Self-belief: A conversation with golfer Gordon Sargent

In addition to being a world-class golf talent, Gordon Sargent could be the poster boy for the quickly colliding worlds of collegiate and professional sports. 

Following the advent of the Name, Image and Likeness monetization rulings in 2021, Sargent is forging his career in interesting times, to say the least. Currently, the 2021 Mountain Brook High School graduate has one foot in college, as a member of the Vanderbilt University golf team, and the other in the professional ranks, as a PGA Tour exemption awaits him via the organization’s “University Accelerated” program. 

“The PGA Tour youth program is giving incentives for people to stay in college,” Sargent said. “I could turn pro either June 1st of this year, which would be right after the national championship, or I could come back to school and play my senior year and then turn pro on June 1, 2025. I would still have the same status, which would be 18 months on the PGA Tour. There are definitely benefits to both, and I’m still in school right now playing for Vanderbilt. I either have four months left or I could stay another year and graduate. I haven’t really made up my mind yet — there are definitely pros and cons to both.”

Sargent’s accomplishments up to this point include the Alabama State Junior Championship, two-time Alabama State Amateur champion and NCAA Division I Individual Champion. In 2023, Sargent competed as an amateur in The Masters, U.S. Open and other PGA Tour events. He finished the U.S. Open tied for 39th place and received low amateur recognition. 

If he plays in professional events in 2024 as an amateur, do those events count against his 18-month exemption?

“It does not,” Sargent said. “I can play a few events this summer or during the school year next year to get ready, and I’d play those as an amateur, so I’d still have the full 18 months after that.”

Regardless of whether he turns pro, Sargent said he plans to play in the U.S. Open and the British Open.

“At the end of last summer, I got the McCormack Medal, which goes to the number one amateur, and that gives you exemptions into the U.S. Open and the British Open. Other than that, I don’t have any pro events that I’m committed to,” he said.

While Sargent’s situation is one that many athletes aspire to, there are impending decisions to be made. As a student at an academically demanding university and a collegiate athlete, he is also facing his future a year earlier than most college students his age.

“I think it’s definitely tough because I don’t really know where I’m going to be in four months,” he said. “It’s a great decision to have to make, but it’s also nice that I can see how the spring season goes and then decide. Vanderbilt is demanding in the school aspect, but I’ve had a bunch of support from everyone involved. Even the professors are really accommodating if I have to miss class, which is nice. I’ve really enjoyed it, and it’s been a huge part of my success.”

When he walks inside the ropes at professional events, Sargent has to take the right mindset with him. The game of golf is certainly familiar to him, but the surroundings are not. 

“It’s definitely tough because you’re still playing golf, which you’ve played a million times, so it’s not like you’re playing a different game — you’re just playing at a different level. There’s a lot of self-belief involved, and the more you do it the easier it becomes. You have to tell yourself that you belong,” he said. “Those first events are tough, and that’s where I think the 18 months is going to be beneficial to learn and take things in. In playing the first couple of events this past summer, you’re trying to tell yourself the right things but you’re also seeing where you can get better, which is helpful too. College golf is obviously great, but pro golf is another level. It’s nice to be able to play the pro events and take that back to college golf and see where you need to get better.”

To date, Sargent has played in practice rounds with pros like Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Max Homa, to name a few.

“There are a decent amount of guys from Birmingham that play out there, so I’ve gotten to know them,” he said. “Also, in playing practice rounds and forming relationships, everyone has been really welcoming. Obviously, golf is pretty competitive and you’re not playing as a team, so you make friendships but they also want to beat you. I think you’ll find that in the game of golf everyone wants to help everyone, so it’s been great.”

Off the course, Sargent knows that a different lifestyle and routine await him as a pro. Constant travel and downtime in strange cities are realities of life on tour.

“You don’t have schoolwork to do, and it gives you more time to practice. But you also have to find things to do because pro golf can be lonely to an extent. Finding the right group of guys and the right support system is huge, and I feel like I’ve been able to do that over the past year or so — to build a team that helps me to get ready for pro golf,” he said. “It’s definitely nice to have some time to adapt. Obviously, pro golf is different than college golf, and it gives you freedom knowing in the first six months you can soak in as much as you can and learn and see how much you can grow.”