About Michael
From playing multiple sports as a child, to falling in love with golf. From overcoming injuries, to taking a step back from the game and starting a family. My journey to becoming a professional golfer has had many ups and downs, but the thing I’ve always believed was to never give up on your dreams, and to always persevere.
I don’t believe that golf is just something I do, it’s become a part of who I am. From the many lessons learned on the course about not just the sport, but also life, to the sweet taste of victory and overcoming every obstacle in my way, golf has helped mold me into the man I am today.
Not only am I chasing the dream for myself, but I’m also hoping to help pave the way and educate and inspire the next generation of young golfers. From partnering with companies like Blackbird Golf, to sharing my journey, I hope my career helps other golfers of color see that there is a place for them in this sport, and inspires
The Journey So Far
Longtime Love of Sports
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas to two Air Force veterans, I grew up playing basketball, football, and baseball. Towards the end of middle school, I began looking for another sport to play in high school. I tried out, and made the tennis team, but soon realized it wasn’t the sport for me. Shortly after, I tried out and made the golf team and instantly became hooked. My dad was an avid scratch golfer, and was excited about my interest in the sport, because it gave us the opportunity to spend more time together.
New Expectations
My first golf tournament of my freshman year I shot 137, and quickly realized that I had no clue what I had gotten myself into. But by the end of my senior year, I had shown drastic improvement. Although I was unable to compete in AJGA or South Texas PGA section events during high school, mostly due to cost, I still graduated with a scoring average of 78, as well as achieving a couple of Top 5 tournament finishes. Unfortunately, due to lack of tournament experience, I didn’t receive any college scholarship offers. So, the decision was made to stay in San Antonio and attend junior college. While attending I walked on to the basketball team and challenged for a starting position on the travel squad. Sadly, recurring injuries put an end to my collegiate basketball career which guided me back to golf. From that point on, improving my golf game was my only focus. That determination, paired with the free practice privileges, courtesy of a new job at a golf course, and being able to utilize the lighted driving range on the nearby Air Force base, led to countless late night practice sessions spent improving my game.
The Hard Work Was Paying Off
By the summer of 2008, my golf game had improved dramatically and individuals that I had met along the way began to take notice and recommended that I contact the head coach at Prairie View A&M University. By the fall I had signed a letter of intent and enrolled at Prairie View A&M to major in Architecture. However, due to academic transfer rules, I was deemed ineligible for the entire season. I was allowed to practice with the team and continued working to improve while getting a feel for what I could expect the following season once I was eligible to play. After months of anticipation, the 2009 golf season finally arrived, and I was eligible to play. The first event I played in was at Mississippi Valley State and I came away with a win. The rest of my collegiate career I would go on to have three wins, several top 5 finishes, and earn SWAC All-Conference honors three times. May 2012, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a desire to begin my professional golf career. That summer I began working with a new swing coach, and over a span of 7 months, he drastically helped me improve my game to the the point where I was ready for my pro debut in January of 2013. I played in 10 professional events from my pro debut in 2013 until 2016. Some of my top finishes included T27, T33, and T37, with the best of those finishes coming at the Texas State Open. In 2016 my wife and I started our family and golf began to take a backseat to other responsibilities. In January of 2017, I took a full-time position with an architecture firm in West Palm Beach, FL. I didn’t touch a golf club again until 2019 when my firm relocated us to Jacksonville, FL.
Chasing the Dream
After relocating, I began to miss the grind of having to put your best foot forward every time you put a tee in the ground. So, I began playing golf again, but this time, as an amateur on the Golfweek Amateur Tour. My first season I played well, finishing with four wins and three second place finishes out of ten events. I spent most of 2020 practicing as much as I was able to, and in 2021, had another fantastic season on the Golfweek Amateur Tour, amassing six wins, four second place finishes, and one third place finish in 14 events. That year, I also played in the Jacksonville City Amateur Championship and finished in third place. At the conclusion of the city amateur championship, I decided that I wanted to give playing professionally another shot.
In January of 2022 I was granted conditional status on the APGA Tour and had to meet specific criteria within two tournaments to earn a full tour membership. I had to have a scoring average of 75 or less and place in the top one-third of either event. The first event did not go very well, but there were some unbelievably valuable lessons in that event that I would work on over the following weeks in preparation for my final event of the conditional status. Needing to average 69 for the tournament I received my full status tour card shooting 8-under with rounds of 69 and 67 which earned me a second-place finish. Now that I have my full tour card for the rest of the 2022 season my goal is to continue playing in as many events via APGA Tour and various state opens as possible to continue honing my skills under the pressure of tournaments.