A trio of former ISU men’s golfers are finding success even after their college careers ended.

Patrick Hall, 2007 alumnus, Johnny Larson, 2008 alumnus, and Tyler Brady, 2005 alumnus, recently captured the Acura College Alumni Team Championship for the second consecutive year.

The tournament, which takes place at Pinehurst Golf Course in North Carolina, was also host to the 2014 U.S. Open Championships.

Several regional qualifier tournaments are held in order to qualify for the tournament. The team had to win the annual Cy’s Birdie Classic held at the Tournament Club of Iowa, and they did so convincingly.

Brady put the team together by looking for former ISU golfers that still competed on a regular basis. David Blum, who is the fourth member of the team, is the only one that didn’t compete for Iowa State. Blum had his career take off in high school, where he was a state champion golfer.

When the team won the tournament last year, Blum, Larson and Brady were on the team along with another former ISU golfer. Hall is new to the team this year and was ecstatic when he was asked to join the squad.

“Pretty easy to get excited about the event when we learned the winning team earns a trip to Pinehurst, North Carolina,” Hall said.

On top of competing in the tournament, each team member competes in anywhere from five to 10 tournaments each year.

Though the four don’t often compete as a team, this tournament being one of the few exceptions, they stay active by competing in state amateur-level tournaments.

Forced to balance competitive golf on top of regular day-to-day happenings, Hall described himself as a “weekend warrior” on the links.

“I don’t play or practice as much as I did while in college, but [I] still enjoy competing in tournaments,” Hall said. “That fuels my competitiveness.”

Each player on the team brings their own strengths, but according to them there is no specific role that each one plays on the team.

“I typically make a few birdies which helps in the two best of four ball format down at Pinehurst and typically good for a few laughs on the links as well,” Brady said.

Larson said that he tries to use previous tournament experience in order to keep the group loose and focused. He also said if someone gets a bit frustrated, he tries try to lighten the mood and keep get them back on track.

The three ISU alumni agreed that golf is a way of life for them.

“We have a lot of fun in the event, and we have had success as a team,” Larson said. “Why ruin a good thing?”

Hall also added that competing together is about the friendships as well as the competition. Larson said that’s the great thing about golf — spending time with friends and being able to compete.

The group will look ahead to next year as they aim to repeat as the Acura College Alumni Golf Tournament champions.