Sept. 15, 2010

By Neal Ruhl
Athletic Communications contributor

It may have taken men's sophomore golfer Jakob Ziegler a little time to get used to living in America after coming to Oakland University from Germany, but it is apparent he needed little time getting acclimated on the golf course.

The Berlin native, Ziegler shot a 1-under-par 215 to capture the Turner Stone Tiger Intercollegiate tournament in Verona, N.Y. last week, winning his second tournament in less than two years. But golf is only part of the story when it comes to what drives Jakob.

"In Germany, you can either go to school, or you can play sports," Ziegler said. "They don't really have sports at school like there is here."

And so the process began for Jakob, who took matters into his own hands as far as his collegiate golf career was concerned.

"I put out about 20 or 22 letters to schools saying that I wanted to play golf and go to school," Ziegler said, "and Oakland set up a visit. I liked the facilities and the school."

Oakland University head golf coach Brian Costello admits there may have a little good fortune in the recruiting of Ziegler.

"It was luck more than anything," Costello said, "but Jakob has set up a pipeline to Europe. He helped us get Kassandra (Komma) for the women's team. He showed you can come here from Europe and be comfortable and have success."

Ziegler has professional aspirations as far as golf is concerned, but that is not the only thing he is focused on.

"I want to get my degree," Ziegler said, who is a business administration major. "I want to have a backup plan in case golf doesn't work out."

But being a professional golfer is still a dream Ziegler would love to accomplish, be it here in America or on the European Tour, which would give Ziegler an opportunity to tee it up in front of his friends and family in his native Germany. Although his family is thousands of miles away, Ziegler keeps in constant contact with his loved ones over the internet.

"I talk to my family once or twice a day on Skype when we are not traveling," said Ziegler. "Even when we are traveling, we communicate over email all the time."

While Ziegler misses his family back home, they are not the only thing he misses from his native country. When asked about what has been the toughest transition about living in the United States, Ziegler cracked a little smile.

"I would have to say the food," said Ziegler. "I miss the bread we have at home, it's cooked fresh every day."

For now, Ziegler will just have to keep cooking on the golf course.

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