Offseason dedication pays off for Cougar

When it’s too cold for most people to want to go outside, Will Gordon is a fixture on the practice range, putting greens or somewhere on the course at River Run Country Club in Davidson.

If he isn’t there, Gordon is likely playing on a golf course somewhere, with his Cannon School team or on the junior circuit, no matter what time of the year it is.

“I’m pretty much on the golf course every day unless it is unbearably cold or pouring and even that has to pretty bad to keep me away,” the 16-year-old said. “Golf is one of those sports that if you don’t love it, there is no point in pursuing it as your future. You have to be very committed and very patient on a daily basis.”

That dedication is paying off for Gordon, as he already committed to play golf at Vanderbilt in November after taking unofficial visits to Alabama, Arizona State, North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest.

“I really never imagined or planned on committing to a school and golf program this early,” Gordon said. “But once I visited Vandy, I just had a great feeling and I guess when you know, you know.”

Gordon, a sophomore at Cannon, has proven that he is one of the best young golfers in the state, claiming All-Observer and all-state honors this past season.

Gordon, who has nine top-10 finishes and a dozen more top-20 finishes in the past year and a half on the junior circuit, wasted no time in proving himself at Cannon for coach Pat Whisenant, coming in fifth at the CISAA conference championships and fourth at the NCISAA state tournaments as a freshman.

He’s ranked the 16th best golfer in the class of 2015, according to golfweek.com. He is also No. 30 in the state among junior golfers.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound standout averages 72.3 strokes per 18 holes. Gordon credits his golf coach, Kelley Phillips, for his recent success. He said that his coach has helped him fine-tune everything from straightening his drives to improving his short game to his conditioning.

With Gordon’s college decision over, he can concentrate on getting better on the golf course.

“There have been times when I was obsessed with results, results, results and I never really stepped back and focused on the process,” Gordon said. “My dad (Norman) and my coach have really hammered into me that I have to focus on each day trying to get a little bit better and work on the things that will help me do that. Once I started having that attitude and focus, I think everything started to fall in place for me.”

As he continues to work on his game, Gordon is also getting ready for his sophomore season at Cannon. He has championship ambitions for both the Cougars and himself.

With sophomores Noah Edmondson, Gordon’s training partner who recently committed to Arkansas, and Anthony Perrino as well as senior Grant de Gorter, Gordon said that every day at practice is not only fun, but also a challenge.

“Having Will, Noah, Anthony and Grant to compete with each other, even in practice, makes them all even better,” said Whisenant, whose team finished third at state last year. “I don’t really have to motivate them a lot, because they want to beat each other.”

After top-five finishes at the CISAA and state tournaments, Gordon has his eyes on the ultimate prizes, where he hopes “to do his part” by taking the conference and state titles.

Whisenant and Gordon also note that Cannon wants to catch up with the Cougar girls’ team, which has won the last two state titles.

“We hear about that at school all the time,” Gordon said.

While Gordon is not trying to look too far ahead, he can’t help but think of a future that he hopes will have playing golf for a living.

“Now that I’ve made my college choice, the next step is making sure I’m good enough to start and travel immediately at Vandy,” he said. “But ultimately, my goal and my dream is play on the PGA Tour. I’m going to doing everything I can to try to get that opportunity.”