Anatomy Of A Future PGA Tour Player
Every week on the PGA Tour, players whose names I don’t recognize are at the top of the leaderboard. Where do these players come from? How could they have the ability to get to the top of a PGA leaderboard? Why am I not aware of them? In fact, these players have all assembled strong playing careers. Collegiate Derek Hitchner is just such a player, quietly putting together an impressive list of accomplishments as he heads toward a professional career.
Occasionally an unknown player will make a big splash at the US Open, the British Open or win the US Amateur, as Tiger Woods did. When they appear in the professional ranks it is with some level of recognition. This is rare however. Frequently an unknown player with a successful amateur and college career will show up on the leaderboard on the PGA Tour. It should not be a surprise, it was earned.
Sahith Theegala (Saw eth Tha gee la), Derek Hitchner’s college teammate, is an example. When his name appeared on leaderboards in the winter of 2022 he was largely unknown. Who is Sahith Theegala and how did he get to the top of a PGA Tour leaderboard?
Well, Theegala was a three time All American at Pepperdine, won the Southwest Invitational, the Australian Master of the Amateurs, and other college tournaments. He won the Haskins award as the number one collegiate player and advanced to the PGA Tour from the Korn Ferry Tour after turning professional in 2020. Impressive.
He had put together a stellar amateur and early professional career. It was just that nobody following the PGA Tour had ever heard of him.
Derek Hitchner, a fifth year senior at Pepperdine from Minneapolis, is fashioning an amateur career in the same vein. Hitchner capped off a strong summer by getting through to the semi-finals of the US Amateur. It was a tremendous accomplishment.
Hitchner is a former Minnesota State Amateur champion, and in 2021 won a top amateur event, the Trans Mississippi. In 2022 he made his way to the quarter finals of the Western Amateur before falling to Walker Cup Team member William Mouw. Many consider the Western Amateur to be as strong an event as the US Amateur.
Pepperdine has one of the top collegiate golf teams in the country. William Mouw and Sahith Theegala were teammates of Hitchner. “I learned everything from them,” Derek said. “They kicked my butt for four years showing me the deficiencies in my game.
“He learned how important it is to be a good person from Theegala and how to be a great competitor from William Mouw,” said John Duffey, fellow Minikahda member and frequent caddie for Dereck.
“His strength is his mental game,” said his life long PGA professional teacher, Marshall Hoiness. “He is emotionally under control. You can’t tell if he is eight under or three over by looking at him on the course. He has a strong short game and like all top players can hit it high or low. He will be successful whatever he does,” said Hoiness. “He makes the right decisions, always mature.”
“Derek is an even better person than he is golfer,” said Duffey. “He is a great listener, is empathetic and interested in others.”
“I started playing at age five or six. Marshall Hoiness has been a teacher and mentor,” said Derek “I’m lucky to have him in my life.”
“Winning the Trans Mississippi in 2021 was an important turning point in my career,’ said Derek “The week before in the North South Tournament I did not come close to qualifying for match play. It was the low point in my game.”
“I played a practice round before the Trans Mississippi and felt completely lost. I must have shot 48 on the front nine. It was a humbling experience”, he said. “However things can change on a dime if you are working at it.”
He won the tournament hitting “three laser irons at 14, 15, 16,” said Duffey, his caddie for the week.
After qualifying three of the last four years for the US Amateur, Derek broke through with an exceptional tournament reaching the semi-finals. “It feels more surreal by the day,” Derek said. “It’s life changing.”
“I have started meditating. It has helped me. It grounds me to the present,” he said. “There were a lot of people following play at the National Amateur, which was very different for me. I could focus on the sensation of feeling the ground under my feet and eliminate extraneous factors. I was able to get my mind into calmness.”
“My finish at the National Amateur validated what I have been working on and that hard work will pay off.”
“I have process goals and outcome goals. My process goals are to work on things that’ll optimize my chances to reach outcome goals. I work on an unrelenting focus on the next shot. My outcome goals are to win and become an All American.”
Derek graduated in four years and is now in a graduate program his fifth year at Pepperdine. “Covid was a good break for him as it gave him an extra year of eligibility,” said John Duffey.
His play in the summer of 2022 has opened options for him. “I don’t know where I stand on turning professional,” said Derek. Becoming a member of the 2023 Walker Cup Team, previously not on Derek’s radar, has become a possibility.
Will Derek Hitchner be that guy high on the leaderboard that no one has heard of? Only time will tell. One thing we do know is Derek Hitchner is an outstanding person on track for good things.
There are many players unknown when they first appear on the leaderboard. With good play over time they become known. It’s a long way from the winner’s circle in the amateur ranks to the PGA Tour but Derek Hitchner may just make the trip in A Life In Golf.
