With an end goal of turning pro and playing on the PGA Tour, senior golfer Thomas Giroux is looking ahead and trying not to get caught up in all the tangible success. 

Giroux had an outstanding season — even amid COVID-19 — including receiving Individual Horizon League Champion, Men’s Golfer of the Year and shooting a season average of 72.5.

“[The success] feels good, but I try not to get too caught up in it,” Giroux said. “At the end of the day — I’m trying to turn pro and that’s my end goal. It’s nice to have all the success and be reminded that I can do it, but I try not to dwell on it too much.” 

Setting personal goals is more important to Giroux than the material successes.

“[Goal setting] is more of a personal thing,” he said. “I set goals and measure success on if I achieve those goals or not. It’s not so much if other people are judging me as successful, but more if I judge myself as successful.”

Giroux picked Oakland for a combination of reasons: he liked Coach Pumford and his style, got along with the team and it wasn’t far from Canada — where he’s from.

“[Coming to Oakland] was a big adjustment from high school because once I got to OU I was living on my own and had some more responsibilities,” Giroux said. “It was nice, though, that we had organized practices — I could build my schedule around that. Things were very structured, but it was a lot more to handle.”

Giroux’s dad got him into golf, where they’d go to the park to practice. Today, he still views his dad as a solid role model and admires his hardworking attitude saying, “whenever I’m feeling down, or like I don’t want to do something, I just remember how hard he works.”

Alongside perseverance and hard work, Giroux also values the team motto revolving around belief, excellence, attitude and relentlessness.

“Golf is a tricky game — you always have to be on your toes,” Giroux said. “You never know how it’s going to go, so you have to be ready for anything.”

As someone who’s viewed as a leader on the team for the younger guys, Giroux takes on whatever role he needs to for the betterment of the team.

“[I like] to take on whatever role is needed at the time,” he said. “Just adapting to the situation.”

Overall, Giroux wants to make an impact on OU Golf, and be someone future golfers can look up to as he works toward the PGA Tour.

“I want golfers who come after me to look up to me and know — all that I’ve done, they can do, too,” Giroux said. “Even though Oakland’s not a big golf school, it doesn’t have to be for you to be successful and play well.”