By Michelle Bova (HS'07)

Alex Timmons walks onto the driving tee of the par 4 final hole of the Westminster College Invitational, holding a one-stroke lead for lowest individual score. Of the 11 universities that are competing in the three-round tournament, it just so happens that Timmons' playing partner, Nick Sanner of Clarion University, is in second place. Although Timmons is a team player for Carnegie Mellon, he, like the other 66 golfers, would be thrilled to win individual honors.

However, the moment may be slipping away. He watches his tee shot drift to the left and land in the rough. From that lie, it's too risky to go for the green. He hits his ball onto the fairway; then, with his third shot, his ball plops 15 feet from the hole. It's a putt he must make to avoid a playoff because Sanner has an easy putt for par. As Timmons sizes up the putt, the breaks and the speed, he feels the kind of pressure young golfer's dream of—or dread—from the moment they pick up a club.

Timmons has been playing golf since he was 11 years old. The mechanical engineering major attributes his prowess to two factors: confidence and his father's tutelage. "My dad always played," says Timmons, "and he started [my brother and me] the right way, tried to show us the proper way to hit a golf ball."

Timmons remembers many father-and-sons games growing up in Ohio and how he fell in love with the game, playing whenever he could. By middle school, he was good enough to play competitively on an Ohio youth tour; by the time he graduated from high school, he had an impressive golf résumé, including having a 0.2 handicap and being a member of Ohio's All State team. His academic résumé wasn't bad, either. The honor student had a 4.2 GPA.

During his first year on Carnegie Mellon's golf team, he had six top-three individual finishes, tied for most on the team, and he quickly became known as one of the team's longest hitters, consistently driving the ball more than 300 yards.

Unfortunately, driving distance won't help him as he looks over his 15-foot putt to win the invitational. Trying to block out everything but a solid stroke, he hits the ball, looks up, and watches it fall into the cup. He's the champ, and his score helps give the team a second-place finish.

The putt also helped place Timmons on the Jack Nicklaus Award watch list, which names the best-ranked golfers in Divisions I, II, III and the NAIA. Timmons was one of only 15 Division III golfers nationwide on the Nicklaus list last season.

The winning putt didn't go to his head, though. He laughs when asked whether he considers turning pro. "I'm not good enough...Maybe I could play on the Hooters Tour," he says, referring to what amounts to the PGA's minor league tour. Timmons has a more tangible dream. The senior hopes to one day put his engineering education to work by creating sporting goods for golfers. And, like his dad, he plans to play golf whenever he can, including this fall for Carnegie Mellon.