Robert Damron is a UCF Hall of Famer through and through.
Inducted into the UCF Athletic Hall of Fame officially in 2002, Damron played golf for the Knights from 1991-94 before leaving to turn professional. In his time as a Knight, Damron was a three-time All-American honorable mention and set the school record for the most wins in school history with five, including winning it all at the prestigious invitation-only John Hancock All-American Tournament and Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Damron also helped the Knights to two NCAA Regional berths and competed at the Regional as an individual in 1993. He holds the UCF 54-hole scoring record and is seventh in career scoring average.
"I had a vision in mind of what I wanted to do since I was a little kid, and that was to be a professional golfer, and UCF played a big role in that as far as helping me mature," said Damron.
Although he always aspired to play professionally, Damron really began to buy into his abilities in his time as a Knight.
"In my second year at UCF, I was invited to the John Hancock All-American and there is an illustrious list of past winners there, most of which made it on tour," said Damron. "I won by four strokes, and seeing my name up there with all of those other great golfers who came before me made me think that maybe there was a reason I was at the top of that list. I thought: 'maybe I am good enough to compete professionally.'"
Growing up, Damron was exposed to the highest level of the game as his father relocated the family to Bay Hill, Fla. when Damron was a child. There, Damron was able to witness one of the premier golfing events in the nation, the Bay Hill Classic (Now called the Arnold Palmer Invitational).
"Every year, when [the Bay Hill classic] came to town, I thought 'I want to do that'," said Damron.
Damron's father was also close friends with Arnold Palmer. Yes, that Arnold Palmer – one of the greatest and most charismatic golfers to ever play the game.
"I have played probably around 100 rounds of golf with Arnold Palmer," said Damron. "I have known him since I was a young boy, but I knew him when I was so young that I didn't really understand what role he played in the game and I couldn't appreciate it to the point where I would be starstruck by him.
"Arnold went out of his way to help me. The first tournament I played in out of Q-School, I wasn't going to get in, and Arnold called the director and said 'this is my guy, can you help him out?', and sure enough I got in. If he doesn't pull that string, who knows what could have happened?"
Damron took full advantage of that opportunity as he would go on to have an illustrious career. He was the first from UCF to make it full-time to the PGA Tour and the first to win a tournament there, winning it all at the 2001 Byron Nelson Classic.
Damron shot 66-64-67-66 in four rounds of play at the classic to finish with a 263(-17) total and claim his PGA Tour victory.
Damron receiving his championship trophy following his PGA Tour win at the 2001 Byron Nelson Classic
"From the time I was seven or eight years old, my dream was to win a PGA Tour event," said Damron. "Then, you realize it, and it's just awesome.
"But, frankly, when it happens, there are the crowds, and someone runs up and interviews you and they pull you over to talk to the press, and then there's the trophy presentation. Then, you go sit in the press tent with the media again. By the time I realized what had happened and what I had accomplished, I was back in the locker room cleaning my locker out and everybody had left.
"I always regretted not getting a second PGA Tour victory, because I knew that once that putt went in, I would be able to close my eyes and actually enjoy the win and that moment. When you get that first win, you don't quite know what to expect and it's like a whirlwind, but one thing is for sure, I'm definitely not tired of hearing people say 'PGA Tour winner Robert Damron.'"
Damron also reflected on his mindset as a professional golfer.
"In golf, you cannot control what everyone else is doing, only yourself. So, I just tried to stay within myself and stay in the present," said Damron.
"I always tried to be a guy that didn't fight it. I wanted to dance with who I brought to the party instead of trying to force a certain type of shot. Over ten full years on tour, I had a bunch of different thoughts and ways to play and I just kind of used what I had on that day when it came around."
Despite being around some of the best to ever play the game during his time in the professional world, Damron rarely felt out of place.
"You don't want to be a rookie on tour and get star struck. You're competing against the best and you want to be beat the best," said Damron. "But the only time I ever got star struck was when I met Sevy Ballesteros."
Ballesteros was a Spanish professional golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He won a record 50 European Tour titles, including at least one European Tour title for 17 consecutive years between 1976 and 1992. He is widely considered one of the best to ever play the game of golf. Ballesteros passed away in May of 2011.
"I got to spend maybe one minute with him – and that was the one and only time I had ever been star struck by another golfer. He was just electric," said Damron.
Damron last played on the PGA Tour during the 2013 season. Today, he remains involved in the game on a different level as he is a golf analyst at Golf Channel.
"I love it. I retired from professional golf in 2013 and sat around a good two years or so. I was forty years old at the time and I just felt that was too young to not have anything to do," said Damron. "Most people retire to play golf and I wasn't going to do that. When Fox Sports bought the USGA, I reached out to some very high up people over there and they introduced me to the producer at Golf Channel.
"I live in Orlando, right where the Golf Channel studio is located, and it was just a great fit that I could go in to the studio and could go home after and have the day to myself and be with the kids. Golf Channel has been a great fit ever since," said Damron.
Damron's primary responsibility with Golf Channel is as a part of their early morning weekday show Morning Drive.
"Morning Drive – the show I do at Golf Channel, starts at 7 a.m., and we have a 5:15 a.m. meeting, so I get up around 4:00 a.m., take a shower and have my coffee," said Damron.
"We have our meeting and go over what is going to be on the show, everybody gets everything set up and then you do the two-hour show. I work with fantastic people. I'm usually home by 10:15 a.m. and have the rest of the day to myself."
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A segment of Damron on the Golf Channel early morning show Morning Drive
In 2002, during the height of his professional career, Damron was elected into the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame.
"At the time I got inducted, it was funny because my first kid had just been born earlier that week, so I was kind of preoccupied and maybe didn't quite appreciate what was going on as much as I should have," said Damron. "So, when it was my turn to speak, I got up, thanked everyone, explained what was going on in my life, but my speech was maybe three minutes long as opposed to ten or fifteen minutes like everyone else's.
"At the time, I didn't appreciate it as much, but UCF has grown and is huge. They have expanded so much in recent years, and to be a part of that history, it really is awesome."
Today, Damron only sees more opportunity for growth at UCF.
"When it comes to UCF Golf specifically, I see such a potential for growth because of the Orlando area," said Damron. "It's a Mecca for golf and the team gets better every year and keeps doing big things. I think in the future, as more great UCF golfers come through and go on to become professional, I think it will only continue to grow."
When asked what advice Damron could give to an up-and-coming UCF golfer, he had this to say:
"If your dreams are to be a PGA Tour player, work on your wedge game. Everybody is long out there, and they all drive it great, even in college. You can never be good enough with your wedges. The best in the world could still learn to control his yardage better. If your wedge game is better than everyone else's, you're going to be tough to beat."
And Damron was certainly tough to beat.