PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Bensalem native Chris Crawford is a professional golfer who starred in college at Drexel University.
During his time at Drexel, Crawford was a three-time first team all-Colonial Athletic Association selection and he was the first Drexel golfer to ever earn CAA Player of the Year honors. But when he looks back at his career with the Dragons, he thinks about a lot more than just honors or finishes.
"The best memories by far are the trips with your teammates and your coaches. We took some really unique trips over the years," he recalled.
"We went down to the Outer Banks every year to play [Old Dominion University's] tournament. You stay right on the beach in a hotel. Hanging out and doing the trips that we did are, by far, my best memories of college golf."
Crawford has qualified to play in three U.S. Opens. The first was in 2016, while he was still at Drexel. He hit a dramatic 40-foot putt on the 18th hole to punch his ticket into the field.
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He remembered when it actually sank in that he would be playing in the Open, held that year at Oakmont Country Club just outside of Pittsburgh.
"It all happened so quickly. Qualifier's on Monday and then the tournament's a week and a half away. So that Friday I drove out to the Pittsburgh area, on the turnpike, by myself. And I think that's probably when I was like, 'Wow, this is really cool. I'm actually driving to go play this tournament now,'" he said.
"It was just such a really peaceful, enjoyable ride. Four and a half, five hours, dead straight, mostly flat, out the turnpike, just by myself. I was like, 'This is awesome. This is really great. Enjoy this.'"
You can listen to the entire interview with Chris Crawford by checking out the latest episode, above, of the KYW Newsradio original podcast, "1-on-1 with Matt Leon." For more, subscribe on the Audacy app or wherever you get your podcasts.