Roughly 12 months ago, David Ford considered taking a redshirt year before his senior season at the University of North Carolina. His body wasn’t functioning well, and he felt inconsistent day-to-day, having experienced back and hip troubles that stemmed from picking up a carpet in spring 2021, a few months before heading to Chapel Hill.

“Will I want to have a job? Will my body be healthy enough to be playing golf professionally?” These were among the questions he posed himself.

Twelve months later, Ford is a PGA TOUR rookie and making his second start as a member at this week’s Rocket Classic. The Georgia native didn’t redshirt. He played his senior season as a Tar Heel and won five tournaments, ascending to No. 1 on the 2025 PGA TOUR University Ranking and earning his PGA TOUR card through 2026.

He won the Jack Nicklaus Award and Fred Haskins Award as college player of the year, and he joined Luke Clanton and Gordon Sargent (who earned their TOUR cards via PGA TOUR University Accelerated) as newly minted PGA TOUR members this month.

And to think, he might be preparing to head back to Chapel Hill for his senior season.

Rather than allowing time to do its thing, Ford poured his energy into reinventing his process. He took ownership of his body; rather than allowing pain to hinder his progression in the game, he became determined to maximize every minute of the day. He has a new morning routine that includes drinking water and stretching. He limits the number of balls he hits daily, and the benefit is twofold – he protects his body, and he keeps potential bad habits at bay. He commits his evenings to investing in his relationships, which preserves his mental energy when it’s time to focus on golf.

Ford has unlocked his best self – and it fast-tracked his journey to the PGA TOUR.

“He does a lot of routine things that are really, really good,” said his close friend and former North Carolina teammate Ryan Gerard. “He sets timers, mandatory stretching and extra stuff. It’s impressive to see that level of discipline from a guy who’s that young.”

That level of discipline, although refined of late, was also cultivated from a young age. Ford grew up as a triplet with his sister Abigail and brother Maxwell (who also competed at North Carolina and qualified for PGA TOUR Americas this summer after turning pro). David and Maxwell had countless late-night sessions on the putting green at Atlanta Athletic Club, where neither wanted to be the first one to depart. (David allows that there were plenty of times when Maxwell left after him.)

Ford first picked up a golf club at age 7 or 8, but he also played basketball, baseball and lacrosse in his formative years. Around age 13 or 14, he dropped other sports and started to focus on golf; Although he loved the team aspect of those other sports, he relished the idea of being his own boss and determining what was best from a competitive and work perspective.

“I think it’s a sport where if you’re putting all your time and effort into the right things, you’re going to see results,” Ford said.

That work ethic led him to an acclaimed junior career, including a win at the 2020 Junior PLAYERS Championship and first-team AJGA Junior All-America honors, and a roster spot at the University of North Carolina.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing. In February 2021, Ford felt something pop in his back while picking up a carpet. He didn’t think much of it, figuring it was a strained muscle at first, but he felt a lot of pain on the back nine while playing golf the next day. He met with doctors, had some MRIs and got treatment, but there was no magic bullet. The best scenario was to stay as healthy as possible: eat well, stretch well, sleep well and be intentional about his golf practice. Feel good, play good, as they say. Everything came together in the last 12 months – and the results are proof positive.

“Even if the carpet was the thing that set it off, golf was the main contributor,” Ford said of his injury. “A lot of things that I’m doing are to protect myself on the golf course. I’m fully functional in basketball and ping-pong; in my swing, I need to make sure I’m hitting certain positions and keeping my body strong for golf movements.

“I enjoy doing it too. My margins are so small that my details have to be so good for nutrition and hydration and practice; make sure I’m doing all the right things. I feel like because I have to do all these things well for my body, I feel my bad golf is a little better than it was in the past.”

Ford’s new PGA TOUR peers, particularly his fellow North Carolina Tar Heels, have taken notice.

FedExCup No. 6 Ben Griffin saw Ford at last month’s Charles Schwab Challenge (into which Ford had received a sponsor exemption) and took note of Ford’s pre-round stretching routine. For Griffin, it was a sign of what he already knew about Ford as a disciplined player who owns his game and doesn’t get caught up in what others are doing. In this way, among others, Griffin offered a comparison to major champion Brian Harman.

“He’s just super solid, doesn’t make mistakes; he’s almost like a Brian Harman-type golfer … really precise and knows his numbers well,” Griffin said. “He’s not focused on getting outdriven by other players, especially on the UNC team; There are a lot of kids who hit it far. He definitely isn’t one of the longest players, but he manages his game really well.”

“He’s handled his business from day one. I’m 99% sure that the first college round he played in a tournament, he hit every green,” added Gerard, who stands No. 37 on the FedExCup. “To see how he’s improved and matured and how his work ethic has stayed the same … even when he was ranked No. 1 in college, he was still grinding. He was still hungry. All those things are really impressive.”

With some timely investments in his process, Ford’s talents coalesced for the golf world to notice. It’s a good thing he proceeded with his senior season as scheduled – no redshirt needed.

PGA TOUR's Paul Hodowanic contributed to this report