junior year that people even heard of him, and here's
a kid that was dominating D.C. and Maryland. Of
course, we knew of him."
Berger and Thomas, currently playing on the
PGA Tour, are two of the more notable members
of the class of 2011. The list includes the last three
winners of the Haskins Award, golf's version of the
Heisman Trophy: Thomas, Kim and Rodgers (the
latter two are competing on the Web.com Tour this
year). Another player from that class, Jordan Spieth,
is a Tour regular, and Ryder Cup and Presidents
Cup team member, who is currently ranked sixth
in the world.
Schniederjans, who ascended to No. 1 in the
World Amateur Golf Rankings in June 2014, like
McCarthy elected to stay in school at Georgia Tech
and earn his degree.
"I think from day one his goal was to get a de-
gree," Sargent said of McCarthy.
The fourth-year golfer said he has no regrets
about his decision.
"I know I'm a great player, but those guys de-
veloped faster and they have a ton of talent and
they were ready for that level," McCarthy noted. "I
personally didn't think I was ready at the time and I
never thought about going to college for one season
and going on tour.
"I was honest with myself and I knew I just
wasn't ready to go on tour. Over the course of four
years, I think my game now is better suited and
shaped moving forward."
McCarthy said a key to his development as a
McCarthy, one of 24 collegiate golfers named to the watch list for the 2015 Ben Hogan Award
(nation's top player), is poised to become only the second Cavalier to compete in three NCAA
Individual Championships.
PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA
