HIS FIRST LOVE
4/24/2026 2:20:00 PM | Men's Golf, My Baylor Story
Jonas Appel has been playing golf since he was 3 years old
From playing golf in his backyard with plastic clubs, whiffle balls and a makeshift course with hula hoops for holes when he was 3 years old, Jonas Appel has been in love with the game as long as he can remember.
"I wish I had some videos to look at, but it was amazing," said Appel, now a senior at Baylor and heading into next week's Big 12 Championship at Prairie Dunes Golf Club in Hutchinson, Kan., in what could be his final collegiate tournament. "Golf was always my first sport. I played a lot of soccer growing up, a little bit of basketball, a little bit of flag football. But I always just loved golf."
By middle school, Jonas realized that he was probably good enough to play collegiate golf. A California native that was the seventh-ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class, he made it match play in the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2021 and '22, finished fifth at the 2021 IMG World Championship and shot a final-round 65 to win the 2020 Under Armour Jordan Spieth Championship by three shots.
"Growing up as a young kid, wanting to play pro golf, that's every kid's dream," Jonas said. "And then you realize, okay, college golf is that steppingstone. So, I knew college golf would hopefully be my future."
Recruited by then-Baylor assistant Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen, Jonas received an offer from Baylor "before (head coach Mike McGraw) saw me hit a golf shot in person."
"It was funny, because Coach Mikkel did most of the recruiting at least at the time, traveling to tournaments," Jonas said. "Coach McGraw was like, 'Hey, he's really high on you, so I took his word for it.' And I'm really grateful he did."
Now, he calls it "the best decision I've ever made in my life." But Jonas went through a difficult freshman season at Baylor, when he never cracked the team lineup for a stroke-play tournament and was 0-4-1 at the Big 12 Match Play Tournament.
"Looking back on it, it was definitely challenging," said Jonas, who had a 72.0-stroke average playing in seven individual tournaments with six top-25 finishes and 10 rounds of par or better. "When you get to college, you realize that everyone on the team is really good. . . . When you don't play in those first few tournaments, it does get challenging. But I think taking away from it all the learning experiences and understanding, okay, what are some areas I need to work on?"
In what turned out to be arguably his most memorable experience to date, Jonas subbed in for the final round of the Chapel Hill Regional as a sophomore in 2024 and shot 1-over 71 to help the Bears finish fifth by one shot and advance to the NCAA Championship for the sixth time in eight years.
"I remember warming up on the range, getting ready for a playoff," he said. "I was the first one to finish, and I clicked the refresh button probably a hundred times, to see the scores update. Especially in team golf, you see how quickly the leaderboard changes with four scores counting. Alabama's last guy bogeyed the final hole, and we got in by one shot.
"Just being there with the guys, getting to experience that and then learning that we're advancing to the national championship and going to La Costa – where I played all my high school rounds on – that was an incredible moment that I got to share with those guys."
After spending two years in the rather large shadows of All-American Johnny Keefer, who's in the top 10 at the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic in New Orleans this week, Jonas assumed the No. 1 position last year and finished with a team-best 73.25-stroke average and a top-5 finish at The Clerico in Tulsa, Okla. But the team failed to make an NCAA regional and a potential return to La Costa.
"Not making it last year was definitely disappointing," Jonas said. "I knew our team had the talent to at least make a good run, as far as getting there. Sometimes with golf, not everything works out quite how you think it will. But it was definitely motivation going into this year. As we're coming down the last stretch ason, that's the end goal. Obviously, there are some pieces that need to fall into place for that to happen. But we're taking it one step at a time."
Leading the team again this year, Jonas has a 72.7-stroke average and four top-25 finishes, including a tie for eighth at the Maridoe Collegiate in Carrollton, Texas. That helped the Bears to a third-place team finish, beating a pair of top-20 teams in Oklahoma and Alabama.
"He's always had the ability," said interim head coach Ryan Murphy, who took the reins in January when McGraw retired. "It's finally coming together, and he's able to put rounds together. It's one thing to have the skill, to know how to do it. To know when to do something, or why you're doing it right now, that's kind of how you put the pieces together. I think we're seeing now, with Jonas's game, all the pieces are coming together. He's a terrific player."
Majoring in finance and management, Jonas said he is "currently weighing the options of chasing professional golf."
"I understand the challenges with that," he said. "So, if I don't end up pursuing college golf, I plan to move up to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and look to get into a finance role, whether it's consulting or banking. Or, if I'm able to pair a finance degree within the golf industry, I would love to get into the golf industry. But I know God has a calling for me and a purpose for me, and I will find something."
"I wish I had some videos to look at, but it was amazing," said Appel, now a senior at Baylor and heading into next week's Big 12 Championship at Prairie Dunes Golf Club in Hutchinson, Kan., in what could be his final collegiate tournament. "Golf was always my first sport. I played a lot of soccer growing up, a little bit of basketball, a little bit of flag football. But I always just loved golf."
By middle school, Jonas realized that he was probably good enough to play collegiate golf. A California native that was the seventh-ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class, he made it match play in the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2021 and '22, finished fifth at the 2021 IMG World Championship and shot a final-round 65 to win the 2020 Under Armour Jordan Spieth Championship by three shots.
"Growing up as a young kid, wanting to play pro golf, that's every kid's dream," Jonas said. "And then you realize, okay, college golf is that steppingstone. So, I knew college golf would hopefully be my future."
Recruited by then-Baylor assistant Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen, Jonas received an offer from Baylor "before (head coach Mike McGraw) saw me hit a golf shot in person."
"It was funny, because Coach Mikkel did most of the recruiting at least at the time, traveling to tournaments," Jonas said. "Coach McGraw was like, 'Hey, he's really high on you, so I took his word for it.' And I'm really grateful he did."
Now, he calls it "the best decision I've ever made in my life." But Jonas went through a difficult freshman season at Baylor, when he never cracked the team lineup for a stroke-play tournament and was 0-4-1 at the Big 12 Match Play Tournament.
"Looking back on it, it was definitely challenging," said Jonas, who had a 72.0-stroke average playing in seven individual tournaments with six top-25 finishes and 10 rounds of par or better. "When you get to college, you realize that everyone on the team is really good. . . . When you don't play in those first few tournaments, it does get challenging. But I think taking away from it all the learning experiences and understanding, okay, what are some areas I need to work on?"
In what turned out to be arguably his most memorable experience to date, Jonas subbed in for the final round of the Chapel Hill Regional as a sophomore in 2024 and shot 1-over 71 to help the Bears finish fifth by one shot and advance to the NCAA Championship for the sixth time in eight years.
"I remember warming up on the range, getting ready for a playoff," he said. "I was the first one to finish, and I clicked the refresh button probably a hundred times, to see the scores update. Especially in team golf, you see how quickly the leaderboard changes with four scores counting. Alabama's last guy bogeyed the final hole, and we got in by one shot.
"Just being there with the guys, getting to experience that and then learning that we're advancing to the national championship and going to La Costa – where I played all my high school rounds on – that was an incredible moment that I got to share with those guys."
After spending two years in the rather large shadows of All-American Johnny Keefer, who's in the top 10 at the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic in New Orleans this week, Jonas assumed the No. 1 position last year and finished with a team-best 73.25-stroke average and a top-5 finish at The Clerico in Tulsa, Okla. But the team failed to make an NCAA regional and a potential return to La Costa.
"Not making it last year was definitely disappointing," Jonas said. "I knew our team had the talent to at least make a good run, as far as getting there. Sometimes with golf, not everything works out quite how you think it will. But it was definitely motivation going into this year. As we're coming down the last stretch ason, that's the end goal. Obviously, there are some pieces that need to fall into place for that to happen. But we're taking it one step at a time."
Leading the team again this year, Jonas has a 72.7-stroke average and four top-25 finishes, including a tie for eighth at the Maridoe Collegiate in Carrollton, Texas. That helped the Bears to a third-place team finish, beating a pair of top-20 teams in Oklahoma and Alabama.
"He's always had the ability," said interim head coach Ryan Murphy, who took the reins in January when McGraw retired. "It's finally coming together, and he's able to put rounds together. It's one thing to have the skill, to know how to do it. To know when to do something, or why you're doing it right now, that's kind of how you put the pieces together. I think we're seeing now, with Jonas's game, all the pieces are coming together. He's a terrific player."
Majoring in finance and management, Jonas said he is "currently weighing the options of chasing professional golf."
"I understand the challenges with that," he said. "So, if I don't end up pursuing college golf, I plan to move up to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and look to get into a finance role, whether it's consulting or banking. Or, if I'm able to pair a finance degree within the golf industry, I would love to get into the golf industry. But I know God has a calling for me and a purpose for me, and I will find something."
Players Mentioned
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