As a kid growing up, Craft played all sports, mostly baseball. Really got into golf about 12 years old after playing a bunch of baseball. So, I kind of had the movement down already. Really got into it uh through my best friend in Caddy Boston, uh who catted for me on tour forever. And uh you know, really by the time I got to high school, it was just pretty much full-on golf. started to play with a lot of players that were better than me and and I think that’s what sort of catapulted me into into you know SMU and and college golf. The renewed focus helped Craft raise his game. I remember one time I I think I shot 70 uh the first round of it might have been my first high school tournament round and walks a Hatchee of all places and uh I think the next round I shot like 82 and finished like fourth and I was ecstatic. I really just focused all my time and energy in and getting better at golf and started to enter into more tournaments and my parents started to take me to more tournaments and and that’s when I really saw a lot of progression. I was winning some high school tournaments and and that’s what really put me on SMU’s radar I think towards, you know, my senior year. Kelly was approached by SMU coaches encouraging a visit to campus. Why don’t you just come on a visit to SMU? And I said, “Okay, great.” So my dad and I went down drove think we might have drove down the next weekend and he gave us a tour and I met uh Jay Lore the head coach and we just kind of walked around campus and we were blown away and I just remember leaving that day with my dad and and he was like you’re going to go to school here. They had a solid team and there were a lot of guys that that I felt that were better than me at the time. I was confident in my game and being able to do that but I wanted to to be with some guys that would push me to get better. Craft felt was the perfect fit and the challenge he sought. He’s successful at every level. Was was phenomenal around the greens. Great grind. Uh great attitude. Composed in any moment, you know, big moments. Um whether it was making a putt at the Masters to make the cut, uh winning the US Am making putts in his professional career. Kelly always remained composed and dedicated to the game. clearly dedicated to his to his craft to to to get uh to get to the PGA tour from where he started where he is. Um dedicated as a father and as a husband and as a friend. Craft did find his way with success mounting. As a junior golfer, as a college golfer, everybody at least I had aspirations for playing on the PJ tour. My junior year, I won a couple more times and then my senior year, I was pretty high up in the in in the amateur golf rankings and I decided to to stay amateur for for that summer to try to make the Walker Cup team and ended up winning the US amateur and making the Walker Cup team. So, and then after that it was, you know, kind of catapulted onto the PJ tour. A pro on the tour, Craft remained connected to the Hilltop. He was so involved and wanted to help the program, wanted the program to be elite and just kind of struck up a friendship from from that day. SMU is a community of of uh really good guys and girls that that played golf there and and everybody just seems to keep in touch and I think that’s what SMU does. It takes care of its people. Craft, the 2011 US Amateur Champion, was a three-time all region selection and four-time allconference USA golfer for SMU from 2007 to 2011. He was named Conference USA golfer of the year in 2010 and earned an all-American honorable mention in 2011. Congratulations my friend. Uh no one deserves this more. Um a phenomenal player, a phenomenal family guy and a phen phenomenal friend. So very uh very fortunate uh to have the relationship that we’ve had. Crafty, congratulations. Welld deserved. Tonight, we honor Kelly Craft’s many accomplishments as a student athlete and recognize his contribution to SMU men’s golf.
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