Idaho sophomore golfer Jared du Toit has a bright present, future
Some college golfers go their entire college career without an individual win at an invitational. Idaho’s Jared du Toit recently earned his first collegiate win as a sophomore.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Sophomore Jared du Toit waits to drive during qualification for the Price Give Em Five Intercollegiate Tuesday. Du Toit won the University of Wyoming Southern and helped Idaho take first overall.
He won the University of Wyoming Southern Invitational Oct. 5 in Maricopa, Arizona, shooting a 69-68-69 for a 10-under-par 206.
Du Toit’s performance led the Vandals to their first win of the fall season.
“It feels pretty good,” du Toit said. “Kind of get the first one out of the way. I kind of get some experience out of that and try and keep them coming.”
His previous best finish was second last season in Phoenix.
In his freshman campaign, du Toit earned first-team All-WAC honors and Freshman of the Year honors. He also led Idaho in scoring average with a 72.33.
“He’s in the top five of the players that I’ve had in my career and I’ve had a bunch of players that played on the (PGA) Tour,” Idaho coach John Means said.
Means said he liked du Toit’s competitive nature when he first saw him play at an event before du Toit came to Idaho.
“He was a competitor,” Means said. “He strove to win, to hit the best shot. His energy level was unbelievably high and he wasn’t playing very well.”
Means said he was lucky to see him not play well, but noticed how he continued to compete hard even though he was struggling.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Sophomore Jared du Toit chips onto the green during qualification for the Price Give Em Five Intercollegiate Tuesday.
“I could see something in his eyes in the way he handled himself that he was going to be a special player,” Means said.
Du Toit is from Kimberley, British Columbia, which is about a five-hour drive north from Moscow.
So, it’s only natural that his favorite professional golfer is Canadian Graham DeLaet. DeLaet is ranked 39th in the world as of Oct. 12 according to pgatour.com. DeLaet was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, and attended Boise State.
Du Toit said he loves DeLaet’s golf game and thinks he is one of the best ball strikers on the PGA Tour.
Beside the fact that du Toit and DeLaet are both Canadians who played golf at colleges in Idaho, du Toit said they are both fans of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Du Toit said he has not yet met his golf icon but hopes to in the future.
Du Toit played hockey himself in Kimberley. He was team captain of the Kimberley Nitros, his club hockey team.
“I think the reason that he’s a competitor and the reason that he’s got that confidence was because of playing hockey,” Means said. “He’s a big kid, he was a good hockey player, didn’t mind mixing it up. He got confidence because of the level of success he had playing hockey and he just carried that over.”
Means said du Toit is not a verbal leader, but leads by example on the course.
“He leads by how hard he works and by the scores that he shoots,” Means said. “The freshmen especially love to hang around him because he’s like the gentle giant. He’s soft, he’s quiet but his golf clubs do all his talking.”
Even though it’s early in du Toit’s career, Means said he has the ability to qualify for the PGA Tour.
“His confidence in his putting from last year to this year has already increased five-fold,” Means said. “He’s as good as he wants to be.”
As for now, du Toit thinks Idaho has a chance to do good things this year.
“Like I said, we have a ton of potential and I think if we get all the cylinders firing, I think the possibilities are endless for us,” he said.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected]