Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36January 2017 | 11 Subscribe today at juniorgolfmag.net JG: Had you ever considered golf before that first day on the course? Horsfield: Well, I was more of a soccer player. That’s what everyone did in England. But as a young kid, I was open to a lot of different sports. And golf looked like it could be fun. It was a lot better than running around in the heat for 90 minutes, like soccer. JG: Why do you think you were able to become so good at such an early age? Horsfield: I’m pretty competitive and work hard at the things that interest me. I played on the course and hit balls at the range almost every day once I started getting the hang of it. JG: Did you play on any junior tours in your earlier years? Horsfield: I played on a few of them...U.S. Kids, the Premier Junior Tour, Florida Junior Tour and the AJGA. But I didn’t play for very long because I started entering some of the amateur events that were really fun and challenging. JG: You seemed to take to those very easily. Did you expect to win the Florida State Amateur at just 16? Horsfield: Not by 11 shots, that’s for sure. But I’ve always had confidence in myself and I feel like, with hard work, I can accomplish the things I set out to do. JG: Do you have any special memories from any of those tournaments? Horsfield: One event that stands out was the Orlando City Amateur where I was 8-under af- ter about 9 holes, on a Par 70 course. I started thinking about shooting 59, but I hit a 4-iron out of bounds on a Par 4 and ended up with a 60. It would have been nice to have a mulligan on that one. JG: What was the college recruitment process like for you? Horsfield: A lot of colleges thought I was going to turn pro, but there were several that were still recruiting me. I was – and still am – good friends with Jorge Garcia, one of my teammates at Florida. I looked up to him and wanted to practice with him regularly. So we talked about signing on together at Florida with Buddy Al- exander, who was the coach at the time. Not long afterward, Buddy called me to say he was retiring, so I wasn’t sure what to do. But the recruiting visit to Florida was excellent, and I later met Coach Deacon who was great, and it turned out really well. JG: Do you stay in touch with some of the players you met on the junior tours? Horsfield: Oh yeah, I compete against some of them and we have good relationships. I still see guys like Sam Burns and one of my teammates is Gordon Neale, who came all the way out from California. It’s a pretty friendly bunch. JG: What was it like winning the Mickelson Award and being a leader on your team as a freshman? Horsfield: I didn’t really know much about the award until I got it, but it was pretty cool. And it’s really been satisfying to compete alongside Jorge and the rest of the guys on the Gators team. I haven’t really had to adjust my golf game from amateurs to college, but it took me a little time at first to get used to the overall college environ- ment, being on someone else’s schedule, getting to class on time – things like that. JG: Do you think that aspiring golfers should try a variety of sports at first or just concentrate on their golf game? Horsfield: You’re only a kid once, so I think it’s important to have some balance in your life, to explore different sports and activities. There’s also a fine line between practicing too much, just banging balls around on the range. I like getting out on the course because you’re not always going to have a perfect lie. That’s where I learned how to shape shots and handle adver- sity. You just have to go and play, you need to have fun with it. PHOTOS: UAA COMMUNICATIONS Every phase of Sam’s game is rock solid I haven’t really had to adjust my golf game from amateurs to college, but it took me a little time at first to get used to the overall college environment, being on someone else’s schedule, getting to class on time.