Oct. 1, 2012
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Much like he expected to when he committed to the University of Iowa, sophomore Joseph Winslow made a big rise to success in the collegiate golf world. It just happened a lot faster than he, or anybody, could have predicted.
Winslow became the sixth Hawkeye in program history to earn All-America honors after placing tied for 13th at the NCAA Championships last season, and after a strong performance at the Golfweek Conference Challenge two weeks ago, Winslow’s future is a success story in the making.
“He is a player with unlimited potential,” said Hankins, who has guided the Hawkeyes to NCAA postseason play in four consecutive seasons. “He works as hard on his game as anybody. He is positive, goal oriented and when he says his number one goal is to play on the PGA tour you believe him. He will continue to learn and achieve while playing his individual part of this team and I truly believe that he can accomplish his end goal.”
The Overland Park, Kan., native was the top high school recruit out of Kansas after his senior season in 2011 at St. Thomas Aquinas. Winslow was a Class 5A State Champion three consecutive seasons and was a five-time Midwest Junior Golf Tour Player of the Year.
Winslow committed to the University of Iowa after finding that the school, golf program and community fit every condition in his check list. He chose to attend offers after narrowing his choices to Iowa, TCU, Texas A&M and Central Florida.
“The thing that interested my most in Iowa is where the program was going and what Coach Hankins has done with the team,” said Winslow. “Clearly, guys were getting a lot better up here, and my goal is to get better every season. With the track record that Coach Hankins has developed and the direction the program is going, this was the best option for me.”
For Hankins, Winslow fit every condition from a recruit on his own check list, as well.
“He played in a ton of tournaments that summer, and we knew that Joseph loved to play golf, which is our top criteria from a recruit,” said Hankins. “We were comfortable with Joseph and his family, and felt that he would be a great fit here.”
Winslow’s path wasn’t clear of any obstacles his freshman season, however, as he didn’t crack the starting lineup in the fall season and battled with a case of pneumonia. After learning the ropes from a star-studded team that included the likes of Chris Brant and Barrett Kelpin, Winslow was ready for collegiate golf.
Winslow made his collegiate his debut in the spring season at the Big Ten Match Play, and would go on to play in the LSU National Invitational, Hawkeye-Great River Entertainment Invitational and Boilermaker Invitational before making a tremendous postseason run. Winslow helped Iowa advance past the NCAA Athens Regional and would string together three great rounds at the NCAA Championships. Winslow fired a three-round total of two-over par to lead the Hawkeyes to a 22nd place team finish. Don’t expect the early success to spoil the ethic of the goal-driven Winslow, however.
“That was just one step in a long journey,” said Winslow. “The ultimate goal is to be a PGA player, and that all starts with working hard every day and keeping your sights set on getting better each time out. No amount of success will change that.”
In Iowa’s most recent action, Winslow tied for 15th place at the Golfweek Conference Challenge after a one-over par final round. Winslow and the Hawkeyes will return to play on Oct. 13th at the Rod Myers Invitational in Durham, N.C.