Scholar Stories: Mueller Tees It Up For One Final Season
9/13/2017 10:53:00 AM | Men's Golf, Features
Continuing the popular series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Prairie Farms.
It's every golfer's dream to play at The Masters. That statement goes doubly true for kids from the state of Georgia.
Augusta National, the mecca of the golf world, is about a two-hour drive from Kyle Mueller's childhood home in Athens. He's been there five or six times as a spectator and has seen the course in all its splendor -- the tree-lined fairways, the pristine greens. Amen Corner.
If you think it's an unattainable goal, just remember that six years ago, a University of Michigan golfer by the name of Lion Kim earned that opportunity.
For Mueller, it remains a dream for now. In the interim, he's solely focused on leading the University of Michigan men's golf team (he's one of two seniors) and finishing out his sport management degree. But that doesn't mean he's not thinking about a shot at the green jacket down the road.
"It's a little more special being from Georgia," Mueller said. "I've been fortunate enough to play in a U.S. Open (2016), but to play in The Masters would be an absolute dream come true. I can't even describe it."
From a young age, school came first and still does. A lot of that is due to his upbringing; his parents wouldn't let him go hit balls at the range until all his coursework was done.
Mueller went to Athens Academy, a private school in the shadow of the University of Georgia. When it came time to pick a college, Michigan wasn't on the radar initially, not when both mom and dad were Michigan State graduates, but he took a visit anyway. He met the guys on the team, saw the campus and fell in love with it all.
Dad, he understood. And mom, the huge Spartan fan?
"She was not OK with it," he said. "At all."
Needless to say, it's worked out pretty well. Mueller is the only golfer in program history to average below par (72-or-lower) for a single season, and he's done it twice. He's a three-time All-Big Ten pick (nobody has done it all four years), a Golf Coaches Association of America PING DI All-American and three-time U.S. Amateur qualifier.
Those awards and honors extend to the classroom, as well. He's a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and was a GCAA All-America Scholar last season.
Mueller admits he's going to give professional golf a go after graduating, though he also mentioned he's interested in pursuing an MBA down the line. If the pro circuit doesn't work out, he plans on getting into business development, essentially playing the role of a dealmaker between companies and developers. With strong interpersonal skills, that sort of role is right in Mueller's wheelhouse.
Plus, there's maybe no better way to strike deals than by taking clients out to the course. But do you let them win?
"I think you have to," Mueller said behind a wry smile. "It's definitely hard to go out there and try to suck on purpose. If there's something on the line, you have to get them feeling good, right?"
Having played in some of those high-level tournaments, Mueller knows he can hang with the best. Standing at 6-foot-2, ball striking has never been an issue. The details -- hitting wedges, the short game -- that's what separates the pros from everyone else.
The game of golf may not be as physically demanding as football or basketball, but the workouts sure are. The golf teams here share their strength and conditioning coach, Jon Sanderson, with the men's basketball team, and thus go through a lot of the same workouts -- deadlifts, bench press, squats, core mobility.
"The persona of what a golfer should be is changing," Mueller said. "Look at Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson. Guys like that are more athlete than golfer."
"I'd bet that we put in the most hours of any other sport. Other people might disagree with me. I probably take three-to-four weeks off a year. When we're in season, we're in here seven days a week hitting, chipping, putting."
That season officially begins Monday (Sept. 18) with the Inverness Intercollegiate in Toledo. Among the team's goals: win the Big Ten title (obvious), qualify for an NCAA Regional (made it the last three years) and make the NCAA Championships as a team, which last happened in 2011. Mueller, as an individual, qualified as a freshman and missed returning last year by one measly stroke. Think that has him motivated?
"I want to make it so badly, but it's just not the same without your team there," he said. "The better I can play, the more I can help the team out. Everyone on this team has that same mindset. We're all striving to be the best players we can be in order to help our team be the best it can be."
Time to tee it up.
Players Mentioned
