Tucson has added another golfer to the PGA Tour.
Trevor Werbylo, a former Salpointe Catholic High School and UA standout, officially earned his PGA Tour card this week following a successful season on the Korn Ferry Tour.
He joins a list of Tucsonans including Michael Thompson, Rich Barcelo, Willie Wood and Phil Ferranti, among others, to achieve PGA Tour status.
Werbylo joined the Star’s Justin Spears on ESPN Tucson’s "Spears and Ali" earlier this week to discuss accomplishing his childhood dream, playing in Tucson, his golf idol — and his perspective on the Saudi-financed LIV Golf Tour:
How would you describe making it to the PGA Tour?
A: “It’s something that I worked extremely hard for. Growing up as a kid, that’s a lifelong dream to compete and play on the PGA Tour. For it to now be happening, it’s pretty surreal. When I won on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this year, I was pretty close to locking up my card. I had a pretty good idea that I’d be playing in the PGA Tour next year, but to finally pass that threshold is pretty cool. It’s very satisfying.”
You’re the first PGA Tour U alumnus to make it to the tour; how did that help you?
A: “PGA Tour U is kind of a brand-new system that ranks college golfers coming out. If you’re considered a top-five graduating senior coming out college, you get automatic status on the Korn Ferry Tour, which is the tour I was on this year. … It’s a way for players who are coming from college and having direct path to some sort of status on a tour. … I think it’s cool they’re doing this now, because every other sport — if you’re a great player in college, you get drafted and there’s a direct route to professional leagues. It makes sense for golf to be doing it, and I was fortunate that as I was leaving college, it was the first year of PGA Tour U. To have success and be the first one, it’s pretty cool.”
What courses in Tucson helped you the most growing up?
A: “I started out playing golf at Randolph and all the city courses growing up through most of high school. My last year or two in high school, I was able to get a junior merrit membership at Oro Valley Country Club. That had better practice facilities and better conditions on the golf course, and that helped me take strides in practicing. Once I got to the U of A, I would play and practice around town, so I always saw the best courses in town, whether it’s Stone Canyon or The Gallery or Tucson Country Club or Ventana Canyon, we saw it all. Playing all of these different courses definitely helped my development as a player. Where it all started was the city courses in town."
Which PGA Tour golfer did you watch the most growing up?
A: "Tiger Woods is my all-time idol. I idolized him growing up in the golf world. He’s still the No. 1 guy I root for, and I still always get on YouTube and watch his old highlights and stuff like that. He’s by far the one who inspired me to play golf, because if it wasn’t for him and all of the amazing things he did in the game, I doubt I’d be playing golf now. He’s always the guy I’ve looked up to. … He’d be the guy I’d choose to play with, whether it’s the final round of the Masters — that would be a dream pairing for me.”
What’s your stance on LIV Golf?
A: “Yeah, it’s a pretty interesting and bizarre time in professional golf, and we’re still watching it unfold day-by-day and hour-by-hour. There’s always news about players and what the PGA Tour is doing. It’s unfortunate. The LIV Golf Tour is bad for the game of golf. The players who are going over there, the main reason is money, which is understandable. But the issue I have with it is the players who are going over there are preaching about growing the game and all of these new opportunities, when really the only draw to it is they’re paying millions and millions of dollars — which I think people can respect more if they were honest and said, ‘Hey, I’m going over here, because they’re paying me a lot more money.’ In terms of fans or watching golf, the no-cut, 54 holes, shotgun starts — I don’t see it being an interesting product to watch. From that perspective, it is unfortunate. … It kind of sucks, but it’ll be interesting to see how all of that unfolds."
