JDC: 21-year-old Riley makes his mark on, off golf course

This week, Riley is hoping to make a memorable first impression with golf fans in his PGA Tour debut.

“I'm super excited,” the 21-year-old recent Duke University graduate said of making his first Tour start. “I would like to thank Clair Peterson and John Deere for giving me the opportunity. This is a dream come true. So I'm really looking forward to this week.”

Just as JDC officials have been looking forward to having him in the field since receiving his initial correspondence — one of hundreds of requests that come to the tournament office annually.

“This is the one that really got to me,” JDC executive director Clair Peterson said of Riley’s letter. “This one moved me to the point where I wanted to read it at a board meeting and a committee meeting. There was no way to paraphrase it and do it justice.

“Each time when I read through it, I got choked up and couldn’t get through the letter because it was so powerful and impactful.”

Peterson said that the letter talked about how important the First Tee Raleigh program was to Riley growing up in a single-parent home and the life skills that he learned while going through that program.

Before starring at Duke, Riley’s start in the game came through the First Tee Raleigh program, an organization with deep ties to Deere & Co., just as it has here in the Quad-Cities. With that background, Riley has taken the opportunity to invest some time this week with events centered around the First Tee Quad-Cities, including Tuesday’s Lunch & Learn event.

“It was awesome because I've been on the other side of that,” he said. “I've been in the audience watching professionals that I look up to kind of answer questions and kind of give their two cents on how it is to be a pro. Doing that for the kids is pretty surreal for me, because I've been there, I've been looking up to literally myself. Being in that position is just cool to give back.”

Which was another aspect of Riley’s letter that stood out to Peterson.

“And how he’s looking to use golf as a platform to improve the world,”  Peterson said. “An example of how golf can change someone’s life and how important it is to him. He mentions he has a younger brother in the letter and how he specifically is thinking about as he goes on this journey to try to make a career of golf and how he is always aware of being a good example for (his brother) first and foremost.”

The letter has drawn plenty of attention, but the laid-back Riley, who cites players such at Tiger Woods and Harold Varner III as minorities in the game that he has looked up to in his young life, has downplayed its significance.

“I guess they liked my writing,” he said.

Now Riley would like to write the next chapter of his golfing career this week on the TPC Deere Run layout.

“If I was writing my own story, it would be sponsor exemption ends up playing in the final group Sunday and having a chance to win and giving a good run and kind of getting my name out there some national recognition,” said Riley, whose schedule right now contains mostly APGA events and Monday qualifiers. “I feel like I've kind of been a late bloomer and an overlooked player for a lot of my amateur career. So having my name out there would be very helpful moving forward at the next chapter.”

Pressed as to what would make this a successful week for a young Black golfer just getting his start professional career kicked off, Riley remained level-headed with his response.

“I think I have my own expectations for how I'm going to go about with my blueprint for the course,” Riley said. “And success is just committing to every shot and making sure that I follow through on the game plan for every hole. And I think that should, you know, results-based, that should make the cut and that should contend, honestly.”

That’s simply Quinn Riley — making his mark in his own way.