By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Ryan Siegler’s best spring on the golf course has carried over into his best summer on the golf course. And the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North graduate hopes that means big things lie ahead for him.
Siegler, who graduated from Towson University in May, plans to give professional golf his best shot. He does so coming off a productive summer that included a trip to the quarterfinals of the Met Amateur earlier this month.
“I have been playing pretty well,” Siegler said. “I didn’t have a lot of tournaments early in the summer. I spend a lot of time practicing and every time I have been playing well, whether it is by myself or with guys around my home course. It’s been fun to see that translate to some success.
“In the Met Am I shot a 64 which is my lowest in competitive round so far. I was very happy to see that. The putter finally came around. I putted well that second round. I shot 73-64 and from there played pretty well in match play.”
Siegler reached the quarterfinals in match play but fell on the 19th hole.
“I played someone who played very well,” he said. “I was 2 up with two holes to go and he made a 17-footer and then a 10-footer to stay alive. And then on the 19th hole he made a 25-footer for eagle to win. There isn’t much you can do when a guy does that.”
Siegler had a strong senior season at Towson and after his summer tournament play around home plans to head south and give playing professionally a chance to see what develops.
“I go down to South Carolina on November 1 and will play down there and see how it goes,” Siegler. “It’s a mini tour and I will try to qualify for the Canadian tour in early March. So I will be down there for five months playing mini tours and getting acclimated to Southern tournaments.
“I have a friend down there, (WW-P South graduate) Anthony Aloi, who went to Furman. I am going to meet up with him. He knows what to do and what not to do at this point and will be a lot of help to me. And then I will take it from there.”
So far Siegler has been happy with the road his golfing career has taken. He feels like he is getting better every year and his best golf is still ahead of him.
“I was very happy with Towson,” Siegler said. “I got to experience a lot of cool things. It all built up to senior year, where I played really well. Throughout the whole time I was a contributing part of the team. I felt like I put together good rounds, even when I was struggling to be one of the top guys.
“I feel like I am on an upward trend and getting better. I am playing the best golf of my life right now. So we will see where it goes.”
Siegler doesn’t have a timetable for how long he plans to give pro golf a shot. But he wants to make sure he gives himself every possible opportunity to succeed.
“I would say probably two to four years,” he said. “But it depends on how I feel when I get there and if I feel like I have a chance. If I feel I don’t have a chance then I will cut it short. But I have compared my game to some other people who have made it work and I think I have a good idea of what it takes to succeed.”
