S. African import heart of golf team

OREM — South African import Nic van Vuuren is the heart and soul of the Utah Valley State men's golf team.

Van Vuuren — a 23-year old junior — is the team captain and two-time Wolverine Golfer of the Year.

The account of how the Johannesburg native ended up in Orem in the first place is the ultimate stroke of good fortune for Wolverines coach Tommy Johnson.

"I inherited Nic," said Johnson, now in his second season at UVSC's helm. "I'm proud of everybody on the team, and I know that they're working hard, but Nic is just simply at another level."

The story goes that when van Vuuren found out his girlfriend, Lexi, was moving from South Africa to the United States, he began researching in earnest the possibility of joining her stateside on a golf scholarship.

"I was back home in South Africa," van Vuuren said, "and I got on the internet and just looked up a whole bunch of schools. I sent e-mails and left messages with dozens of coaches and schools."

Former UVSC coach Randall McCracken went to the trouble of returning van Vuuren's call. The rest, as they say, is history.

"I actually left a message on (McCracken's) telephone," van Vuuren said. "He called me back, and we just got going straight from there. Then he offered me a scholarship, and he had me hooked."

On the course, van Vuuren's strength is his driving.

"I hit it pretty straight and long off the tee," van Vuuren said. "That's probably my biggest asset on the gold course."

At the Falcon Invitational in Colorado Springs last weekend, van Vuuren led the Wolverines by finishing second overall in individual scoring at four-under par. UVSC's number two golfer was 13 strokes behind van Vuuren at nine-over. According to Johnson, van Vuuren's success is no accident.

"It's not like he's some prodigy that just rolls out of bed and gets it done without putting any work into it," Johnson said. "Nic sets the bar for our team as far as dedication and effort are concerned. He deserves everything he gets."

If there's a down side to being so good, it's that van Vuuren must cope with being part of a Wolverine squad that's still growing into its new Division I shoes.

"We're getting better as a team every day," van Vuuren said. "This year we've got some pretty good new recruits in. Slowly but surely we're growing into a pretty good program, and hopefully we can start competing with the other teams."

Van Vuuren, whose favorite golfer is fellow South African Ernie Els, hopes to take the next step with his golf career when college is over.