Par 3: Allen brothers play golf for Washburn

Cameron Wiggins CONTRIBUTOR

Three brothers at Washburn have shared the same passion for all of their lives. Now they all play golf on the same team together.

21-year-old Colton Allen, 19-year-old Blake Allen and 22-year-old Garrett Allen are brothers from Lenexa, Kansas, attending Washburn on golf scholarships.

The three Shawnee Mission Northwest graduates are an inseparable trio.

“We’re all really close, the three of us are like best friends,” said Garrett Allen, senior finance major.

Growing up playing football, basketball, baseball and soccer, the brothers recalled first picking up golf in California at a young age.

“We were all visiting our grandma in California for spring break,” Garrett Allen said. “I think that is when we all fell in love with the sport. I didn’t realize I was good until around [my]junior year in high school.”

Colton Allen, junior business major, said he knew he was a natural when he picked up a club.

The three had their share of highs and lows during the 2016-17 season.

“I have started off a little rocky, but things are finally starting to fall into place,” Garrett Allen said. “The season is definitely going up from here.”

Blake Allen, undecide freshmen, said his game has been up and down all season, but has gained good experience.

“I have been fortunate enough to play a lot as a freshman and that should help me moving forward,” Blake Allen said.

“I’m redshirting this year, so I am practicing and preparing myself for next year, and I am super stoked to get out there and kick some butt!” Colton Allen said.

Despite being brothers and very close, the reasons they each chose to attend Washburn were very different.

“I came on a visit and really enjoyed the campus,” Garrett Allen said. “I knew that the golf team was very competitive nationally, which was a plus.”

As for Blake Allen, he chose Washburn because it offered him the largest scholarship.

Regardless of reasons, Garrett Allen said he loves playing with his brothers.

“They are by far my biggest competition which just pushes me, each of us, every day to get better,” Garrett Allen said. “But also having the support for each other plays a big role in the confidence we have.”

Although the three play golf for the school, they can’t seem to do anything else.

“We play every day, even when we are not in season,” Blake Allen said. “We just can’t get away from it. We golf 12 months a year.”

The brothers are certainly not bashful; Ask them who the best golfer of the three is, and they all will say, “I am!”