November 21, 2019

By ScoutU staff 

Sam Nielsen grew up on a golf course and always dreamed of playing at the collegiate level. Last week, that dream came true when he signed his scholarship with St. Cloud State University. 

Nielsen, who is from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, choose the NCAA Division II school, because it was big enough to give him the college feel, but not so big that it was overwhelming. 

“I was looking to play D2 golf, and St. Cloud State is where my grandpa went to college,” Nielsen said. “I also have family in the Minneapolis area.” 

ScoutU’s Jon Feyen first met Nielsen when he was a freshman. Feyen helped Sam’s brother, Elliott, with his recruiting during 2017 before he signed with D1 Northern Iowa. 

“I could tell that Sam had great potential,” Feyen said. “He’s able to drive the ball 300 yards, and when he gets rolling, he puts special rounds together, like a 69 at the WSGA Junior Championship.” 

Nielsen had a breakout moment as a sophomore when he shot 74 to win the regional championship. He defended his regional title last spring with another round of 74. 

“I am very excited to play college golf to see how good I can be after four more years of hard work and practice,” Nielsen said. “There are a lot of good players out there, and it will be fun to compete.” 

Feyen saw scholarship ability in Nielsen, but the most important thing was getting him noticed. Multiple coaches made offers once they discovered Nielsen’s ability and personality. 

“ScoutU did a great job getting my name and video in front of hundreds of coaches,” Nielsen said. “It was overwhelming replying and staying in contact with coaches around the country. Jon Feyen, my recruiter, knew just when to get my name out there. Jon would contact me throughout the process and kept me motivated to keep searching for the right program.” 

Nielsen plans to major in finance, and he took a very mature route to his final decision. 

“We all dream about the D1 offer, but being realistic and finding the right college academically and personally has to be the focus,” Nielsen said. “There also was a lot of interest at the D3 level. It’s amazing how good a lot of those programs are. To all the coaches who followed me, I can’t thank them enough for their support. My mom helped me a lot in this process, so I would like to thank her for all that she does. She can tell me the golf stats of almost all colleges in a four-state area.”