Senior golfer sets goal of going professional

Senior Will Robson, from Hexham, U.K., earned Summit League Championships All-Tournament team honors last season after taking 2nd overall.

There is more to Robson than golf.

“I think I’m a pretty laid back guy who likes to have a laugh and joke around with people,” he said. “I would say that I’m pretty easy to get along with.”

The 5’10” golfer came to UMKC as a freshman and posted an average of 79 that first season.

“He is someone who made the most of his opportunity,” said Head Golf Coach J.W. VanDenBorn. “He works his tail off and is always searching for a way to make himself better.”

After playing soccer and rugby growing up, Robson started playing golf seriously at age 14.

“I plan on turning pro when I graduate,” he said. “I’ll give that a shot for a few years and see how it turns out.”

Robson said he came to the U.S because England’s college system isn’t conducive to sports.

“The standard of competition is better over here,” he said. “The weather is better, the courses are better, and I wanted to experience a different culture.”

Leaving England didn’t come without a price, though.

“I miss my friends and hanging out with them on lazy days,” he said. I also miss my family and going to watch live sports.”

Robson said his team has become a sort of extended family.

“At first, I was kind of worried if I was going to miss home,” he said. “It’s going to be sad when I graduate. This has been my life for four years. You’ve got to move on eventually, I suppose.”

Of his memorable experiences, Robson said winning the KU tournament last semester was one of the best.

“We were in 3rd or 4th place going into the final round. In the final round, everything just clicked and everyone played well,” he said. “I had a hole-in one on the back nine. It was my first ever hole-in-one in my life.”

Robson and two other players will graduate in May.

He chose liberal arts as a major because it is general. “I could go into a lot of different fields with it, rather than being tied down to something like history,’ he said.

mheiman@unews.com