Graham surging into sophomore season
August 27, 2025 | Men's Golf
Connor Graham returned to Lubbock last week after playing in tournaments all over the world throughout the summer and shot 63 in his first round back at The Rawls Course.
"It was nice being back home for a little bit playing some golf over there," he said. "I played a lot of good events and played good golf. I have a lot of confidence now coming back and starting the fall season."
Graham, who enters his sophomore season at Texas Tech at No. 42 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, played in seven tournaments during the summer – highlighted by competing in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club. He was one of nine amateurs in the event, qualifying for the prestigious tournament by winning a playoff at Dundonald Links with a birdie putt on the first playoff hole to set himself up for realizing a lifelong dream.
"After playing 36, there was a long wait to see what was going to happen but then we were tied and went into a playoff," Graham said. "Two of us for one spot. I went out there and knew what I had to do."
A Blairgowrie, Scotland native, Graham was selected to the Haskins Award preseason watch list on Monday following his success over the summer and a freshman season with the Red Raiders where he earned GCAA All-Freshman Team, PING All-Region Team, Big 12 All-Tournament Team and finished with a 71.1 scoring average through 14 events. He recorded two top 10 finishes, including placing seventh at the Big 12 Championship. At 125 pounds, Texas Tech coach Greg Sands says he's pound-for-pound the longest hitter in college golf and maybe in the world. Sands traveled to Ireland to watch Graham and Ludvig Aberg compete in the major championship and left with even more confidence in Graham's potential.
"There's aspects of his game that are probably better than guys on the Tour right now," Sands said. "He drives the golf ball very long and straight to give him a lot of opportunities for birdies. He's a fantastic pitcher and bunker player. I haven't seen anyone in my lifetime as good out of the bunkers as he is. He's fearless. When he gets on a roll he doesn't tap on the brakes. That's a great attribute that some players have to grow into, but he's already there. He wants to win. It's about channeling and getting better right now. We see the talent and now it's really about gaining experience and learning more about deficiencies and overcoming them. He's such a competitor. I told our team that we haven't had a kid more competitive than me until I met Connor. That's a great thing. It's something we need and he can use it to go where I see him going. I really think he can be a top 10 player on the PGA Tour one day. But there are things he still needs to work on. He's so competitive that I know he's going to put in the work to get there."
Graham helped lead Tech to a 10th place finish at the 2025 NCAA Golf Championship to cap his freshman season before beginning his summer by playing in the Arnold Palmer Cup where Team International claimed the title. He would finish 17th at The Amateur Championship in England before competing in the European Amateur Championship. Graham, who had wins at the 2022 R&A Junior Open and 2023 Scottish Men's Open on his resume before arriving at Texas Tech, made three birdies and shot a 73 in his opening round at The Open and followed with a 79 – missing the cut for the weekend but gaining more experience and confidence.
"Getting to play The Open championship was pretty special," Graham said. "To qualify for it and then compete against the best players in the world was such a good week. It was a good experience to go through everything around the tournament and then to play in it. I think it can help me this season, understanding that I belong and also what I need to work on to compete at an even higher level."
"Like most players, they get in those situations and might think there's something in their game that is missing," Sands added. "They also see what they do really well though. It's a flipside of maybe a little fear of not being at the professional level right now but also that parts of his game is there already. They get out there as a younger player and can see that they're even better than some of the best players out there in certain areas. It magnifies everything. Connor's probably not the most reflective guy at this point in his life, but I do think he has processed it and can see that he's good enough to be out there in the future on a consistent basis but that he still has work to do."
There's no easing back now that Graham has returned to Texas to begin his sophomore season. The Red Raiders open their season this weekend at the Carmel Cup on the Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California. From there, he'll play for the Great Britain and Ireland team in the 2025 Walker Cup from September 6-7 at Cypress Point in Pebble Beach. This will be Graham's second time playing in the Walker Cup, having competed for GB&I as the youngest ever player in the event at only 16-years-old during the 2023 Walker Cup at St. Andrews. "Playing in the Walker Cup the first time was one of the best experiences in my life," Graham said. "That was two years ago and I'm really excited to get to do it again. The goal is to have fun and win. I feel like we have a good team and if we're playing well we know we can win. We were the underdogs last time but know we can win now." The fall schedule for the Red Raiders takes them to the Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club in mid-September, the Ben Hogan Collegiate at Colonial Country Club at the end of the month and concludes at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the end of October.
"It's really nice to be back after a lot of traveling to tournaments all over the place," Graham said. "There's more travel to come in the next few weeks, but I know I'm lucky because I'm getting to do what I love. My game is trending in the right direction. I feel like I'm playing a lot of good golf and hopefully that will keep showing up in the events we're about to play in."
Players Mentioned
