Through five years as roommates at Georgia Southern University and teammates on the Eagles golf team, Ben Carr and Mason Williams likely developed a kind of shorthand for communicating – if they needed to use words at all.

When Williams entered a Monday qualifier to try to join his fellow professional in the Korn Ferry Tour event in Savannah this week, Carr didn’t say anything directly about a GS reunion.

“I think he had all of the motivation needed,” Carr said Tuesday at the Deer Creek Course, site of the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club. “He wanted to play here really badly, being close to Statesboro.”

No pressure. No “I’m in. You’d better get in, too.”

“I think he did it non-verbally,” said Williams, who like Carr has remained a Statesboro resident after they graduated with degrees in business management in May 2023. “It was one of those unwritten rules, 100 percent.”

Williams figured he needed a low score and did just that, finishing in second place with a 7-under-par 63 at Crosswinds Golf Club in Savannah. The top four players of the 132 who entered the 18-hole competition qualified for the tournament this Thursday through Sunday.

The other qualifier Monday, with the same 4-from-132 ratio, was at Georgia Southern University, which is Williams’ home course. Instead, he was assigned to a totally unfamiliar Crosswinds.

“It was a blessing in disguise, to be honest,” said Williams, 24. “Just going to a course you never played before, and with fresh eyes. No history. Just go play it.”

Sounds straightforward enough, though Carr said it’s a lot of pressure to go well below par.

“You kind of know you have to shoot a really low number,” said Carr, 23. “To be able to do that, knowing that, is super impressive. I’m proud of him and lucky we’re both here this week.”

They’re not alone in representing their alma mater. Williams’ caddie is their friend, pro golfer Colin Bowles, 24, another longtime teammate and housemate who played with his fellow fifth-year seniors in 2023 and earned a degree in biology.

Carr, in the field through a sponsor exemption, will have on his bag Eagles assistant coach Daniel Castles, a veteran pro caddie on the Korn Ferry Tour, which serves as a path for players to the PGA Tour.

The Columbus-born Carr counted only two times playing Deer Creek as of Tuesday, discounting any sense of a Peach State advantage.

“It’s definitely close to Statesboro, but probably everybody here has played this course more than me,” said Carr, who won’t need a daily commute on Interstate 16, as he is residing this week with a host family at The Landings.

“Just play loose and free and see what happens,” he said. “Kind of playing with house money with a sponsor exemption. Just try to make a bunch of birdies and play good golf.”

Fisk makes it three Eagles
Steven Fisk, arguably the most accomplished college golfer in Georgia Southern history, plays on the Korn Ferry Tour and is making his third start in Savannah. Fisk, who turns 27 on April 17, was a senior when Carr, Williams and Bowles were freshmen in Statesboro in 2019.

Fisk of Stockbridge was a first-team All-America that spring and a finalist for the Haskins Award – college golf’s Heisman Trophy. Among his many accolades and accomplishments, the two-time Sun Belt Conference Men’s Golfer of the Year had the highest finish ever for a GS golfer – second place – at the NCAA Championships – and won a school-record nine tournaments in his career.

Carr enjoyed a senior year that also was historic, though in different ways. The SBC Golfer of the Year, all-conference (first team for the third time, four times total) and PING All-Region in 2023, Carr set in motion a series of bucket list experiences by finishing runner-up at the 2022 U.S. Amateur in August 2022.

Carr earned invitations in 2023 to the Masters Tournament in April at Augusta National, where he missed the cut, and the U.S. Open in June at The Los Angeles Country Club, where he made the cut.

As an amateur, he also played in his first PGA Tour event in March 2023 at the Puerto Rico Open (missed cut), and after turning pro, tied for 68th (7-under par) in November at The RSM Classic on St. Simons Island, earning $17,388.

Carr qualified for PGA Tour Canada, then made six of seven cuts, including a tie for sixth place, and finished high enough in Fortinet Cup points to earn playing privileges for the inaugural PGA Tour Americas this year.

PGA Tour Latinoamerica and Canada merged to become PGA Tour Americas, which started in March as a singular path to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour.

While Carr has missed cuts in two events on the PGA Tour Americas, the goal is to improve each week, not focus on the ultimate destination.

“Obviously, you want to play on the PGA Tour. Everybody knows that,” Carr said. “But try to keep it more short term and not too results-based. Just keep some of the pressure and expectations off and try to play good golf.”

Williams has the same mindset as he also tries to make the difficult climb up the professional ranks.

He has been entering Monday qualifiers as well as playing in mini-tours in the Southeast, such as the GPro Tour, where he recently earned paychecks for top-21 finishes for about $1,400 and $1,200.

Not the paydays of the top-tier tours. Paying your dues includes cutting corners on the travel budget, such as oversharing an Airbnb or motel room with fellow players.

Williams does have some sponsors covering equipment, shoes, his Titleist hat. He buys his golf shirts and (regular) socks.

“Titleist helps me a lot,” Williams said. “Guys from back home help me out a lot financially. I’m very lucky to be in the situation I’m in, for sure.”

He was very accomplished in his Eagles career after growing up in Bridgeport, W.Va. A three-time All-SBC golfer (twice on first team), Williams was a PING All-America honorable mention in 2022 and the first four-time Golf All-America Scholar in program history.

Honorees for the latter meet requirements for stroke average (under 76.0 in Division I), minimum grade-point average (3.2) and be of high moral character.

“We were very lucky to have a good team,” Williams said. “We had a lot of good guys. We played well in a bunch of events. It was a very fun five years. Hopefully, keep it going this week and for the future.”

Tee times
To follow these Georgia Southern alumni on the course in the first two rounds, check out the tee times below. Fisk is starting from No. 1 at 8:34 a.m. on Thursday, and from No. 10 at 1:49 p.m. on Friday.

Carr and Williams are in separate groupings but starting their rounds at the same time: 2:31 p.m. on Thursday and 9:16 a.m. on Friday. Carr begins on No. 1 in Round 1, No. 10 in Round 2; Williams is the opposite. Golf Channel (and Peacock) will have live television coverage from 10:30 am – 1:30 pm for the opening rounds on Thursday and Friday.

A full rundown of tee times for Thursday and Friday can be seen below.

This article appears in Connect Savannah I April 2024.