Richardson golfer, ranked No. 1 in country, looks to do something that hasn't happened since Jordan Spieth
RICHARDSON, Texas - North Texas has a new up-and-coming golfer, who was recently ranked number the one junior golfer in the country, according to Golf Week.
Preston Stout is a senior at JJ Pearce High School.
He started out playing football before realizing it's his golf swing that's truly special.
"Just to be the best junior golfer here in Dallas is a massive accomplishment, then if you zoom out and look at the entire country, all the other talent to have played well enough, not only locally, but nationally, is a massive accomplishment," said Corey Lundberg, the COO of Altus Performance.
East Oak Cliff golf course to host nationally televised golf tournament in 2023
Lundberg talked to us about Preston Stout at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Southern Dallas, the same course where Jordan Spieth trains.
Now Stout is the only junior golfer since Spieth to win the Veritex Byron Nelson Junior back-to-back times. With a third win this year, he would tie Spieth's record.
"If you look at the commonalities of what Preston has accomplished, we are hopeful that lightning can strike twice," Lundberg said.
Unlike a lot of junior golfers Preston got into the sport at an age that is considered late.
He took his first swing at 11-year-old, the same age he nabbed this photo of his role model Spieth.
[REPORTER: "What would you have thought then if you had heard you would tie his record?"]
"Wouldn't have believed you, would have called you crazy," Stout said.
He continued to play other sports, even into his freshman year of high school.
"Preston came to us 5 to 6 years ago, a multi-sport athlete. Baseball, basketball, football, developed good, fundamental movement skills, athleticism, coordination," Lundberg said. "Now, he's the number one player in junior golf."
Stout says it's a friend who broke the news.
"My buddy called me, ‘Dude, you know you’re number one now?' It was really awesome," he said.
Stout's next dream is to get an exemption as a junior to play in the AT&T Byron Nelson in May.
"To play in front of hometown as high school kid, show skills and that I can hopefully compete with them," he said.
Stout's dad says it's Preston's self-motivation that has been so rewarding to watch.
"The first time he started playing was in the dark using the light of the tennis court to putt," said Chris Stout.
Now he's in a spotlight all his own.
"Here's a kid who has been best player in Dallas, then he's the best player nationally, he's headed to one of the biggest golf schools in the country at Oklahoma State, play that out, of others who have followed that precendent and the sky is the limit," Lundberg said.
Stout's next tournament is the Simplify Championship in Houston next week.
Then there is one of the biggest junior tournaments on the calendar, the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley next month, just outside of Augusta, Georgia.