Gregory Odom Jr. wins PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship, heads to PGA event

Gregory Odom Jr. has experienced a whirlwind of a week on the golf course, and the best is yet to come.

Odom, a junior at Howard, wrapped up his third and final day of competition Wednesday in the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship at Union League Liberty Hill by winning the tournament featuring men’s and women’s programs from HBCU and Hispanic-serving institutions for the second straight year. Howard also won the team title by one shot over Chicago State, 882-883.

That would be exciting enough. But when Odom lays his golf clubs in the trunk of his car headed for his next tee time, it will be Thursday in the Wells Fargo Championship at Potomac, Md., his PGA Tour debut, about a 15-mile drive from the Howard campus.

Odom, 21, of Memphis, Tenn., who will compete as an amateur, accepted a sponsor’s exemption April 19 into the Wells Fargo field. He said he learned of the offer from his coach, Howard director of golf, Sam Puryear.

“He told me,” Odom said Tuesday night in a telephone interview. “I was shocked at first because it’s like, it’s the PGA Tour. And then it sunk in that all this hard work is finally getting noticed. I’m very grateful for this opportunity thanks to Howard University and Wells Fargo.”

The opportunity is a bit bittersweet for Odom. His father, Gregory Odom Jr., who started him in the game when he was 4, died of kidney failure last year on the week of the 2021 PWCC, and he fought through his grief to win the tournament.

“My dad was a natural golfer,” he said. “He was out there more about having fun. He installed values in me and how to approach the game instead of being technical.”

Even with the exhilaration of the opportunity of playing with many of the world’s best golfers, Odom has managed to keep his focus on important spring championships. The day after receiving the exemption, Odom helped the Bison complete their win in the 72-hole Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship and captured the individual title.

Then in cool, cloudy conditions Wednesday, Odom fashioned a round of six birdies and a double bogey for a 4-under-par 68 and a 54-hole score of 6-under 208. His Howard teammate, Everett Whiten Jr., also carded a 68 and took second at 212.

Odom said a benefit of his play this week at the Union League courses at Liberty Hill and Torresdale has been a similarity to the layout at TPC Potomac at Avenal Farms, the host for the Wells Fargo event. He also has gotten in some practice rounds at the TPC course since receiving his exemption.

“After I found out [about the exemption], I started going out there, practicing and meeting people and getting accustomed to the course,” he said. “It’s very demanding off the tee. I think they said the rough was going to be up to three or four inches, which is pretty thick, so you must be in the fairway.

“It’s not a short course where you can overpower it. It’s very strategic hole by hole, and that’s the kind of golf I like.”

Odom will get a chance to sleep in a bit on Thursday, with a 2:11 p.m. tee time off No. 1. He will start from No. 10 tee Friday at 8:51 a.m.

Odom is no stranger to a professional golf venue. He received exemptions last summer into two events on the Korn Ferry Tour, the final steppingstone to the PGA Tour, but missed the cut both times. He tried once, unsuccessfully, to qualify for the FedEx St. Jude Championship in his hometown.

Odom played in his first individual tournament when he was 7, learned more about the game with the First Tee of Memphis and then starred in high school events, including a runner-up finish in the Tennessee state championship as a senior. His career-low round in high school was a 61.

He then competed for the University of Memphis for two seasons, winning American Athletic Conference All-Academic honors in 2019 before deciding to transfer. Howard was just establishing men’s and women’s Division I golf programs with the help of Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, who reportedly contributed several million dollars to fund the programs for six years, starting in 2020-21.

Odom is very appreciative of the opportunities provided by the game and the fellowship of playing in an event like the PWCC.

“Coming to Howard, I finally was part of the fellowship with people like me and have good competition with people like me,” he said. “I get to play on great courses, stay in nice places, see a new city. I also get to see the other side of golf and being able to have other opportunities besides going pro. I think this golf tournament is amazing and I hope it continues for years to come.”

Odom, a management major, said he intends to turn pro next year after graduating.

“We have a long history of supporting HBCUs,” Wells Fargo said in a statement, “and this year we are using the Wells Fargo Championship to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences for young, diverse golfers. With our sponsor exemption, we’re proud to help Howard University student Gregory Odom Jr., make his PGA Tour debut.”