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SILVIS, Ill. — Preston Stout is no stranger to winning high-level golf tournaments.
The rising senior at Oklahoma State captured the individual NCAA Championship in dramatic fashion last month, forfeiting a six-shot lead on the back nine before winning in a playoff. A few weeks prior, he became the first player to ever win three straight Big 12 individual titles. And in short order, Stout will be the world's No. 1 amateur, as current No. 1 Jackson Koivun makes his professional debut this week at the John Deere Classic, where Stout will make his fourth PGA Tour start on a sponsor exemption.
While Stout says he feels comfortable teeing it up on Tour alongside the world's best players, he notices one stark difference between pro and amateur golf: preparation.
"They're very meticulous in how they go about their business, whether that's in the gym, physio. All recovery stuff is pretty impressive to me," Stout said Wednesday in his tournament news conference at TPC Deere Run. "Just how they take care of their bodies. A lot of these guys are playing multiple weeks in a row so that's definitely important and something I picked up on . . . and in practice, too. You see the putting green is filled at all times of the day. Same with the chipping green. Guys are working on those parts of their game a lot, and I feel like that's a little different than amateur golf. Seems like a lot of guys are just beating balls.
"It's definitely cool to see and learn and just kind of observe a little bit and just see what guys are doing."
Stout isn't just here to observe, though. He wants to contend. The 21-year-old from Dallas has yet to make a Tour cut, having missed the weekend at the 2026 U.S. Open, the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson and the 2025 3M Open. But again, he's a winner, and this week, he's altering his attitude to reflect that.
"I talked to my team about it a lot," said Stout, a a two-time Golfweek First-Team All-American. "I feel like in my first few events I was just — my goal was to make the cut and seemed like I was always around the cut line. So we talked this week, and going forward I need to have the same mentality I do when I tee it up for college events, which is to win. So I believe I can and I believe have the game to.
"Yeah, my goal is to win this week. I think that's the mentality you need to have in any sport, in any event, is that you can win, so that's what I'm going to try to do."
Stout still has one year remaining at Oklahoma State and his senior season will be one to keep an eye on, not just because he's one of the game's best amateurs, but because he'll almost certainly be in the mix to earn his Tour card right away via the PGA Tour's University program. That isn't exactly top of mind for him, though.
"I try not to think about it," Stout said. "I think for some guys — even for me, too — it definitely adds a little bit of pressure since we are playing for a job right out of college, which is awesome. I'm glad they're doing it. It helps us out a lot. Some guys just talk about it being added pressure and I try not to think about that so much. I think good golf kind of takes care of itself, so that's kind of how I go about it."
Nick Stavas is a digital producer and commerce writer for Golfweek. Follow him on X/Twitter (@nickstavas).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: NCAA Champion Preston Stout has sights set on high finish at 2026 John Deere Classic
Continue reading...
The rising senior at Oklahoma State captured the individual NCAA Championship in dramatic fashion last month, forfeiting a six-shot lead on the back nine before winning in a playoff. A few weeks prior, he became the first player to ever win three straight Big 12 individual titles. And in short order, Stout will be the world's No. 1 amateur, as current No. 1 Jackson Koivun makes his professional debut this week at the John Deere Classic, where Stout will make his fourth PGA Tour start on a sponsor exemption.
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While Stout says he feels comfortable teeing it up on Tour alongside the world's best players, he notices one stark difference between pro and amateur golf: preparation.
"They're very meticulous in how they go about their business, whether that's in the gym, physio. All recovery stuff is pretty impressive to me," Stout said Wednesday in his tournament news conference at TPC Deere Run. "Just how they take care of their bodies. A lot of these guys are playing multiple weeks in a row so that's definitely important and something I picked up on . . . and in practice, too. You see the putting green is filled at all times of the day. Same with the chipping green. Guys are working on those parts of their game a lot, and I feel like that's a little different than amateur golf. Seems like a lot of guys are just beating balls.
"It's definitely cool to see and learn and just kind of observe a little bit and just see what guys are doing."
Stout isn't just here to observe, though. He wants to contend. The 21-year-old from Dallas has yet to make a Tour cut, having missed the weekend at the 2026 U.S. Open, the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson and the 2025 3M Open. But again, he's a winner, and this week, he's altering his attitude to reflect that.
"I talked to my team about it a lot," said Stout, a a two-time Golfweek First-Team All-American. "I feel like in my first few events I was just — my goal was to make the cut and seemed like I was always around the cut line. So we talked this week, and going forward I need to have the same mentality I do when I tee it up for college events, which is to win. So I believe I can and I believe have the game to.
"Yeah, my goal is to win this week. I think that's the mentality you need to have in any sport, in any event, is that you can win, so that's what I'm going to try to do."
Stout still has one year remaining at Oklahoma State and his senior season will be one to keep an eye on, not just because he's one of the game's best amateurs, but because he'll almost certainly be in the mix to earn his Tour card right away via the PGA Tour's University program. That isn't exactly top of mind for him, though.
"I try not to think about it," Stout said. "I think for some guys — even for me, too — it definitely adds a little bit of pressure since we are playing for a job right out of college, which is awesome. I'm glad they're doing it. It helps us out a lot. Some guys just talk about it being added pressure and I try not to think about that so much. I think good golf kind of takes care of itself, so that's kind of how I go about it."
Nick Stavas is a digital producer and commerce writer for Golfweek. Follow him on X/Twitter (@nickstavas).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: NCAA Champion Preston Stout has sights set on high finish at 2026 John Deere Classic
Continue reading...
