By Liana B. Baker The Daily Northwestern
When Chris Wilson sunk his final putt to win the Big Ten championships for Northwestern last year, his teammates rushed the green. It's a memory he said he will never forget, along with the team celebration that followed - putting on the championship T-shirts and the baseball caps with the tags still on, feeling like the NCAA basketball champs.
Assistant coach Steve Bailey remembers Wilson's round well, as he had never seen anything like it.
"It probably was the best round I've ever seen, that I've ever witnessed played by anybody," Bailey said. "It was 40 degrees, raining sideways, and Chris shot a 69, (making a birdie on) three out of four holes to win by a shot."
In unpredictable course conditions and weather, Wilson has managed to keep his game consistent and simple.
"Chris is just steady," Bailey said. "The team jokes around with him that he hits the ball so straight. They used to say the same thing about (former NU and current PGA golfer) Luke Donald. His game was almost boring at times because he would par every hole."
Wilson has two championship rings featuring purple NU's from the Big Ten title - a silver one for the team win and a gold one for the individual crown. But he never wears them at the same time, saying it's "too much."
His steadiness on the golf course has carried over to the classroom. Wilson is a two-time academic All-Big Ten selection and was nominated by his coaches this season for the Byron Nelson Award, the premiere award for graduating seniors that goes "to a very unique person," according to coach Pat Goss.
Last week the Communication senior received NU's 2006-07 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, an award that honors academics, character and tournament play.
With a little more than a month to go before he graduates, the 22-year old only-child from Dublin, Ohio, has sketched out a career path with the ultimate goal of receiving his PGA tour card.
Wilson said he will decide this summer whether to move to Phoenix to follow his longtime swing coach Jason Carbone, or to Bonita Bay, on the gulf coast of Florida, where his grandmother recently bought a condo.
Wilson said he plans to participate in the first stages of PGA tour qualifying school, or Q-school, in the fall. He said he knows the several stages of Q-school are a stressful and grueling process but he will try it for at least four years.
"Being a professional golfer and actually being a successful professional golfer are two different things, but the final stage of Q-school is the ultimate goal," Wilson said.
Wilson expects to spend the next few years competing in mini tours, such as the Hooters Tour and the Canadian Tour. By participating in Monday qualifiers, he will also try to get into events on the Nationwide Tour, the most prestigious tour other than the PGA.
Goss said he thinks Wilson has a good chance to succeed as a professional golfer if he stays focused and committed to his goal.
"He needs to continue to develop the ability to shoot low scores, develop his short game continue to handle adversity," Goss said. "It's a tough road."
If his tour dreams do not come true, Wilson said he hasn't prepared a backup plan just yet.
"I couldn't ever see myself doing something that didn't involve golf somehow," Wilson said.
Between golf and classes, Wilson relaxes to the Dave Matthews Band and MTV reality shows, such as "Maui Fever." His teammates call him a Midwest boy who likes country music and dresses like he is from the South.
His roommate, Dan Bonner, a 23-year-old senior at Loyola, said he hopes to caddy for Wilson if he ever makes it "big time." Bonner said Wilson is a ladies' man who doesn't limit his expert game to the golf course.
"I have to keep an eye on him," Bonner said. "He's kind of a smooth talker. When we go out I have to make sure he's not breaking any hearts."
Reach Liana B. Baker at l-balinsky-baker@northwestern.edu.
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