chapter of the First Tee to see if the sport would stick for the 10-year-old.

Six years later, it’s safe to say it was a good decision. Jeremiah has found a home on the golf course, where he’s made a name for himself as an affable student of the game, as well as a trailblazer in what is still a predominantly White sport.

It was at the inaugural Mack Champ Invitational in Houston last March that he first had the opportunity to be around other Black golfers in a premier tournament for juniors of diverse backgrounds.

Jeremiah received words of encouragement from guest speaker Lee Elder, the first Black golfer to compete at the Masters, and he was chosen to log a journal of his experience for PGATOUR.com. It also served as the catalyst for Jeremiah’s burgeoning brand: One United, which looks to unite a generation and inspire it to its fullest potential.

Jeremiah is doing his part. His average is down 40 strokes from where it was when he entered high school. His event list is extensive: from The Junior Tour powered by Under Armour Winter National Championship to the Jim Thorpe Invitational. He studies the sport in his free time.

An underdog from humble beginnings to a certified game-changer.

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