FAYETTEVILLE -- Denver Davis and his Fayetteville teammates celebrated winning the Class 7A state golf championship in 2017 by jumping into a water hazard at the Fayetteville Country Club.
Davis hopes to make a splash as well in his college career.
Davis, a three-time all-state golfer, signed with Arkansas Wednesday during a signing ceremony at Fayetteville High School. Davis played four years at Fayetteville and helped the Bulldogs win three Class 7A state championships and four 7A-West Conference championships.
"Denver is an athlete who never quits trying to improve," Fayetteville golf coach Scott Williams said. "Even as a junior golfer, I knew Denver had potential and I had my eyes on him before he got to me. Between his sophomore year and junior year, he hit an extra gear. It's directly related to the tournaments he was playing in and the competition on our team."
Davis will join an Arkansas team that was ranked 14th nationally this past season.
"The (Arkansas) program has been really good the last 10-12 years," Davis said. "Their class last year was really, really strong and it's going to be tough for me to get into that (top) five but I'm ready for it. I can't wait to get on campus and get started."
Fayetteville had just claimed its fifth consecutive state championship in 2017 when the Bulldogs decided to jump into a water hazard near the green on the 10th Hole at the Fayetteville Country Club. The moment was captured by Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette photographer Andy Shupe and displayed prominently in the newspaper the next day.
"That was one of the best days of my career," Davis said. "Just being at home and having so many of my friends and family there, made it special. After that first day we knew we kind of had it locked up. When we jumped into that pond the second day to celebrate, it became real that we did it, we did it."
Davis stayed committed to Arkansas after he was offered a scholarship right before Thanksgiving during his freshman year at Fayetteville. He is a lifelong fan of the Razorbacks and he did not seriously any other school.
"I live 20 minutes from campus, so it's always been my dream to play for the Razorbacks," Davis said. "I know most of the guys on the team right now and I look up to them a lot."
Davis said he'll stay busy with golf this summer and work on his game before beginning his college career.
"My game is pretty solid right now, but I can always improve and they're going to help get me there," Davis said. "Arkansas, sometimes, don't always get the most-highly recruited kids, but they turn them into great golfers."
Sports on 11/15/2018