As a freshman, Drew Dalziel has proven to his coach and teammates that he has what it takes to be one of Iowa State’s top golfers.

Dalziel walked on to the ISU golf team at the beginning of the season after playing varsity golf for four years at Burlington High School in Burlington.

ISU head golf coach Jay Horton watched Dalziel play at the state high school golf tournament last fall.

“I was recruiting another freshman, Tyler Swanson, and he mentioned [Dalziel] because they had played in the same high school conference,” Horton said. “So I started to follow Drew’s scores.”

Horton also spoke with Dalziel’s golf pro in Burlington.

“I know Joel Butler, the golf pro in Burlington, and I spoke to him about Drew,” Horton said. “Everyone I talked to about Drew had nothing but great things to say about him.”

Dalziel sent Horton a tape of his swing and scheduled a visit to the Iowa State campus. Horton gave Dalziel a spot on the team.

“I knew that when I came up here I would have to prove myself to the coach,” Dalziel said.

And prove himself he has. In only his second tournament with the Cyclones, Dalziel shot a 205 on 54 holes. This eight under par was good enough to land him first place at the Nestle Purina Classic in St. Charles, Mo., and break the five-year-old 54-hole ISU record held by Matt Lewis.

“He went toe-to-toe with one of the top ten players in the nation in the final round and beat him,” Horton said. “To have a freshman come in and do that is exciting.”

Dalziel spent the summer traveling around Iowa playing in amateur golf tournaments. He said they helped him gain more confidence in himself and his game.

“I got the advantage of upper-level competition,” Dalziel said. “I played against some of the best players in the state.”

Whether he is participating in an amateur or collegiate tournament, Dalziel doesn’t let the competition make him nervous.

“Being a freshman, I don’t really know what to expect so I haven’t set any specific goals,” Dalziel said. “My main goal for the season is to play in each event.”

The varsity roster changes from week to week as the top four individuals at the previous tournament secure spots at the next tournament and the fifth spot is left open to whoever is qualified to take it. A golfer’s varsity position is never guaranteed.

“I don’t take it to the point where I get nervous,” Dalziel said. “I play as if I was playing a tournament at home; whatever happens happens.”

Last weekend at the Baylor Invitational in Waco, Texas, Dalziel placed 22nd in the field and third among his Iowa State teammates. The Cyclones finished the tournament in a four-way tie for eighth place out of the sixteen teams that competed. Dalziel finished at even par with a 216, a score his coach was pleased with.

“I don’t expect a player to shoot eight under at every tournament,” Horton said. “It’s tough to play at that level all of the time. Even par is never a disappointment.”

Horton said that players improve over the years and Dalziel has a lot of time to improve his game; he has been playing golf since he was five or six.

“My dad was one of the top golfers in Iowa,” Dalziel said. “He got me into it.”

Dalziel took his first golf lessons from his father and then joined a golf club.

“I played a lot of sports when I was younger,” Dalziel said. “When I was in about seventh or eighth grade I chose golf as one of my main sports.”

Dalziel said he wants to try to make it on the pro tour someday. When he watches pro golfers such as Fred Couples and Tiger Woods, Dalziel said he is motivated by their success and everything about the way they play golf.

“That’s what I want to do,” Dalziel said. “That could be me someday.”

Even if he doesn’t make it onto the pro tour, Dalziel said he would continue to golf.