Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Ryder finally lands at Bay Hill
Central Florida star to make 1st Palmer tourney start at age 29
At twilight on long summer days, 10-year-old Sam Ryder and his father, Art, would slip out for a few holes at Wekiva Golf Club near their Longwood home.
Ryder’s first love was baseball, but golf stirred something in him, too.
It would take years to fully recognize it. Once Ryder did, he discovered his passion and path in life.
Now a promising player in his second year on the PGA Tour, Ryder recalls those summer days with dad as the first of many steps to the top of the game.
“That’s some of my first, best memories of golf is just going out there walking a few holes at sunset with my dad — just carefree,” Ryder said. “That was when I first started loving the game a little bit, even though I didn’t realize the extent of what it was going to turn into.”
Ryder’s golf journey did not began until years later when he was 16.
Burned out on baseball and having shown some raw skill on the links, Ryder played his first tournament — a local event in Orlando — at an age when many top junior players had been serious about the sport nearly half their lives.
“I basically lost the passion for baseball,” Ryder said. “I played way too much. Basically right when I did that is when I turned to golf, and I channeled all my competitive energy into that.
“It was kind of all-systems-go from there.”
A trip to Scotland with his father — a multiple club champion at Wekiva — to play some of the world’s greatest courses enhanced Ryder’s focus. Prior to his senior year at Bishop Moore High School, a sixinch growth spurt — to 5-foot-10 — boosted his athletic ability.
Affirmation and success on the golf course came swiftly.
“When I was in high school, I started making quick strides and getting a lot better very quickly,” he said.
Ryder would go on to win seven times at Stetson, including the Atlantic Sun title. Yet growing as a golfer rarely is a steady progression.
Ryder stumbled twice in Q-school, including by a single stroke the second time in 2013.
“That was the lowest point of my journey,” he said. “That was a tough pill to swallow.”
But Ryder would go on to win on three different tours — the Hooters, Canadian and Web.com — before reaching the PGA Tour last season as a 28-year-old rookie.
“I am a late bloomer, but a late bloomer in life in general,” said Ryder, who now stands 6-foot-2, with size 13 feet. “At 29, I’m still youngish in the game of golf.”
Ryder now looks to take his biggest step, perhaps this week during his first start at Bay Hill.
“It’s always the same thing,” he said. “It’s just trying to do it at each level.”
With a game built on accurate driving and strong iron play, Ryder’s skill set quickly translated to the Tour. He finished last season second in greens in regulation and 10th in total driving to lead the entire Tour in ball striking.
Ryder currently is tied for just 77th in ball striking. Meanwhile, he has vastly improved his weakness. Ryder ranks 50th in total putting — up from 162nd — and 43rd in scrambling — up from 139th.
The Central Florida native has put it all together often enough during his short time on the Tour to record four top-five finishes during 36 starts the past two seasons.
Both a gym rat and a range rat, work ethic has been key to his success. But Ryder’s passion for the game is the foundation.
Art and Sam Ryder used to walk off the ninth green at Wekiva in total darkness. Sam did the same thing with this friends just the other day in the Jacksonville area, where he now resides.
“That’s one of the great things, finishing when you can’t see where you’re hitting it,” he said.
As the sun began to dip on a brilliant Monday late afternoon this week, Ryder sought once again the perfect ending to another day.
“I love the journey. I love the process. I love the work I’m putting in,” he said. “I’m going to go hit some golf balls before the sun goes down.”