Nearly every college athlete spends their youth and high school years working toward a goal of playing at the collegiate level. But Villanova sophomore golfer Noah Peck represents the small minority that didn't have that typical aspiration.
 
Peck enrolled at Villanova in the fall of 2018 to be a business major. The Villanova School of Business was ranked the No. 1 undergraduate business program in the nation in 2016, an accomplishment that caught Peck's attention and brought him to Villanova.
 
Before choosing Nova, Peck even considered the possibility of Division III college volleyball, but ultimately chose academics over athletics.
 
The point is, Division I college golf was not at the top of Peck's priority list.
 
At 6'4", Peck is a gifted athlete and grew up playing lacrosse, volleyball, basketball, soccer. There was the occasional round of golf with his father here and there, but the Hunt Valley, Md., product didn't turn serious about golf until he was 12.
 
His father, a former SAP employee, developed a friendship with World Golf Hall of Famers Ernie Els and Gary Player, who were each sponsored by SAP.
 
Through the years, Peck met each of them on several occasions, and last year had the chance to play a round with Els. The legendary duo provided Peck with an opportunity to learn from the greats at a young age. With that kind of influence in his life, a transition to playing golf was nearly inevitable.
 
Peck really began to fall in love with the game at a perfect place for it: The Masters. A 2012 trip to Augusta is the clear moment he points to as the beginning of his golf career.
 
"I realized there that you can be comfortable with yourself and do your own thing with the individual sport, but it also had the team aspect that I liked from the other sports I played," Peck said. "Ever since then I have played and fell in love with it."
 
He played high school golf alongside a pair of teammates that went on to play at Maryland and Loyola-MD. Competing against the two of them every day pushed Peck to elevate his game as well.
 
Although he was always improving on the golf course, he continued playing a handful of other sports and never played on the AJGA Tour, the primary way high school golfers get noticed by college coaches on the recruiting circuit. When it came time to make a college decision, golf wasn't much of a factor, and Peck believed his competitive golf career was over when he arrived at Villanova.
 
Like most freshmen, Peck visited the fall club fair looking for opportunities to get involved and meet people with common interests on campus. That's where he found the club golf team.
 
A natural competitor, club golf was exactly what Peck needed, and rekindled his competitive fires.
 
"Even with it just being club golf you still play to win," Peck said. "It was fun getting back into that mentality again after I missed out on it for a couple of months."
 
Club golf allowed Peck a unique opportunity to continue working and polishing his game while more easily managing the adjustment to college life and the workload that comes with it.
 
While Peck was lighting up scoreboards on the club team, Villanova Golf head coach Jim Wilkes kept an eye on him.
 
"I had heard about him and his potential before he got to Villanova," Wilkes said. "Even though he didn't do much to be recruited, we knew him playing club golf here was the best way for us to keep an eye on him."
 
Peck's freshman club season peaked at a tournament played at Downingtown Country Club, where he brought home first place. That spring, he posted a scoring average of 72.5 for the club squad.
 
"After I won the tournament I reached out to Coach Wilkes and said, 'Hey I'm still playing and I'm playing pretty well,'" Peck said. "I knew I was capable of playing and being able to help the team out."
 
The timing worked out perfectly for Peck and the program with the availability of a roster spot beginning the fall of his sophomore year.
 
With Coach Wilkes and Coach Pat Aylward having kept track of him after arriving on campus, no additional tryout was needed. They saw the scores he was posting with the club team and knew he could be a contributor for them.
 
Now fully invested in golf, Peck received the call that he had a roster spot while he was fittingly in Northern Ireland taking in the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush with his dad. Another trip to a golf mecca marking a new beginning of his golf career.
 
He was quickly embraced by the rest of the team when he arrived in the fall. His biggest mentors were the other sophomores, Matt Davis, Danny Dougherty and Jack O'Hara.
 
"It's hard to jump into a group like that, but they were more than welcoming to try and fit me in and help me get comfortable with the team," Peck said. "They gave me everything I needed to succeed."
 
When the season rolled around, Peck quickly established himself in the lineup. He was a starter at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial, the first event of the fall, and led the team in scoring that weekend shooting 5-over through three rounds.
 
The highlight of that weekend, and his personal favorite moment of his young collegiate career, came on opening day. Peck had spent the day walking with Coach Aylward. After freshman Matt Minerva, walking with Coach Wilkes, tapped in for 71 right in front of him, Peck and Aylward knew they had to beat them in the spirit of friendly competition.
 
Coach Aylward let Peck finish the round on his own, and didn't assist with the final putt, a 35-footer for eagle. Peck found the perfect line and it dropped it in for 70.
 
Peck continued his strong play throughout the year and led the team in stroke average at 73.94, also good for 10^th in the BIG EAST. He is just one of four first-year players throughout the BIG EAST to crack the top-10 in stroke average in the conference.
 
"I didn't expect to have the impact I did, but I knew I had the capability of going out and shooting good scores," Peck said. "I thought I might play more of a back-role and help save a few strokes here and there. You don't see a lot of walk-ons come in and play in the one-spot."
 
After such a successful first season, Peck knows he can improve, and has his sights set on top-five in scoring in the BIG EAST next season. But a team-sport guy from the start, he's more focused on where they can go as a unit.
 
 "I think we can play pretty well," Peck said. "We only lose one guy and have some talent coming in. I'm excited to get back out there and compete in the BIG EAST."

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For more on club golf at Villanova and nationally, visit the NCCGA website: https://nextgengolf.org/app/teams/villanova-university-club-golf