It may have already been as good as done, but local golfer Jake Scarrow made it official on Nov.12 by signing his letter of intent to attend the University of Idaho next year. Scarrow, a senior student at Hatzic Secondary, has been in contact with Idaho since early summer.
“I officially signed my name on a piece of paper and locked away the future,” said Scarrow with a laugh. “It’s kind of a thing I’ve been working on for the better part of 10 years. The goal was to get to college golf, so it was a good feeling to sign my name.”
Scarrow will receive a full-ride scholarship for his four years at NCAA Div. 1 Idaho (five if he red-shirts for the first year).
The golfer’s journey towards recruitment began with a profile of golf stats and tournament scores that Scarrow sent to a number of American NCAA universities. While he received interest from several schools, Idaho was always the program to beat in Scarrow’s mind. The golf coach, NCAA Hall of Famer John Means, came out to watch several of his tournaments, and even flew Scarrow to the university for a recruiting trip in August.
While Scarrow had “a pretty strong feeling from Idaho all the way,” the trip sealed the deal. After spending a few days checking out the campus and the team, he was excited, rather than nervous, about the new chapter in his life.
“I got there and I spent the whole weekend with the team,” he said, “which is good, it’s team bonding, you get to know the guys.”
At the moment Scarrow is training for the North American Junior Amateur Championship, which will be held at the Majestic Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz. on Dec. 30 to Jan. 3.