Monson did not start playing golf until he reached high school, making his achievement all the more impressive.
“It’s a combination of good faith, a lot of prayer and just hard work,” Monson said. “To start so late and to make it where I’m at, I’m not one to brag on myself but it says a lot to the work and the hours I’ve put in.”
Brownwood athletic director Sammy Burnett said during the ceremony, “I didn’t have an opportunity to coach you but I got to watch you and I watched a young man in two years develop a skill he had a passion for because he had a desire to work for it. He was willing to go the extra mile to accomplish the goals he wanted to. I know after his last golf tournament it was tough on him, but when you invest so much in something it’s hard to give it up. I want to thank you for being the role model that you are for our younger ones. I don’t care about what kind of golfer you are, what I care about is your leadership and the quality of person you are.”
Monson earned first-team all-district honors as a senior, but the Lions as a team fell one place shy of advancing to the regional tournament.
“When it comes to college, they are looking for the cream of the crop, the best of the best, and in my mind when they talked to John they figured out in a hurry they’re talking to the cream of the crop,” Lions golf coach David Jones said. “A lot of things go into being the cream of the crop, and one of the best things about John in my mind is his leadership. A great example of that is we drove to the district tournament and we usually just pull up and get out and do our thing. But John asked if he could say a few words to the team and then he prayed with the team. That’s true leadership in my book, to have a young man who is deep in his Christian faith and is not ashamed to show it and talk to his teammates about that.”
Regarding his decision to attend McMurry, Monson said. “I talked to a couple of other schools in the same conference like Howard Payne, but Coach (Jay) Rees over at McMurry is a brilliant coach and really knows what he’s doing. It was by far my first choice.”
Monson’s goals on the golf course for McMurry are to, “Get out there and play the best I can. I just really want to make the school proud and let them know they made the right choice with me.”
Looking back on his Brownwood golf career, Monson said, “I’m going to remember all the fun times we had at tournaments with my teammates, they were always there for me no matter what. There’s so many memories I’ve made with my friends, my team and everyone that’s helped me along the way.”
In the classroom, Monson ranks 10th in his class with a 4.1 GPA and scored a 1290 on his SAT.
At McMurry, Monson intends to major in business management while keeping golf in his long-term plans.
“I’d like to finish college then get my PGA certification and work at a country club,” Monson said.
