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‘For the love of golf.’ McNary’s Colby Sullivan — a ‘dream player’ and teammate — follows in footsteps of his PGA Tour father

“You couldn’t ask for a kid to be that talented, skilled and successful and also be so grounded.”
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By Bob Lundeberg | Photos by Diana Dettwyler 

Colby Sullivan has dreamed of playing Division I golf and beyond for as long as he can remember. 

Son of a former PGA Tour cardholder, Sullivan grew up around the links and received an intimate look at the daily highs and lows that are intrinsic to golf. It’s a lifestyle he hopes to experience for himself down the road. 

Sullivan, a junior at McNary, believes the next few months could springboard his young career. His stacked schedule includes a July trip to Southern California for the Callaway World Championship and the upcoming OSAA Class 6A state championship, which will run May 16-17 at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis.

“My goal is to spark in one of these major events I play in over the summer,” said Sullivan, who will also be teeing it up in several OGA junior majors and the Washington regional qualifier for the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship.

“Recruiting has been light so far, so it really comes down to the summer. Unless you are a top guy in the world, you’re not committing this early. When the fall signing period comes around, hopefully I’ve been playing well and I can make playing DI become a reality.”

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Sullivan caught the golf bug early while watching his father, Chip, navigate the treacherous waters of professional golf. 

Chip was a full-time PGA Tour member for one season and estimates that he played in about 50 tour events. Nine of those were major championships, including a career-best T-31 performance at the 2004 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. It was the highest finish for a club pro at the major since 1969.

Chip, who is now the head pro at Woodburn Estates & Golf, last qualified for the PGA Championship in 2013 at Oak Hill Country Club in New York. He didn’t make the cut, but the entire Sullivan family, including a young Colby, was able to experience the tournament from inside the ropes. 

“Colby got to have lunch with some of his favorite superstars and hang out with the guys,” Chip said of the 2013 PGA Championship. “For a little kid to be exposed to that has made a good bit of difference in how he handles it all.”

One of the lunches was with Justin Rose, an Englishman who had just won the U.S. Open. Colby lists Rose as his favorite golfer and a role model on and off the course.

“I don’t know how my dad worked it out, but I got to hang out with him in the players’ lounge one afternoon,” Colby said. “It was pretty cool. What I took away from him is just his attitude on the golf course, his demeanor. Whether he hits a bad shot or a good shot, you can tell he’s walking around at the same pace, with the same smile on his face.”

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Colby tries to approach the game with the same spirit as Rose. Golf is too hard to obsess over an errant shot or a bad bounce, which can quickly take the fun out of the sport.

It was a message that Chip instilled in Colby from a young age. 

“My dad always wanted me to play for the love of golf,” Colby said. “He’s been my coach and my mentor, and anything I’ve done in golf is because of him. It’s been great having him along for this journey.” 

Added Chip: “Colby really has a good head on his shoulders. He doesn’t let too much affect him, doesn’t have any highs or lows, doesn’t show any anger on the course. He takes everything in stride and appreciates it all.”

Colby grew up in Virginia and moved to Oregon in March of 2020. Chip had come out about a month earlier to start a new job at McNary Golf Club, and what began as a freshman-year spring break vacation turned into an extended stay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

McNary golf coach Brad Lomax helped Colby connect with other area junior golfers during the height of the pandemic. By the time Colby’s mom, Kari, completed the family’s relocation to Oregon a few months later, Colby was well ingrained in the mid-valley golf community.

“Brad kept me busy, and I thank him for that,” Colby said. “It was amazing. A lot of people at that time were struggling with not going to work, there were no sports during COVID, but golf was really there throughout that whole time.”

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Lomax said Colby bonded with his new teammates immediately. By the beginning of the 2021 spring golf season, he was a team leader as a sophomore. 

“Colby is not a kid who struggles with social interaction; he makes friends really well,” Lomax said. “He is a wonderful teammate who cheers his teammates on. He really is a dream player. You couldn’t ask for a kid to be that talented, skilled and successful and also be so grounded.” 

Coming off a strong sophomore season, Colby has been even better this spring.

Propelled by his driver and an elite short game, Colby won three of his first five starts — including a comeback victory over Canby standout Jake Rodgers at the Celtic Invitational — with two second-place finishes. At the Mountain Valley Conference district tournament, he took third to qualify for state as an individual. His teammate, Elijah Clendening, also qualified with a fourth-place finish.

“That was a complete surprise,” Lomax said of Clendening’s performance. “For him to earn one of the two individual spots to state was incredible, and I would really give a lot of the credit to Colby. When he first moved down, Elijah really gravitated toward him.”

A week after district, Colby helped the entire team reach state with a third-place finish in a regional qualifier at Tokatee Golf Club. The Celtics took second to earn a spot at state, checking off one of the team’s preseason objectives.

As an individual, Colby set two goals for himself entering the spring: have a scoring average below 70 and win an individual state championship. Tough playing conditions on saturated courses have kept his average just above 71, but Colby is looking to jumpstart his summer slate with a gold medal at Trysting Tree.

“A state championship has been on my mind throughout the winter,” said Colby, who lists Oregon and Virginia Tech as his dream schools. “I don’t believe we’ve ever had a state championship individual from McNary, so it would go a long way for me and the school. It’s something I’ve been working hard for.” 

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