JULY 30, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A15
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Sullivan proving to be one of nation's best
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
He may be new to the area, but it
didn’t take long for Colby Sullivan to
establish himself as one of the best
young golfers in the Northwest.
Sullivan, who is going to be a junior
at McNary in the fall, was the only
golfer from Oregon that competed
in the High School Golf National
Invitational at Pinehurst Resort, N.C,
which took place June 28-30. In the
three-day, 54-hole tournament, Sullivan
placed 34th out of more than 300 par-
ticipants, shooting a 78 on day one, a
79 on day two and a 71 on the fi nal day.
“I started to putt a lot better later
in the tournament. I felt a lot more
relaxed and took more advantage
of my birdie chances,” Sullivan said.
“Playing in such a big tournament was
a little nerve racking, but once I got out
there I just played my game. It was a
great experience and I think it will pre-
pare me for other tournaments down
the road.”
Sullivan grew up in Virginia and
experienced immediate success early
on in his high school career. As a fresh-
man at Lancaster High School, Sullivan
was named the 1A player of the year in
2020 — high school golf is a fall sport
in Virginia.
But in February of 2020, Sullivan
made the move to Keizer when his
dad, Chip, took over as the manager of
McNary Golf Club.
Even though he has yet to step foot
into McNary High School, (he elected
to do online only during the COVID-
19 pandemic), Sullivan has already felt
embraced by the Keizer community.
“The McNary community is very
welcoming and accepting and every-
one has been really nice to me. I love
Oregon so far,” Sullivan said. “I miss
my friends from Virginia, but I have
already made a lot of good
friends here.”
Sullivan credits his early
high school success to his dad,
who at one point competed on
the PGA Tour and has played in
nine major tournaments.
“My dad really got me into
golf at a young age. I was swing-
ing clubs by the time I was three
years old,” Sullivan said. “The
experience that he has, plus
playing with him all the time,
has led to my success … Golf
is a big deal in my family.”
Along with being a tre-
mendous golfer, Sullivan
prides himself on being a
leader. Despite hardly know-
ing anyone on the team or at the
SPORTS
McNary junior Colby Sullivan was the only golfer from Oregon to compete in the High School Golf National Invitational at Pinehurst Resort,
N.C. in June. Submitted photo
My dad really got me
into golf at a young
age. I was swinging
clubs by the time I
was three years old.
— COLBY SULLIVAN
McNary golfer
school, Sullivan, along with McNary
teammates Jackson Garro and Elijah
Clendening, gathered golfers together
for off season work and team bonding
before McNary’s spring season.
“Jackson and Elijah really helped me
branch out and bring people together.
I just wanted to make it fun for every-
one,” Sullivan said.
The Celtics saw the fruits of
Sullivan’s leadership over the course
of the season as he helped McNary win
the Salem-Keizer district title and fi n-
ish second in the end of season tourna-
ment featuring teams from Salem and
the Mid-Willamette Conference.
“His leadership and experience
helped all of our players shoot record
lows in our fi nal tournament. Also,
many players gained confi dence
in their game throughout the year
because of his encouragement,”
McNary assistant coach Grant Kessel
said. “As a coach, he is the kid you
want to build your team around. Very
coachable and very personable. He has
all the talent you can want, but as any
coach will attest to, you will trade tal-
ent for character anyway. Seeing the
way he is around the course with mem-
bers shows that he was raised the right
way. You can count on him to represent
McNary High School and Keizer well.”
In McNary’s fi rst tournament of the
season, Sullivan shot a one-over 73 at
McNary Golf Club, tying with Oregon
State signee Brandon Eyre of West
Salem.
See COLBY, page A23