Where are they Now: Men’s Golfer Logan Blondell
5/27/2020 10:11:00 PM | Men's Golf
STATESBORO – Georgia Southern men's golf alum Logan Blondell was in the middle of a tough year when serendipity intervened.
It was the spring of 2010, and Blondell, a junior at the time, had been struggling on the golf course. The reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year and a mainstay in the lineup in his first two seasons, Blondell's game had gone sideways in the fall, and he found himself out of the lineup in the spring.
He was starting to build a little momentum and confidence with a second-place finish at the Lonnie Barton Memorial Invitational, an individual tournament in Savannah, and a T-6 as an individual at the Schenkel Invitational in March, but he was on the outside looking in as the Eagles geared up for the NCAA Southeast Regional after earning an at-large bid.
"He was working hard and playing well, just not well enough to leapfrog guys," recalls current head coach Carter Collins, who was in his third season as an assistant at the time. "I remember being very optimistic. We knew he was a special talent, and it was just a matter of time."
That's when the tide turned.
First, he got the call that he would be in the lineup for regionals. As a result, he stayed in Statesboro to practice, and he met Katie, who would become his wife, at the pool at his apartment complex. Then, he played lights out and shot a 2-under 208 at the Crabapple Course, finishing second to Oklahoma State's Peter Uihlein and leading the Eagles to the NCAA Championships at the Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
"It was a crazy series of events," Blondell says. "It set me up for everything. I had my best tournament ever in college. I finished second at regionals and beat a ton of top players. I knew I could play at the highest level so I kind of decided then and there that I'd be turning pro whenever I did finish school. It gave me that confidence to go play professional golf."
Blondell went on to have a great senior season, in which he garnered all-conference honors and led the Eagles to their third Southern Conference Championship and a third straight NCAA Regional. He tied for sixth at the Golden Ocala Golf Club in 2011, graduated from Georgia Southern with what was at the time the third-lowest career scoring average in school history, and turned pro.
He spent about four years on the mini tours and trying to play Web.com qualifiers. Luckily, he had the company of fellow Eagle alums Spence Fulford ('10) and Drew Lethem ('09) for not only the rigors of what can be a pretty lonely life on the road but also to share some of the expenses of chasing a dream. Blondell recalls staying at Lethem's house for a Web.com event in Kansas.
"Drew lived near one in Kansas, and I stayed at his house three or four years in a row and actually qualified for that one," says Blondell. "That was the only one I ever actually played. I got to stay with him and his family right near the course. It was a really cool week."
Life on the road can be tough, and after he and Katie got married, Blondell decided to try a different route. He started the process to become a PGA Class A Professional and work his way into a head golf pro position at a club in his hometown of Lakeland, Florida, when once again, serendipity interceded.
"I was married for about a year and wanted to start a family, and we found out we were pregnant during the process," says Blondell. "You realize you are making next to nothing and about to have a child, and it was time to get a more normal job."
His degree from Georgia Southern was in finance, and he was able to secure a job as an assistant general manager for a seafood supplier, where he found he had a niche for accounting. That gave him the experience for an accounting position at Lockheed Martin, where he spent almost three years before transitioning to a position as a credit analyst at AgAmerica Lending in Lakeland last January. Blondell finds many parallels in golf and his current career.
"Golf is very analytical and so is going though data and putting together a narrative on why you should give someone a loan," he says. "It's very creative but also analytical and really flows in line with the same skills I used when I was a golfer. I would have never guessed that's what I'd be doing, but here we are."
Blondell remembers his days at Georgia Southern fondly – trips to events in Hawaii and Scotland as well as playing a round at Augusta National. Even the little things, like driving to events in the van and the camaraderie shared among teammates, bring back warm memories.
"I miss it so much," he says. "You don't realize how good you have it until you don't have it anymore. That was fun with all the guys, and we played incredible golf courses, which you don't play when you are first getting started as a pro. You play kind of dumpy golf courses. There's a lot that I miss from playing at Southern."
Blondell follows both Georgia Southern golf teams on social media and still keeps in touch with Collins, who he talks to about once a month. He tries to play in Eagle fundraising tournaments when he can and says there are a surprising number of Georgia Southern alumni in and around Lakeland.
Life has a funny way of steering you in certain directions, and Blondell has found that if you put the work, you give yourself options. He put in the work that allowed him to give a career in pro golf a good shot, but he also put in the work to earn a degree. He credits Georgia Southern and the people there who guided him with providing the path to get him where his is today, both personally and professionally.
He and Katie, who graduated from Georgia Southern in 2012, have 3-and-a-half-year-old son, Ryder, and a daughter, Palmer, who was born in February.
"I made a good run at it and feel like if I would have done it longer, I would have made it, but I realized different priorities which changed that for me," he says. "But golf had set me on that path, and then thankfully, I got a degree and fell back on that and had good jobs and have been very fortunate to have good opportunities back home."
It was the spring of 2010, and Blondell, a junior at the time, had been struggling on the golf course. The reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year and a mainstay in the lineup in his first two seasons, Blondell's game had gone sideways in the fall, and he found himself out of the lineup in the spring.
He was starting to build a little momentum and confidence with a second-place finish at the Lonnie Barton Memorial Invitational, an individual tournament in Savannah, and a T-6 as an individual at the Schenkel Invitational in March, but he was on the outside looking in as the Eagles geared up for the NCAA Southeast Regional after earning an at-large bid.
"He was working hard and playing well, just not well enough to leapfrog guys," recalls current head coach Carter Collins, who was in his third season as an assistant at the time. "I remember being very optimistic. We knew he was a special talent, and it was just a matter of time."
That's when the tide turned.
First, he got the call that he would be in the lineup for regionals. As a result, he stayed in Statesboro to practice, and he met Katie, who would become his wife, at the pool at his apartment complex. Then, he played lights out and shot a 2-under 208 at the Crabapple Course, finishing second to Oklahoma State's Peter Uihlein and leading the Eagles to the NCAA Championships at the Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
"It was a crazy series of events," Blondell says. "It set me up for everything. I had my best tournament ever in college. I finished second at regionals and beat a ton of top players. I knew I could play at the highest level so I kind of decided then and there that I'd be turning pro whenever I did finish school. It gave me that confidence to go play professional golf."
Blondell went on to have a great senior season, in which he garnered all-conference honors and led the Eagles to their third Southern Conference Championship and a third straight NCAA Regional. He tied for sixth at the Golden Ocala Golf Club in 2011, graduated from Georgia Southern with what was at the time the third-lowest career scoring average in school history, and turned pro.
He spent about four years on the mini tours and trying to play Web.com qualifiers. Luckily, he had the company of fellow Eagle alums Spence Fulford ('10) and Drew Lethem ('09) for not only the rigors of what can be a pretty lonely life on the road but also to share some of the expenses of chasing a dream. Blondell recalls staying at Lethem's house for a Web.com event in Kansas.
"Drew lived near one in Kansas, and I stayed at his house three or four years in a row and actually qualified for that one," says Blondell. "That was the only one I ever actually played. I got to stay with him and his family right near the course. It was a really cool week."
Life on the road can be tough, and after he and Katie got married, Blondell decided to try a different route. He started the process to become a PGA Class A Professional and work his way into a head golf pro position at a club in his hometown of Lakeland, Florida, when once again, serendipity interceded.
"I was married for about a year and wanted to start a family, and we found out we were pregnant during the process," says Blondell. "You realize you are making next to nothing and about to have a child, and it was time to get a more normal job."
His degree from Georgia Southern was in finance, and he was able to secure a job as an assistant general manager for a seafood supplier, where he found he had a niche for accounting. That gave him the experience for an accounting position at Lockheed Martin, where he spent almost three years before transitioning to a position as a credit analyst at AgAmerica Lending in Lakeland last January. Blondell finds many parallels in golf and his current career.
"Golf is very analytical and so is going though data and putting together a narrative on why you should give someone a loan," he says. "It's very creative but also analytical and really flows in line with the same skills I used when I was a golfer. I would have never guessed that's what I'd be doing, but here we are."
Blondell remembers his days at Georgia Southern fondly – trips to events in Hawaii and Scotland as well as playing a round at Augusta National. Even the little things, like driving to events in the van and the camaraderie shared among teammates, bring back warm memories.
"I miss it so much," he says. "You don't realize how good you have it until you don't have it anymore. That was fun with all the guys, and we played incredible golf courses, which you don't play when you are first getting started as a pro. You play kind of dumpy golf courses. There's a lot that I miss from playing at Southern."
Blondell follows both Georgia Southern golf teams on social media and still keeps in touch with Collins, who he talks to about once a month. He tries to play in Eagle fundraising tournaments when he can and says there are a surprising number of Georgia Southern alumni in and around Lakeland.Life has a funny way of steering you in certain directions, and Blondell has found that if you put the work, you give yourself options. He put in the work that allowed him to give a career in pro golf a good shot, but he also put in the work to earn a degree. He credits Georgia Southern and the people there who guided him with providing the path to get him where his is today, both personally and professionally.
He and Katie, who graduated from Georgia Southern in 2012, have 3-and-a-half-year-old son, Ryder, and a daughter, Palmer, who was born in February.
"I made a good run at it and feel like if I would have done it longer, I would have made it, but I realized different priorities which changed that for me," he says. "But golf had set me on that path, and then thankfully, I got a degree and fell back on that and had good jobs and have been very fortunate to have good opportunities back home."
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