As printed in the Sudbury Star (Sudbury), May 5, 2010
Posted By SCOTT HADDOW, THE SUDBURY STAR
Ryan Willoughby had an empty smile on his face for a long time.
The
golfer spent a season-and-a-half resigned to the fact he was getting
out of playing competitively, but never let anyone, even those closest
to him, know he wasn't enjoying the sport anymore.
Prior to the
2009-10 season, Willoughby spent 18 months falling out of love with the
game he fell in love with at the age of two. The game lost its appeal.
He still competed for Humber College, a team he made in 2006, but he
admitted he wasn't giving it his full effort.
"I wasn't happy. I
faked being happy, but I wasn't," the 23-year-old said. "Back in 2006, I
set goals for myself and then I stepped away from that for some reason.
I worked in the golf industry and the fun of the game left me for some
reason. I really wasn't enjoying it... can't really get into it. I kind
of stopped golfing and it became more of a social thing for me. It
didn't bother me for that season-and-a-half I wasn't playing well, or
that much because I was kind of making a joke out of it."
Last
year at the annual Humber College athletic banquet, it all came to a
head for Willoughby and he was able to put things into perspective. He
didn't like what he saw and vowed to make changes for his final college
season. He knew it was time for a big change in attitude and approach to
the game.
"At our awards banquet last year, I looked at what I
had done for the past two years and I hadn't done much of anything," he
said. "I decided I was going to do something for my final year. My coach
was telling me I had so much more than what I was doing. I knew I did,
too. I realized it was going to be my final kick at the can and I
wouldn't be happy with myself if I didn't try and help our team win."
To
say Willoughby was done joking around would be an understatement.
Willoughby re-evaluated his goal setting and established new ones. It
was straightforward for him. He wanted to help Humber College win the
provincial and national championships. Willoughby got serious and proved
it, placing fourth at the provincial and second at the national.
Willoughby's results helped Humber win both championships.
"Now,
it's all business for me and I definitely feel good about it," he said.
"I really needed to do it. I almost gave it away. I was proud of what
the team accomplished."
Willoughby's efforts and strong results
throughout the season earned him a special phone call from a selection
committee from Canadian Inter-University Sport. He was picked by the
committee to be a member of the golf team that will compete at the 2010
World University Golf Championship in Spain in June.
"It is an honour to represent my country," Willoughby said.
Humber
College golf coach Ray Chateau has been giving direction to Willoughby
for the last five years. Chateau points to maturity as the key reason
behind Willoughby's dramatic rise to the top of the Canadian university
golf mountain.
"He's a veteran player and he took it upon himself
to step up and lead the team this past season," Chateau said. "He
played the best golf I've ever seen him play this season. All parts of
his game together. His confidence grew as the season went on. Maturity
brought it all together. He realized he could do a lot better and went
out and did so. He also got properly fitted for a driver. He hit a lot
more fairways. He is a pure ball striker and when he's on the fairway,
he's going to make a lot of birdies and pars and rarely a mistake."
Due
to his solid performance on the links, his superior skill level and
talent and his character, Willoughby was an easy choice for the world
university team.
"There were 18 applications from across Canada
for the team and he was a unanimous choice by the committee," Chateau
said. "He has international experience having gone to the world
championship in Italy in 2006. He's relatively soft spoken, but he is
funny. He's a good teammate and helps keep teams tight-knit. The most
exceptional part of his game is his short game. Probably the best I've
ever seen. He can go up and down from anywhere. His short game separates
him from the rest of the field. He's top-5 in the country for the short
game. He has all the other parts, too. He drives it long, his irons are
pure and his putting is solid."
The season has also allowed
Willoughby to reflect on what golf has given him: A chance to see the
world and opportunities others never get.
"The whole Humber ride
has been crazy," he said. "I've played the old course at St. Andrews. I
went to Italy. I have travelled all over the United States. I would have
never imagined in my wildest dreams I would have done what I did in
golf. It has been a great experience."
Willoughby walks around these days with a new smile on face. This one isn't empty or fake. It's for real.
"Yes, I'm happy now. It feels good," he said.
Before
Willoughby takes on the world, he will compete in the Royal Canadian
Golf Association national university championship in New Brunswick at
the end of May and start of June. He's looking to place top 5 and help
Humber repeat as national champion.
