Sharyland grad Garza looking for PGA career

OK, so it wasn’t the best professional debut in history. But, Dustin Garza isn’t discouraged.

Garza carded a 19-over par 159 (86 first round, 73 second round) and finished tied for 154th at the Travelers Championship, the PGA Tour stop in Cromwell, Conn. in his first professional tournament two weeks ago.

It was an eye-opener for Garza, a Sharyland product who enjoyed a highly-decorated college career at Wichita State.

“The environment and comfort level is different than college,” Garza said of playing professional golf. “It was a long week. I wanted to play well, and I didn’t. It’s about getting comfortable out there for me. Once, I get comfortable out there, I can play better.”

Garza, who is the son of Edinburg North football coach Roy Garza, entered the Travelers on a sponsor’s exemption. On June 23, just one day before he played his first round as a pro, NIKE announced it has signed Garza to a multi-year endorsement deal. With all the buzz surrounding news of his pro debut and endorsement deal, it was a long week indeed.

“I knew what I had to do that week,” Garza said. “It was just the capacity of it that was a lot.”

Garza is 15 hours short of earning a Bachelor’s in criminal justice. The 22-year-old plans on finishing it at some point, but the overwhelming attention he’s devoting to kick-starting his professional career is taking precedent at this point.

At Wichita State, Garza won 12 tournaments, including two Missouri Valley Conference titles. This past season, he was selected to the first-team All-America team and was the MVC’s player of the year.

Garza said it wasn’t easy reaching that point. He readily admits that he didn’t have the best work habits coming out of high school where he relied on his natural talent. He soon found out that college golf was something entirely different.

“I hardly practiced when I was in high school,” Garza said. “In college, players come from all over the world. I changed my ways when it comes to practicing. If I wanted to play on the PGA Tour, I knew that I had to work hard so I could be successful.”

Garza still calls Mission home and frequently practices at McAllen’s Palm View Golf Course under the tutelage of swing coach Carlos Espinoza. Garza plans on moving to the Dallas-Fort Worth area later this year.

Garza has been practicing in Kansas City, Mo., this week. He had planned on staying home, but the expected arrival of Hurricane Alex forced him to take a Wednesday morning flight out of the Rio Grande Valley so it would not disrupt his practice schedule.

For the rest of the year, Garza will ride on sponsor’s exemptions into PGA Tour events. He’s in line to compete in this week’s John Deere Classic in East Moline, Ill. on an exemption, but will not find out if he’s in until today. He’s going to compete in the Children’s Hospital Invitational, a Nationwide Tour event in Columbus, Ohio that begins July 22.

Garza is hoping to earn enough money to avoid some of the early stages of the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School that begins in September.

For Garza, the tough road to the PGA Tour has begun. It started slowly and Garza is determined to have it pick up some speed.

“I was very disappointed in my play,” Garza said. “I have high expectations in my life – sometimes too high. I’m going to turn that bad week into a positive, somehow.”