Colorado University Athletics
Paul Ends Collegiate Career To Turn Professional Immediately
April 17, 2017 | Men's Golf
Owner of 24 school records to play as a pro next week in Indiana
BOULDER — University of Colorado senior Jeremy Paul announced Monday that he will forego the remainder of his collegiate career as he has decided to turn professional immediately ahead of this Thursday's Web.com Tour event.
Paul will tee it up for the first time as a professional this week in the Web.com Tour's United Leasing & Finance Championship, set for April 20-23 in Newburgh, Indiana. Last December, he reached the third and final qualifying stage for the Web.com Tour (one level below the PGA and European tours), and though he didn't make the top 45 who automatically earned their cards, he drew the attention of several potential sponsors. He was offered a sponsor exemption into the field in Indiana and is thus taking advantage of it to activate his membership.
Paul, who hails from Viernheim, Germany, is set to graduate with a degree in Business (Operations Management) on May 12.
"Jeremy has determined turning pro at this time is in the best interest for his budding professional golf career," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We respect his decision. He has a tremendous future in front of him and we applaud him on a great CU career. Jeremy leaves CU as one of the most decorated players in our history, and who seemingly always played well when his team needed it the most. The records he holds are mind-boggling at times and those marks will be great targets for future Buffs to try and achieve.
"He was a pleasure to coach and he has no bigger fans than his Colorado Golf family."
In what turned out to be his final collegiate meet, he finished in a tie for 40th in The Maxwell over the weekend in Edmond, Okla., with a 75-79-68—222 scorecard (12-over par). He concluded his senior season with a 71.75 average for 28 rounds, including a 71.27 mark for 15 rounds in the spring. The timing will eliminate him from competing in the Pac-12 Championships later this month, which Colorado is hosting at Boulder Country Club, April 28-30. He tied for seventh overall in the event last April in Salt Lake City.
"My time at the University of Colorado has been a great journey, and it's hard to believe that the four years have already come to an end," Paul said. "When I joined the university in the fall of 2013, I did not really know what to expect and how everything would turn out, as the U.S. can be quite different from Europe. But the community and people in Boulder are just fantastic and made me feel home quickly. The campus is one of the best in the entire country and so is the athletic department. Everybody working there is really engaged and you have every resource you can possible imagine.
"Over the course of my four years, the golf team has become one of the best in the nation," he continued. "This is because of the great work of our coaches, who really try to help you out in any situation. And not only in regard to golfing, but also if any issues come up in life. They were a big help for me coming over from Europe and feeling like you have someone you can rely on and make you feel home and safe.
"It has obviously been a tough decision leaving the team a few weeks early, but I believe we have a deep team this year and someone will for sure step up and fill my spot. With that being said, I truly believe that the team will have a great chance winning the Pac-12 championship and also making a move at the NCAA's."
Last June, Paul played well in a European Tour event, the BMW International Open in his native Germany, finishing in a tie for 56th place with a 72-70-74-74—290 scorecard (2-over par and just eight strokes out of a top 20 finish). He defeated 13 professionals, including six in the European top 100, while tying three others; veteran Henrik Stenson won the tournament.
As a junior, Paul became the first Buffalo to make an All-America team since 2009 in earning honorable mention honors, along with garnering first-team PING All-West Region accolades. He set a school record over the course of the season for stroke average with a 70.66 mark.
At present, he has set or tied 24 Colorado school records, including the career mark for stroke average: he owned a 71.72 norm for 138 rounds played. Other top marks included 131 of those rounds counting toward CU's team score, that 94.9 percentage the third-best by a Buff. He played in 47 overall events, finishing under par in 22 of those and at even-par four other times. He finished with 40 rounds in the 60s, 66 subpar rounds and 74 rounds of par or better, all three CU bests, and is the only player in CU history to play over 50 percent of his rounds at or under par (53.6). His 21 top 10 finishes also set a CU record, and his 27 top 20 finishes tied for the most. He won three meets as a collegian and shot his career-best round of 8-under par 64 earlier this spring in the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.
He has led the team in stroke average all three years as a Buffalo: 72.51 as a freshman in 2013-14, followed by 72.00 as a sophomore and the 70.66 as a junior; he has played enough rounds to qualify as the team leader a fourth year if he is not surpassed by senior Ethan Freeman (71.87 at present) or his younger twin brother, Yannik (72.10), both of whom are well within range to lead the team depending on their play down the stretch. Should he wind up ahead of the pair, he'll join Steve Jones (1977-81) and Knut Ekjord (1994-99) as the only players in CU history to lead the team in four seasons.
Paul will tee it up for the first time as a professional this week in the Web.com Tour's United Leasing & Finance Championship, set for April 20-23 in Newburgh, Indiana. Last December, he reached the third and final qualifying stage for the Web.com Tour (one level below the PGA and European tours), and though he didn't make the top 45 who automatically earned their cards, he drew the attention of several potential sponsors. He was offered a sponsor exemption into the field in Indiana and is thus taking advantage of it to activate his membership.
Paul, who hails from Viernheim, Germany, is set to graduate with a degree in Business (Operations Management) on May 12.
"Jeremy has determined turning pro at this time is in the best interest for his budding professional golf career," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We respect his decision. He has a tremendous future in front of him and we applaud him on a great CU career. Jeremy leaves CU as one of the most decorated players in our history, and who seemingly always played well when his team needed it the most. The records he holds are mind-boggling at times and those marks will be great targets for future Buffs to try and achieve.
"He was a pleasure to coach and he has no bigger fans than his Colorado Golf family."
In what turned out to be his final collegiate meet, he finished in a tie for 40th in The Maxwell over the weekend in Edmond, Okla., with a 75-79-68—222 scorecard (12-over par). He concluded his senior season with a 71.75 average for 28 rounds, including a 71.27 mark for 15 rounds in the spring. The timing will eliminate him from competing in the Pac-12 Championships later this month, which Colorado is hosting at Boulder Country Club, April 28-30. He tied for seventh overall in the event last April in Salt Lake City.
"My time at the University of Colorado has been a great journey, and it's hard to believe that the four years have already come to an end," Paul said. "When I joined the university in the fall of 2013, I did not really know what to expect and how everything would turn out, as the U.S. can be quite different from Europe. But the community and people in Boulder are just fantastic and made me feel home quickly. The campus is one of the best in the entire country and so is the athletic department. Everybody working there is really engaged and you have every resource you can possible imagine.
"Over the course of my four years, the golf team has become one of the best in the nation," he continued. "This is because of the great work of our coaches, who really try to help you out in any situation. And not only in regard to golfing, but also if any issues come up in life. They were a big help for me coming over from Europe and feeling like you have someone you can rely on and make you feel home and safe.
"It has obviously been a tough decision leaving the team a few weeks early, but I believe we have a deep team this year and someone will for sure step up and fill my spot. With that being said, I truly believe that the team will have a great chance winning the Pac-12 championship and also making a move at the NCAA's."
Last June, Paul played well in a European Tour event, the BMW International Open in his native Germany, finishing in a tie for 56th place with a 72-70-74-74—290 scorecard (2-over par and just eight strokes out of a top 20 finish). He defeated 13 professionals, including six in the European top 100, while tying three others; veteran Henrik Stenson won the tournament.
As a junior, Paul became the first Buffalo to make an All-America team since 2009 in earning honorable mention honors, along with garnering first-team PING All-West Region accolades. He set a school record over the course of the season for stroke average with a 70.66 mark.
At present, he has set or tied 24 Colorado school records, including the career mark for stroke average: he owned a 71.72 norm for 138 rounds played. Other top marks included 131 of those rounds counting toward CU's team score, that 94.9 percentage the third-best by a Buff. He played in 47 overall events, finishing under par in 22 of those and at even-par four other times. He finished with 40 rounds in the 60s, 66 subpar rounds and 74 rounds of par or better, all three CU bests, and is the only player in CU history to play over 50 percent of his rounds at or under par (53.6). His 21 top 10 finishes also set a CU record, and his 27 top 20 finishes tied for the most. He won three meets as a collegian and shot his career-best round of 8-under par 64 earlier this spring in the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.
He has led the team in stroke average all three years as a Buffalo: 72.51 as a freshman in 2013-14, followed by 72.00 as a sophomore and the 70.66 as a junior; he has played enough rounds to qualify as the team leader a fourth year if he is not surpassed by senior Ethan Freeman (71.87 at present) or his younger twin brother, Yannik (72.10), both of whom are well within range to lead the team depending on their play down the stretch. Should he wind up ahead of the pair, he'll join Steve Jones (1977-81) and Knut Ekjord (1994-99) as the only players in CU history to lead the team in four seasons.
Players Mentioned
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