COVID-19 has impacted many sports over the past year. The NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL have all faced significant changes from game cancellations to players contracting Covid and missing meaningful games.
But golf hasn’t suffered as much as other sports.
Covid only cost the sport a shutdown that lasted a few weeks in April, altering the PGA tournament schedule and qualifying schedule, but that’s about it. For the most part, golfers like David Powers, 22, have been able to play and practice since the start of the pandemic.
Powers graduated from Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City in May and is now a professional golfer. Although the pandemic ended his college career a season short, the athlete hasn’t let anything stand in his way from chasing his goal of making it to the big Tours.
The former Team Captain at Saint Peter’s has previously competed in the New York State Championships, the MGA’s Public Links and won the Villanova Wildcat Spring Invitational. In 2020, he competed in the New York State Open and the Metropolitan Open.
“I’ve been blessed to be able to compete in some of the best events in the country and I look at everything as an opportunity to see how I stack up against some really great players,” Powers told Slice of Culture.
From a young age, Powers knew he wanted to pursue golf. No one in his family played the sport, it was sort of a natural attraction. As a kid, he was drawn to a set of golf clubs rather than toys.
To him, golf is the greatest game there is. That’s why he’s dedicated his life to the sport.
A typical day
Powers normally wakes up around 4:30 a.m. He arrives to the gym around 5:30 a.m. to stretch and work out.
Then, he goes home for breakfast and gets ready for the day.
He plans out his practice schedules before he gets to the golf course so he knows what he needs to accomplish before getting there. He usually arrives at the golf course around 9 a.m. He practices for about three hours and then gets lunch.
Afterwards, he practices some more before getting home around 5 p.m.
He then makes dinner and goes to bed, ready to do it all again the next day.
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Strive for the Tour
When Powers graduated high school, he was the only player in his school’s history to play in the state championships.
After spending four years at Saint Peter’s University, he decided to move to Florida to pursue a professional career. Recently, he has been playing in mini tour events along other professional events in hopes of progressing his game to a level where he can compete and play his way onto the PGA Tour or one of its developmental tours.
The developmental tours include the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, the Mackenzie Tour, the PGA Tour China, and the Korn Ferry Tour.
“It’s a very long process, but I look forward to it,” he said.
