By John Frierson
Staff Writer
When Davis Thompson isn’t going low on the golf course during his fantastic Georgia career, the All-America Scholar has been getting high marks in the classroom.
Thompson, a two-time All-American player who helped the United States team win the Walker Cup — the amateur version of the Ryder Cup — over the weekend, is graduating this week with a degree Sport Management. After that, his busy month continues with the Bulldogs’ appearance in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships Tallahassee Regional, beginning May 17.
Last month, the SEC announced that Thompson, from Auburn, Ala., had been nominated for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship. Thompson was the 2020-21 male recipient of the Joel Eaves Award and earned the Ramsey Scholarship for Academic & Athletic Excellence.
“I think it’s kind of always been with me,” Thompson said of his desire to excel in the classroom as well as the golf course. “I’ve always prided myself on making good grades. My parents always encouraged me to work hard and do my best, and I’ve used that principle my whole life, to do my best in everything that I do.
“I try to make good grades and try to play well in golf and try to be a good person. Whatever I’m doing, I’m trying to do it with good intent.”
Thompson isn’t just one of the top collegiate golfers in the country, he’s also the No. 3-ranked amateur golfer in the world. After he wraps up his collegiate career, Thompson will turn his full attention to playing professional golf.
The feeling that comes from excelling in the classroom is a lot different from finishing atop the leaderboard at a tournament, Thomson said.
“I feel like with school, if you prepare and study, you kind of know that you’re going to make a good grade,” he said. “But with golf, you can prepare and do everything you can, and sometimes tournaments don’t go your way and you end up finishing fifth or sixth instead of first.
“It kind of goes back to preparing the best you can and just working hard and trying to give yourself the best opportunity to have the best result you can get.”
Thompson has done that on and off the course for the past four years, and no doubt will continue to do so for years to come.
