Three-time PGA Tour winner's secret to success: 'Be obsessed'

USA Today

5 hours ago

PEKIN, Ill. — D.A. Points stood on the Pekin Country Club golf course Monday, not far from the home in which he grew up, remembering a squeaking screen door, practice swings in the dark and a passion that fueled his journey in golf.
The 48-year-old Pekin native and PGA veteran returned to host the 2025 Renewal by Anderson D.A. Points Junior Open, an American Junior Golf Association tour event created with his backing to help young players make important progress in their dreams.
"The greatest gift I had as a kid was living on this golf course," Points said. "Our house was on the No. 17 hole. I'd go out there every night after dinner and practice chips and putts right on into the dark.
"We had this screen door that was so squeaky, I could hear my father open it from three holes away, and he'd yell at me to get going inside."
He went on to win the IHSA Class AA state golf individual championship in 1993-94, and led Pekin High School to a team state championship.
Then it was playing at the University of Illinois, and on to the PGA Tour and three event wins.
Little things like that screen door and devoted parents in Steve and Mary Jo Points built core memories and a love of the game that D.A. Points remembers now, and his passion for passing along those experiences to those just starting out is as great as his passion to play.
"To be great at this sport, to be great at anything, really, you kind of have to be obsessed with it," Points said. "The days of just being a naturally gifted athlete that can just walk up on the first tee and go out and shoot 65, those aren't really happening anymore.
"Now there's great athletes and they are obsessed with it. To really be great at something, whether it's golf or journalism or TV, whatever it is, you've got to really want it. That's what I'm going to try to explain to these kids."
He did that Monday, addressing the players ahead of a Junior/AM fundraising tournament event and followed by an evening dinner and reception.
In between, he planned to join his old high school friends for some golf at Lick Creek Golf Course.
"Our 30th high school reunion is coming up, but I won't be able to attend it," Points said. "So I'm going to golf with my buddies and this will be my reunion."
D.A. Points on TV and radio
Points has played in four Korn Ferry Tour events in 2025, while continuing a transition into a PGA broadcast analyst career.
He is part of ESPN+ PGA Tour Live coverage, and was working the John Deere Classic last week.
Points will work eight different PGA events this season. And he's scheduled for a SiriusXM stint this week — 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday through Sunday — to discuss the Scottish Open.
Golfing in Peoria area laid foundation for D.A. Points
When Points was a kid, his mother, Mary Jo, kept a golf scorecard of Pekin Country Club on the family's refrigerator.
"The goal was to keep improving on each hole, so she would check my card each time to see if I had set a new best score on one of the holes," Points said. "I had pars on some, then some birdies, and eventually I think I got the composite card down to a 54."
When Points was 11 years old, his family connected him with teaching pro Rick Sellers in Bloomington-Normal, on the recommendation of D.A. Weibring.
The first time they met, Sellers took out a notepad and began sketching figures. He had advised the Points family that because they weren't members at the club he worked, he could only meet with them one time.
"He sketched a fade, a draw, a hook," and explained what they were," Points said, grinning. "He asked me if I wanted to try to shoot one. I asked, 'Which one? I can shoot all three of those.'
"Sellers told my parents, 'OK, I can work regularly with him, I'll come to Peoria."
And years later, the teaching pro stood up in D.A. Points' wedding.
The birth of D.A. Points' tournament
The AJGA reached out to Points eight years ago, seeking to increase its presence in Illinois.
Points remembered having to travel to Flint, Michigan, to find an AJGA event as a teenager. He was quickly all in on bringing such an opportunity to central Illinois.
"Energy, attitude, preparation, those are all things you can control," Points said as he prepared to address the players. "You can't control if you drive it down the middle of the fairway and it goes in a divot. But you can control how you react to it when you get there.
"I said 'absolutely' when they asked if I wanted to do a tournament here. All these players from around the country, around the world, coming to Pekin. And a chance to talk to them, help them."
The 60 boys in the 2025 field include players from 16 states, Japan, China, Thailand and Canada. There are boys as young as Evan Hofferkamp, a Class of 2029 player from The Woodlands, Texas, and Tiger YuanJun Liu, a Class of 2029 Chinese citizen based in Canada.
The girls side of the field includes 36 players from eight states and Thailand, Canada, China, India and Hong Kong.
The youngest in the field include Class of 2029 players Tiara Dhir, a citizen of India playing out of Frisco, Texas; Maya Fujisawa Keuling from Carmel, Indiana; Hailey Li from Los Gatos, California; Amy Tang from Auckland, New Zealand, and Arwen Wang of China.
Hometown players
Three Peoria area boys and one area girl are in the field:
● Notre Dame High School's Jack Coulter, Class of 2027, finished 21st at state last fall.
● Dunlap High School's Nolan Eccles, Class of 2027, finished seventh at state last fall.
● Pekin High School's Colin Kemp, Class of 2028.
● Dunlap High School's Sydney Hunt, Class of 2027, won medalist honors at the Mid-Illini Conference girls tournament, added a regional individual title and was named Journal Star girls golfing player of the year.
Tournament headquarters is in the Pinehurst room of the Clubhouse at Pekin Country Club (310 Country Club Dr, Pekin).
The tournament leaderboard and tee times can be found online daily.
On Tuesday, Eccles tees at 8:20 a.m., Kemp at 10 a.m., Coulter tees at 10:10 a.m. and Hunt at 12:10 p.m.
Pekin Country Club is a par 72, 6,549-yard challenge for the boys, and a par 72, 6,102-yard challenge for the girls.
The three-day, 54-hole tournament is Tuesday through Thursday and includes a cut after 36 holes. It's open to boys and girls aged 12 to 19.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or [e-mail]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.