GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The 2024 golf season has been over for almost a month now but one local golfer keeps winning awards to go along with his individual state title from this spring.
“I think like late middle school was really when I realized that I was kinda getting good and I really started to take it seriously,” said Will Preston.
Growing up in a family of golfers, Catholic Central grad Will Preston said that he picked up a club by the time he became a toddler.
“My mom’s whole family has been into golf for forever and my dad’s family has kinda (been into it) as well so they both kinda brought me up through the game,” said Will.
Back in June, Will clinched the division two individual golf state championship at Forest Akers West in East Lansing, after shooting 141 through the two-day tournament and going head-to-head with some of the best in the state.
“I wasn’t hitting it my best. I kinda had some stray shots that I kinda had to collect and work around. But really I just stayed solid throughout the whole round. Made lots of pars. Stayed consistent and my short game held up when it needed to,” said Will.
It wasn’t the first time he got to call himself a state champ. He and the Cougars won the team title in division three during his freshman and junior seasons.
“It’s kinda interesting the team aspect with golf because you’re still playing as an individual but it’s really cool to kinda see the importance of a team even in golf and how one stroke can make a difference for your team. So throughout those team state championships it was kinda cool to see everybody contribute,” said Will.
A few weeks after the season ended, Will found out he won another prestigious award, the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association named him Mr. Golf for 2024. He says that his golf resume, along with his performance throughout the season helped earn him that honor.
“I had played solid all throughout the year and then I finished it out with a win in the state championship. I knew I had a shot at it all year. It ultimately came down to winning the state championship for me though which I ended up doing,” said Will.
After four years at Catholic Central, Will is taking his talents out east and will play at Penn State.
“I kinda visited around some other Big 10, Big East schools but when I visited Penn State, I loved it. I loved the coaches, the culture, the school was great. And when I visited there it felt like home and somewhere where I wanted to spend the next four years so that was really important in my opinion so ultimately that’s where I ended up,” said Will.
Before he heads out to Penn State, Will will wrap up his summer in Grand Rapids.
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