FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University freshman men’s golfer Clayton Forren/Rustburg has been named the Longwood Male
ARMS Software Athlete of the Week. He posted a score of 74-71—145 to lead his team to a first-place score of 300-295--595 among 18 teams at the Lafayette Invitational on April 6-7 hosted by Lafayette College of the Patriot League and played at the Silver Creek Country Club in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. Forren was the runner-up individually among the field of 101 at the 6,635-yard, par 71 layout, tying his collegiate-best for 36 holes (145) and also tying for first in eagles (1) at the event. The rookie is averaging 74.25 through 24 rounds with one Top-Five finish among two Top-10 and four Top-20 efforts overall.
Question and Answer Session with Clayton Forren and Ashley Robbins AR: Talk a little about the team’s win in the most recent tournament.CF: It was great to play together as a team for one of the first times this season. We’ve all played really well individually, but this was really the first time we’ve played well as a team. It’s great having that confidence moving forward.
AR: Talk about leading the team and finishing second overall among a field of over 100.CF: Obviously I try and play my best every day, but things really worked out that weekend. It always feels good to come in first.
AR: How does it feel to know you’ve had such a big impact on the team as a freshman?CF: It feels great. I really think that everyone playing at the collegiate level takes it more seriously and my teammates are constantly pushing me, which has really helped me elevate my game.
AR: What are you looking forward most in the rest of this year?CF: We’d love to do well in the next two tournaments, especially the Big South Tournament, and really try and keep on playing well to close out the season.
AR: Did you do anything different to prepare coming into your first collegiate season?CF: I was a little nervous and unsure coming into the season, but really more than anything I just played a lot of golf. I think it’s paid off. I struggled a bit in the beginning, but I feel like I’m having a pretty good spring.
AR: Who do you consider to be a role model?CF: In golf, I look up to my swing coach. He helps out a lot and is always there to encourage me. Whether the round is good or bad, helping me get through. In life, it’d have to be my parents. I just really look up to them because they’ve always been extremely supportive of me.
AR: If you could give a piece of advice to a student aspiring to play Division I golf, what would it be?CF: No matter what others say, you can do it. You just need to keep your head down, keep working and not listen to those who tell you that you can’t. There’s a lot of people out there who will tell you that you won’t make it, but you have to prove them wrong.
AR: Who do you look up to the most on the team?CF: Last semester, Dylan Jensen was definitely my go to guy, but this semester he has missed time because of an injury, so Blake Carter has really taken over as the team’s leader. He played really well last semester and a lot of the guys look up to him. I know it’s a lot of pressure on him, but he’s handled it extremely well.
AR: Who would you say is the funniest person on your team?CF: I’d have to go with our two seniors, Dylan Jensen and Kyle Bodin. Dylan says a bunch of stuff that he probably shouldn’t, but always manages to get away with it. He’s really funny and says whatever comes to his mind, no filter. Kyle just says the most random things and has me cracking up all of the time. I can just see him out on the course some times and start laughing because I assume whatever he’s doing is funny.
AR: What drew you to Longwood?CF: Well it’s not very far from home, which I like, and my sister actually had brought me up here to visit before I came here as an athlete. When I started looking at colleges, I had already seen Longwood. We also have family ties here, so it just made sense. The perfect combination.
AR: What is your favorite meal? Favorite music? Favorite movie?CF: I love to eat. Just about anything that’s spicy would have to be my favorite, though. As far as the music, anything relaxing is really great, and I really enjoy the Harry Potter series movies, also.
