Patrick Reusse: With these results, real world can wait

Troy Merritt was home in Fridley for the Christmas-New Year's holidays for three weeks. His parents, Mark and Zoe, kept offering reminders to the second of their three sons on the advisability of finishing his degree at Boise State before pursuing a golf career. ¶ "When he left to go back to Idaho, I think we had him leaning our way," Mark said. "And then came this spring golf season. There's nothing we can say now. ¶ "What the heck? Go for it. He's a good kid. We like him. He has a place to go if he doesn't make it." Merritt is a senior when it comes to golf. He would be looking at another year in college to complete a degree. He's going to worry about those credits later, because a phenomenal final season for the Broncos has made clear his immediate future.

"I'm going to turn pro when the college season ends -- hopefully, that means after the NCAA tournament [May 28-31 in West Lafayette, Ind.]," Merritt said. "I'm going to try to qualify on Mondays for Nationwide Tour events.

"It's a tough way to get started, but it's better than the lower tours, where it costs a ton and you have to finish in the top five to make money for the week."

Merritt's decision to turn pro is based on a golf year when he has six victories. He won two of the Broncos' six tournaments in the fall and now four of five tournaments in the spring season.

Those four victories have come in a row: the Ron Moore in Phoenix; Pacific Coast in Santa Barbara, Calif.; Cowboy Classic in Phoenix; and the Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah. He will try to make it five in a row in Boise State's conference tournament -- the WAC -- starting Monday in San Jose, Calif.

"It's not easy winning Division I tournaments," he said. "Most tournaments, you're going against 100, 110 players. And as I said, this is D-I, so they all can play."

Merritt learned to play golf from his father at the local course in Burley, Idaho.

Mark also was the boys' basketball coach at Burley High. Then, in 2001, he took a sales job with the Tilsner Carton Co. in St. Paul. The family moved to Fridley, where Zoe teaches in the school system.

Troy entered Spring Lake Park High as a sophomore in the fall of 2001. He was an all-conference guard for the 2004 team that gave the school its first trip to the state (Class 3A) basketball tournament.

"We've always had a strong connection to basketball in my family, but playing pro golf has been my goal since I was 9," he said. "I was 9 years old. I won the Idaho tournament for that age group, and found that I loved to win."

Merritt was one of the top golfers in the North Suburban Conference. As a senior, he was in contention after the first day of the 2004 Class 2A tournament, but he didn't make a second-day move and was well beaten by White Bear Lake's Andy Paulson.

Paulson went to Minnesota, where he is a part-timer in the Gophers' lineup. Merritt heard from only a couple of MIAC schools. He went to Winona State and made the Division II team in a tryout.

He had been working summers at Oak Ridge Country Club in Hopkins. Management decided to reduce the playing privileges for employees.

Ed Davis, Troy's uncle, took a marketing job at SpurWing Country Club in Meridian, Idaho. He said there was a job for his nephew at the club, with better playing privileges.

Troy headed back to his home state. He was playing one summer day with Jay Frank, the SpurWing pro, and shot a 63. Frank contacted Kevin Burton, a friend and the golf coach at Boise State, with a simple message: "You should look at this kid."

Merritt transferred to Boise State. He won once as a junior. Now he has six victories -- the most for a Division I men's player in the fall/spring cycle. He also has the lowest scoring average at 69.3.

"First, I had to learn to compete at this level, and then I had to learn to win," Merritt said. "You have to stay in the 60s if you're going to win in D-I golf. I've had 32 rounds as a senior, and I think 19 have been in the 60s."