Some say having a student-athlete win the 2012 US Amateur is the biggest athletic accomplishment to happen on the Chattanooga campus since the 1997 Mocs’ basketball run to the NCAA Sweet 16. Senior Steven Fox out-“Foxed” his opponents to bring this honor to Chattanooga.
Fox entered the 2012 US Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado as an unknown collegiate golfer and came out a champion. He defeated the world’s top-ranked amateur (Chris Williams of the University of Washington) in the match-play quarterfinals, and then rallied from two-down with two to go to defeat Michael Weaver (University of California-Berkeley) on the first playoff hole to win the Havemayer Trophy.
Fox then represented the United States at the World Amateur Team Championship in Antalya, Turkey, where he and his teammates combined to win in record fashion. He also played in the 2013 Copa de las Americas, where he finished third.
As the reigning US Amateur champion, Fox is automatically entered into three of golf’s four Majors – The Masters, US Open and British Open. Even though he did not make the cut at the 2013 Masters, he gained valuable experience, getting to play with former champions Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson and many others.
Fox has found success by taking each hole of each tournament one shot at a time. The senior, whose coaches describe as “a quiet leader who keeps everyone on the team loose and laughing”, carries that attitude himself and manages to stay calm under pressure and make the big shots when needed. He is a three-time All-SoCon team selection who was named to the SoCon All-Freshman team in 2010. He was a 2012 PING All-East Region selection and the 2011 TGA Match Play Champion.
Fox’s success at Chattanooga started as a true freshman where he played in every tournament. His year-long average strokes per round was 73.97 and the season included the highest finish of his collegiate career when he tied for first at the Furman Intercollegiate with 2009 US Amateur finalist Ben Martin of Clemson. His 36-hole score of 138 (-6) at the event is tied for his highest 36-hole score. He was named to the All-SoCon Freshman team for his performance.
As a sophomore, the Hendersonville, Tenn., native was one of only three Mocs golfers to play in all 11 events. He lowered his average strokes per round from the year before to 73.00, which ranked second on the Mocs’ squad. He was also second on the team with five rounds in the 60’s and 13 total par or better rounds and was tied for second with three top-10 finishes. He was named All-Southern Conference and set a school-record score in an NCAA Postseason event with a 67 in the final round of the NCAA Colorado Regional.
Fox continued to improve in his junior season, finishing the year as a PING All-East Region and All-Southern Conference selection and was ranked No. 89 in the nation. He again lowered his strokes per round average, finishing the year at 72.89. Fox tied for fourth at the SoCon Championship and tied for third at NCAA Bowling Green Regional, which gave the Mocs their first-ever NCAA Regional win. Then came the US Amateur, the World Amateur Team Championship and Copa de las Americas.
The senior has continued his success in his final season wearing the “Power-C” logo. He was again named All-SoCon and finished tied for second at the 2013 conference championship.
After graduation, Fox plans to continue his journey towards becoming a professional golfer by taking each practice, each tournament, one shot at a time.