Decision To Play Golf Pays Off For Kyle Roy

A gentle giant on the exterior, shy guy Kyle Roy luckily doesn't have to say much when it comes to his golf skills; they speak for themselves. Roy, a full time sophomore and golfer at the University of Tampa, has had a busy and successful season.

Throughout the year the University of Tampa golf team has participated in numerous tournaments in various locations around Florida. The tournaments involve around 10 college teams from the Sunshine State Conference, run from Saturday to Tuesday, and are 54 holes.

At the most recent tournament, the North Alabama Spring Classic, Roy finished the day with a score of 154. Not only this, but he finished 26th of 118 golfers.

Before this trip, Roy commented that, "our team is not that competitive now, but we want it to be. This trip is the start of that."

This shift to making the team more competitive should be no problem for Roy however, as the school he attended before UT was all about competition. This preparatory school in Pennsylvania, Mercersburg Academy, was where he went for one year to try and decide between playing golf or basketball in college. Although he made the choice to play golf, his decision was hard as he was a top competitor in both.

In these two sports, Roy racked up various honors at his hometown high school in Syracuse, N.Y. In his senior year playing basketball he was picked for first team all-league, and 12th all-state.

His golf honors are even more impressive, however, as he was all-state twice, all-league four times, and captain three of his four years on the team.

A look into his life growing up gives some insight as to where his skills came from. He started playing golf when he was about five or six and said, "it was my Dad who got my younger brother and I started. He loves golf so he wanted us to too." It helps that at home he lives on a country club, so he literally has a full golf course in his backyard.

So why did this young golf star choose Florida? Sure, he came to escape the bitter cold of upstate New York, but his Dad was also a major influence on his decision. Another influence was just his love of Florida.

He has been going on family vacations, not only with his parents, brother, and sister, but with his entire extended family for 15 years. They have a place in New Smyrna Beach, where the family loves to spend time enjoying the Florida sun and of course, playing golf.

Today, Roy spends a lot of his time playing, practicing, or competing in tournaments for golf. He does play basketball for fun and on a softball intramural team at UT, but he says he isn't allowed to do much more because, "if I get hurt, my coach will kill me."

All in all, Roy is a shy guy who has a hopeful future of success in golf. With his responsible nature, dedication to the sport, and his golf skills, Roy is sure to go far.

Written by Stacy Mihalyak