New pro Austin Greaser finds groove on Korn Ferry Tour after acclimation month

Austin Greaser hasn’t quite determined if he’s a coffee-shop guy or a local-sites kind of guy. Prior to this week’s The Ascendant presented by Blue in Colorado, though, he and his girlfriend headed up to Vail to see some mountains.

The newly minted pro via PGA TOUR University is learning lots in the early days of his transition to this kind of golf – he is quick to confirm what’s been long known, that the job of professional golfer takes plenty of time to get adjusted – but after a tidy tie for fourth at the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS, that was the kickstart he needed to realize, again, he’s pretty darn good at this golf thing, no matter the stage.

“The first three weeks sitting by myself on the weekend was tough to swallow,” said Greaser, who missed his first three Korn Ferry Tour cuts after turning pro following the NCAA Championship. “It was not fun. It can get pretty lonely. So finally having that tee time Saturday and Sunday was great. That was a major difference.

“Playing well and being in contention late Sunday – that means you’re doing something well. It was a really fun week as a whole and a really fun weekend. Last group on Sunday … couldn’t draw it up much better than that.”

Greaser was a star at the University of North Carolina and ended up third on the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking, earning Korn Ferry Tour status for the balance of the year. The native of Dayton, Ohio said that in his freshman year of high school he and his dad sent out “a bunch” of emails to variety of colleges with his competitive resume attached. North Carolina’s coach, at the time, said they didn’t have any spots open for 2019 – which was not an abnormal response to receive. Fast forward to the summer before Greaser's senior season; he had played even better, and new North Carolina coach Andrew DiBitetto came to watch Greaser at an AJGA tournament in Greensboro. In a matter of three weeks, Greaser had been recruited as a Tar Heel.

“I really liked the coaches,” Greaser said. “I loved (that) the weather was better. The team was solid. I told the coach I felt like ‘I could help you guys out and make a mark.’ I didn’t have a lot of other big-time offers – I might have had two or three others – but being from Dayton, Ohio to get an offer from UNC, it was pretty easy. Kind of a weird situation for how fast it went but I wouldn’t have changed it one bit.”

Greaser, who started playing golf when he was 6 (he has a twin brother; they played many sports growing up and were competitive in all), said he has been quickly inspired as a new pro by the success of young studs.

Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg, last year’s PGA TOUR University No. 1, competed for the winning European Ryder Cup Team last fall, won The RSM Classic in November, and finished runner-up at this year’s Masters in his major debut. The University of Alabama’s Nick Dunlap became the first amateur winner on TOUR in 33 years at The American Express in January, turning pro shortly thereafter. Rising Florida State junior Luke Clanton just became the first amateur with back-to-back TOUR top-10s in 66 years.

The results keep coming, and they’re not slowing down.

“Watching those guys – they inspire me and others. We know we can do it. We know we can hang with the best guys in the world. PGA TOUR U just continues to prove itself over and over again in a lot of different ways,” Greaser said. “The best players in college golf aren’t much different ability-wise than the guys out here. It’s not a knock to these guys but it does say that college golf and amateur golf is really freaking good and it’s probably the best it’s been ever.

“It’s amazing what they’re doing with PGA TOUR U. It’s amazing to get these opportunities. But it seems like all of us are holding our own so far.”

For Greaser, he’s still getting adjusted to the big learning curve post-college. Over the last half-decade for him, there were always five other guys around plus two coaches who “literally” scheduled everything for them. Their tournament prep was formulaic – arrive the night before a practice round, practice, and then get after it.

“Here is a lot different. It’s Sunday night or maybe you travel Monday. That’s a lot different. You have two-and-a-half or maybe three days to prepare. It’s easy to bang a bunch of balls and wear yourself out. Now it’s understanding how you want to practice and how you want to structure your entire week – so then you feel the best you can on Thursday,” Greaser said. “Honestly, I think I put a little bit too much pressure on myself the first three weeks than I should have. It’s hard not to do that. It’s a new world for us. We’re now pros. We’re now playing for money. We’re now traveling by ourselves. A lot of different stuff being thrown at you at the same time.”

Greaser has that one great result now under his belt. He’s discovering the things he likes to do between playing and practicing. This is a job now, and this is life. It’s going to take more than just three weeks to figure out how things work. But like his PGA TOUR University contemporaries, he knows he’ll get to that comfortable point sooner rather than later.

“I had to get my feet under me a little bit more,” Greaser said, “and understand that ‘hey, this is the same game out here as it’s always been’ and I’m doing the right thing.”