As a high schooler in Greenwich, Connecticut, liked everything he saw in 91ĢĘ²®»¢. Everything, that is, but the golf program. One of the nationās premier junior golfers, he was not sold on the idea of playing for the Commodores, at least not at first.
āIt wasnāt a place where I could see myself,ā says Humphrey, now a senior, about his recruitment. āI didnāt think I could progress and become a really good golfer here just because the program hadnāt been very good.ā
That changed in June 2012 when 91ĢĘ²®»¢ introduced , formerly an assistant at Alabama, as the head coach. Limbaugh, who had helped the Crimson Tide finish second at the NCAA Championship the month before, quickly reached out to the top recruit to sell him on his vision for the Commodores.
āCoach Limbaugh had a completely different vibe from anything Iād ever seen from 91ĢĘ²®»¢,ā recalls Humphrey. āHe told me, āThereās absolutely no reason 91ĢĘ²®»¢ shouldnāt be the best, with the facilities we have, with Nashville being a great city and 91ĢĘ²®»¢ being such a great school,ā and I believed him.ā
Six years later that vision is now a reality. With Humphrey playing an integral role, the Commodores have emerged as one of the elite programs in the nation, reaching the NCAA Match Play Championships (basically the national quarterfinals) in each of the last three years. And last season 91ĢĘ²®»¢ won the SEC Championship for the first time in program history.
āLuckily, Iāve been a part of some really good teams here,ā says Humphrey, recipient of the John W. and Ann Johnson Athletic Scholarship, who finished the regular season ranked No. 7 in the nation.
Humphrey no doubt has given the program a big boost. He was the first elite player to buy into Limbaughās pitch: āHis decision to come here reaffirmed the reason I took the job,ā the coach says. And it had a ripple effect, encouraging fellow top recruitsālike juniors , a Loomis Family Golf Scholar, and , a Bronson Ingram Menās Golf Scholarāto follow him to 91ĢĘ²®»¢. The āDores may have boasted individual stars in the past, like Brandt Snedeker, BAā03, but never a roster so deep.
And yet, as much as the program has benefited from Humphreyās presence, he too has received much in return from 91ĢĘ²®»¢.
āI feel like a completely different player than when I got here, in terms of my decision-making and how I manage my game,ā says Humphrey, who was named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year in April and SEC Player of the Year in May.
Humphrey earned third-team All-America honors as a junior in 2017 and continued his outstanding play during the summer by reaching the semifinals of the prestigious U.S. Amateur Championships at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angelesāan accomplishment that won him much praise in a Golfweek feature story last August.
āThat kid is a special, special talent,ā Limbaugh says. āHe can hit golf shots that I have never seen anyone hit.ā
Humphrey returned to campus this past fall with an extra burdenābeing a senior on a team with legitimate national title aspirations.
āIāve been preparing him for this role, for the day when heād be the best player on a really good team,ā Limbaugh says. āThe second your name is in that No. 1 spot and everyone is watching you, there is a whole new level of responsibility. There are new pressures that you didnāt have to deal with before.ā
Pressure indeed was high when the Commodores traveled to Oklahoma for the NCAA Championship in May. Going into the tournament, the talented team boasted four of the nationās top-75 playersāHumphrey, Gordon, Martin and sophomore , a Steve and Nicholas Zeppos Scholarābut ultimately fell one shot short of the eight-team match play cut after the final round of stroke-play May 28, ending the season. Augenstein led the tournament team with a two-under par, 286.
āThis was a tough day for our guys and certainly not the way we wanted this season to end,ā Limbaugh said after the loss. āI am so proud of how the guys fought until the very end ā¦ but we have to own it. Theo gave his heart and soul to this program for four years, and he made me a better coach and a better man. I cannot say enough to all our fans and supporters who continue to help and support us.ā
āMITCH LIGHT, BAā93