Riverside’s Fox to put skills to the test at RMU
Each of the past four years at the WPIAL boys golf individual championships, Skyler Fox stood out for both his skills and his style.
Fox made history by becoming only the third boys golfer to win three WPIAL championships, doing so while sporting an array of bright, colorful outfits with his trademark flowing long hair sprawling out from beneath his cap. After falling one stroke short of winning a fourth WPIAL Class 2A title as a senior, the Riverside grad then capped off his stellar high school career by winning the PIAA Class 2A championship.
Soon, Fox will begin his college career at Robert Morris, although something will be noticeably different.
“I just woke up one day and was like, ‘I think I want to get it cut,’” Fox said about the decision to cut his hair shortly after winning his state title.
Sporting a trimmed, cleaner hairdo while playing in the Colonials’ team uniform, Fox may not stand out as much for his appearance at the next level. Instead, he hopes to carve out a new identity for himself by letting his game do the talking.
“I enjoyed dressing up and having everyone know that I came because of my hair,” Fox said. “It’ll be all right. I’ll just have to get used to it.”
Fox initially hoped to play for a big-time college program such as Kentucky or Ohio State, but after visiting those schools along with Tennessee-Chattanooga, it became clear that they weren’t the fit he was looking for.
“I just grew up in a small town,” Fox said. “With a big program, I probably wouldn’t start my freshman or sophomore year. I just wanted to go to a pretty good program and start as a freshman and go out there and try to get better.”
Of course, there’s no guarantee Fox will earn a starting spot as a freshman at RMU, but he knows he’ll have a better shot there than he would have by attending a national powerhouse. He said the Colonials will hold qualifiers a few days
before each tournament to determine which players get the chance to compete.
Fox hasn’t had the chance to interact with his new teammates much because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so he still isn’t sure exactly how his skills will compare. Even if he doesn’t make it into the starting lineup right away, he’s confident he made the right decision by staying close to home.
“I know my mom is happy I stayed. I don’t know about my dad,” Fox said with a laugh. “I’m sure I’ll be home quite a bit.”
In the meantime, Fox has been focused on fine-tuning his skills by playing 18 to 36 holes per day, six or seven days a week. He still tries to make time to hang out with friends afterward, but he has no problem sacrificing his social life for the sake of improving his game.
Like everyone else in Pennsylvania, Fox had to go a little more than a month without access to any courses in the state during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily for him, though, his dad installed a FlightScope golf simulator in a storage garage about a mile down the road from his house.
Fox would head to the simulator for hours every day to keep his skills sharp, but there’s still no substitute for being out on the course. He said he may have tacked on a couple strokes during his time off — if you can call it that — but now he feels like he’s back to state championship form.
Of course, there’s a huge difference between winning a state title in high school and attempting to become only the second golfer to qualify for the NCAA championships out of RMU.
“In college, everyone hits it about the same,” Fox said. “It’s all about short game and who can score better. It’s all about getting my mental state down.
“I’m excited for the experience. I want to go out there and have fun, but also do well and make some new friends.”