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Billy King, Brock Reschly, AJ Agnew, Nick Holder, Justin Hicks, Julian Dugan, Cody Coleman, Nick Bellush
A Spring Break for the Players
3/19/2026 11:03:00 AM | Men's Golf
Mastodon Men's Golf Attends THE PLAYERS Championship
The grind of a Division I student-athlete is constant and consistent.
Class. Exams. Practice. Competitions.
On Friday, March 13 for just a few hours, the Purdue Fort Wayne men's golf team was able to shut off all of those external stimuli and just … be.
Billy King, head coach for the men's golf program, surprised his squad with a spring break trip of every golfer's dreams.
After the Mastodons competed in the Surf Club Invitational in Myrtle Beach, they headed south to play practice rounds at the Mission Inn Resort, the site of the Horizon League Championship.
But the best part of the trip came the following day.
King took seven of his student-athletes to THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Brock Reschly, AJ Agnew, Nick Holder, Justin Hicks, Julian Dugan, Cody Coleman and Nick Bellush were treated to 123 of the best golfers in the world.
Prior to their trip, the Mastodons were already planning to make the trip to Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida to play practice rounds at Mission Inn, and they were not looking forward to the return trip. What would have been the day to drive home fell on Holder's birthday and he, along with the others, were lamenting the 16-hour van ride back. Instead, King surprised Holder and his teammates with tickets to the second round of THE PLAYERS.
"Why not reward them with a day of fun?" King said.
That was King's message to his student-athletes. Lock in on our business portion of the trip, but once we get to Ponte Vedra Beach, just go enjoy it.
When King first told the team, surprise didn't quite do their reaction justice.
"We were in shock," Hicks said.
After about as welcome of a 5:30 wake-up call as one could find, the 'Dons loaded up the van for a quick 150-minute drive north. When they arrived at TPC Sawgrass, they entered the property and came around the bend with holes 16, 17 and 18. Reschly described it as one of the most iconic finishing stretches in golf.
"I was just as excited as the kids," King said.
Coach King settled in on that finishing stretch, while the team scattered across the grounds. Hicks, Holder and Agnew found their way to the practice green, where they found Mark Hubbard with no one around. After chatting with him and following for a few holes, they, like most fans there, worked their way back around to the best golfer in the world: Scottie Scheffler.
"I had fear of missing out while we were out there," Hicks said. "We only had eight or nine hours to be out there, and I wanted to see everyone and the whole course, but I was able to take it all in and enjoy it."
For most, it was as close as they had ever been to professional golf. It was clearly a different game on the biggest stage.
"The sound when they hit driver is just different," Reschly said. "And the course design is just so good. I don't think there's a blade of grass out of place on the property. It's immaculate."
After the nine hours or so on the course, the Mastodons piled back into the van for a much more tolerable drive home.
"My favorite part of the day was when they guys got back into the van, they just couldn't stop talking about the day," King said. "Just to hear their excitement, that was pretty cool to hear.
"To reward them with a day when they just turn off college life and just flat out enjoy and not have to answer to anybody, that was really rewarding to me."
The team had nothing but positives to share.
"It was a trip to remember," Hicks said. "Coach King went out of his way to plan the whole thing and then did all the driving to make it possible, so it was a special trip."
"We're really grateful," Reschly said. "It's definitely not something a lot of programs get to do. It's one of the cooler experiences that I've ever had, and Coach King made that possible."
King's goal of the spring break trip was to help the team get away from daily stressors of being collegiate student-athletes and help them reset for the last two months of the season.
Mission complete.
Now the Mastodons return to their classes, exams and practice schedule before turning their attention to the Don Benbow Butler Spring Invitational at the end of March.
Class. Exams. Practice. Competitions.
On Friday, March 13 for just a few hours, the Purdue Fort Wayne men's golf team was able to shut off all of those external stimuli and just … be.
Billy King, head coach for the men's golf program, surprised his squad with a spring break trip of every golfer's dreams.
After the Mastodons competed in the Surf Club Invitational in Myrtle Beach, they headed south to play practice rounds at the Mission Inn Resort, the site of the Horizon League Championship.
But the best part of the trip came the following day.
King took seven of his student-athletes to THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Brock Reschly, AJ Agnew, Nick Holder, Justin Hicks, Julian Dugan, Cody Coleman and Nick Bellush were treated to 123 of the best golfers in the world.
Prior to their trip, the Mastodons were already planning to make the trip to Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida to play practice rounds at Mission Inn, and they were not looking forward to the return trip. What would have been the day to drive home fell on Holder's birthday and he, along with the others, were lamenting the 16-hour van ride back. Instead, King surprised Holder and his teammates with tickets to the second round of THE PLAYERS.
"Why not reward them with a day of fun?" King said.
That was King's message to his student-athletes. Lock in on our business portion of the trip, but once we get to Ponte Vedra Beach, just go enjoy it.
When King first told the team, surprise didn't quite do their reaction justice.
"We were in shock," Hicks said.
After about as welcome of a 5:30 wake-up call as one could find, the 'Dons loaded up the van for a quick 150-minute drive north. When they arrived at TPC Sawgrass, they entered the property and came around the bend with holes 16, 17 and 18. Reschly described it as one of the most iconic finishing stretches in golf.
"I was just as excited as the kids," King said.
Coach King settled in on that finishing stretch, while the team scattered across the grounds. Hicks, Holder and Agnew found their way to the practice green, where they found Mark Hubbard with no one around. After chatting with him and following for a few holes, they, like most fans there, worked their way back around to the best golfer in the world: Scottie Scheffler.
"I had fear of missing out while we were out there," Hicks said. "We only had eight or nine hours to be out there, and I wanted to see everyone and the whole course, but I was able to take it all in and enjoy it."
For most, it was as close as they had ever been to professional golf. It was clearly a different game on the biggest stage.
"The sound when they hit driver is just different," Reschly said. "And the course design is just so good. I don't think there's a blade of grass out of place on the property. It's immaculate."
After the nine hours or so on the course, the Mastodons piled back into the van for a much more tolerable drive home.
"My favorite part of the day was when they guys got back into the van, they just couldn't stop talking about the day," King said. "Just to hear their excitement, that was pretty cool to hear.
"To reward them with a day when they just turn off college life and just flat out enjoy and not have to answer to anybody, that was really rewarding to me."
The team had nothing but positives to share.
"It was a trip to remember," Hicks said. "Coach King went out of his way to plan the whole thing and then did all the driving to make it possible, so it was a special trip."
"We're really grateful," Reschly said. "It's definitely not something a lot of programs get to do. It's one of the cooler experiences that I've ever had, and Coach King made that possible."
King's goal of the spring break trip was to help the team get away from daily stressors of being collegiate student-athletes and help them reset for the last two months of the season.
Mission complete.
Now the Mastodons return to their classes, exams and practice schedule before turning their attention to the Don Benbow Butler Spring Invitational at the end of March.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Players Mentioned
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