University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Redshirt Senior Men’s golfer Connor Humble has been an intricate part of the Golden Eagles team the past five seasons. Humble has led the squad in scoring average the past three seasons, and over the course of his time at UMC has finished in the top 20 at the NSIC Tournament three times.
The Rosemount, Minnesota product said family was a big reason he started playing the game. “My grandpa got me into the game of golf, and I started playing when I was around 4 or 5 years old,” said Connor Humble. “I never played competitively though until my eighth-grade year when I tried out for the high school team at Rosemount.”
After beginning competitive play, Humble knew it was something he wanted to pursue at the next level, and UMC seemed like the right fight for a variety of reasons. “My sister actually came to UMC as well as a golfer, and so I was familiar with the campus and loved the class sizes,” said Connor Humble. “A lot of the decision did have to do with golf in mind, but it was also very appealing from the school aspect as well.”
Some golfers would avoid a campus-like UMC due to Minnesota’s harsh winters and inability to play local golf courses until later in the season, but that ended up being a big reason Humble wanted to be a Golden Eagle. “Being able to play all these different golf courses has been one of my favorite parts of coming to school here,” said Connor Humble. “I never traveled to play golf when I was younger so to go all over the place and play all these courses in Missouri has been a blast for me.”
Since arriving on campus, Humble immediately made an impact on the golf team. This season, Humble helped the Golden Eagles to their lowest team score in a round of golf (287) since 2011. Humble was sure to give praise to his head coach, however, Brad Heppner, and says he has been extremely influential on him as a person and as a golfer. “He’s been an extremely influential leader and shown me what it’s like to lead and be a great man,” said Connor Humble. “He’s been great about getting better players to come to UMC and raise the level of the golf team over the years. A big part of any success we’ve had has been him and how much he’s cared about us and this program.”
His Head Coach Brad Heppner noted Connor has made a great impact on the Golden Eagles program over the past five seasons. “He’s meant so much to our program over the past five seasons,” said UMC Men’s Golf Coach Brad Heppner. “He has played in the #1 spot for us the past four seasons and really leads by example. He always shows up ready to play and that’s a big reason he’s improved his scoring average each year.”
According to Humble his work ethic as well as his team’s work ethic has increased over the past few seasons, and that is helped drive the program forward. Humble says he’s been dedicated to the sport ever since he started playing and he gets out and plays or works on his craft 4-5 times a week. His numbers reflect that, with a 76.8 scoring average as a Redshirt Junior, and posting a three-round score of 211 this year to finish in the top 10 at the Mule in Warrensburg down in Missouri earlier this month. The achievement earned Humble the NSIC Co-Golfer of the week.
After Humble wraps up his time at UMC this spring, he will be working down in the Twin Cities at Minikahda Golf Club where he will be the Assistant Golf Professional. Even though his time playing in college will come to an end, his job will still create opportunities to play competitively. “I will play in some professional tournaments after my time here at UMC, thankfully my job will allow me to do that,” said Connor Humble. “So, I am able to do that and thankfully they want me to do that so that will be a pretty cool experience and I’m thankful for that.”
Many golfers are either good at driving and striking the ball, or putting, but Humble believes his best strength on the golf course is his chipping and short game. “I think my chipping has been able to help me separate myself a little bit on the golf course and has been something I’ve made my strength,” said Connor Humble. “My short game around the green has gotten a lot better over the years and that makes putting much easier when you put yourself in good spots.”
Coach Heppner believes Connor works extremely hard on every part of his game and knows how to manage each course they play better than most. “His driving and putting is probably the one area of his game he has improved on the most over the years,” said UMC Men’s Golf Coach Brad Heppner. “He also managed each golf course very well which makes him stick out.”
Of all his lessons learned over the years in the game of golf, the most important one for Humble has been learning how to carry yourself with integrity. “Undoubtedly golf has taught me how to have integrity,” said Connor Humble. “There are no rule officials like there are in basketball or baseball, so you have to be more trustworthy and call yourself out when you commit a penalty or when keeping track of your score.”
Even with all the success, Humble has had on the golf course, Coach Heppner believes Connor stands out as a person, more than he does as a player. “He has really embraced UMC and the city of Crookston and has made it his home for the past five years,” said UMC Men’s Golf Coach Brad Heppner. “He’s been very successful on the course, but he also has had plenty of success off the course over the years as well.”
An example of this would be during his Junior season in 2019-2020, when Humble was awarded the Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-American student-athlete honors, becoming the first UMC men’s golfer to earn the honor since Seth Heppner in 2016. Humble qualified in both categories with a GPA of 3.2 or higher, and a scoring average better than 78. Another accolade that Humble will always have by his name, is being named to the UMC Men’s Golf All-Decade team for the 2010s. Humble’s presence will certainly be missed from the Golden Eagles Men’s Golf team next season, but the memories and performances will not be forgotten.
Before his time at UMC is done, however, he has the NSIC Conference Tournament this weekend from April 14-16 in Blue Springs, Missouri. Humble is hoping to end things with a bang. “My goal coming into the season was to make the All-Tournament team, so if I could finish in the top 5 that would be a personal goal for myself,” said Connor Humble. “I think it helps I played well last week, and I’m hoping to carry that momentum into this weekend and put myself in a good spot to knock down some putts.”
