W
hen Mike Van Sickle was a young boy, he used to tag along with his dad
on the golf course.
Three decades later, Van Sickle would find himself hitting the links as a
professional golfer at the U.S. Open in Oakmont.
For the 2005 graduate of Pine-Richland High School, playing at the
U.S. Open this past summer was nothing short of a dream come true.
After first being selected as an alternate, he learned in June that he had
qualified for the U.S. Open.
“The whole qualifying experience was just such an emotional rollercoaster,” says
Van Sickle. “I was crushed after I lost the playoffs. So, to play the U.S. Open in my
hometown—it was just incredible.”
Van Sickle’s introduction to golf came from his father, Gary Van Sickle, a senior golf
writer for Sports Illustrated magazine.
“He loved to play golf, so it was pretty smart of him to offer to take me to the course
with him,” Van Sickle says with a laugh.
Throughout his elementary and middle school years, Van Sickle, who’s now married
with a baby of his own, traveled with his father to different tournaments. While he
enjoyed playing golf, he was also a standout basketball player in high school. He lettered
three years in a row and even hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win a game against
North Allegheny.
“It was always my dream to be on the PGA Tour,” he explains. “So by my junior year, I
knew I had to draw a line in the sand and take it more seriously.”
Van Sickle, 29, says he “ramped up” his golf game, ultimately becoming the WPIAL
champion in 2003 and 2004.
After graduating from high school, he went to Marquette University, where his
mother, Betsy, had once served as the sports information director. At Marquette, Van
Sickle excelled on the men’s golf team. For two consecutive seasons, he was selected for
the All-Big East First Team and then, in his junior year, became the first amateur player
since 1955 to win back-to-back Pennsylvania Open Championships in 2007 and 2008.
During his senior year, he received the esteemed Byron Nelson Award and was named
Big East Conference Player of the Year. In 2009, he was one of only eight American
players to be named to the United States Palmer Cup team, where he was able to play
alongside the great Arnold Palmer.
Van Sickle finished his college experience as the all-time leader at Marquette in career
victories, scoring average, career rounds of par-or-better, tournament finish percentage
and career rounds played. He graduated from Marquette in 2009 with a degree in
broadcast and electronic communications, and then decided to turn pro.
“I felt like I was getting better every year in college, and I had won five collegiate
events, so it was an easy decision. I knew if I worked hard enough, I could succeed,”
he says.
Soon into his professional career, however, his game was interrupted by persistent
shoulder and rib injuries that left him unable to play his best golf.
“I couldn’t hit the ball like I wanted to. It was incredibly frustrating. A lot of humble
pie was eaten that year,” Van Sickle notes.
It was during that period that he had lunch with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Neil Walker, a
former teammate from the Pine-Richland basketball team. Walker sent him to his own
trainer, who found out that the golfer had several ribs out of place. The trainer popped
the ribs back in, which also alleviated his shoulder pain.
After healing from hi