Eric Wilkinson had to take a moment to compose himself when the question was posed to him.
How hard is it going to be leaving the CGA?
“I’ll try to do this without choking up,” Wilkinson said this week. “I knew right away when I came here in 2008 that this was a real special place to work. (Executive director Ed Mate) created a great environment and you have great people to work with. I had an unforgettable seven years with the association, growing in my career and personally. Working in golf is great, and working with a group like this makes it real special. But it makes it that much harder when it’s time to leave.”
That time for Wilkinson is now as his final day as the CGA’s director of junior competitions will be Tuesday (Feb. 24). Wilkinson will be headed north — specifically, to Minneapolis — where he’ll become championship assistant with the 2016 Ryder Cup, which will be held at Hazeltine National Golf Club in suburban Minneapolis. Wilkinson (pictured above with junior player Jake Staiano) will work under Ryder Cup championship director Jeff Hintz.
Wilkinson is making the move primarily for family-related reasons. His wife of less than six months, Ashley, previously worked in Minneapolis and has friends there and family not far away in Wisconsin, where she grew up. And Eric is from Cleveland, so the move will get the couple closer to his family as well.
“There are a lot of personal layers to this,” Wilkinson said. “We want to start a family and be closer to our families. This has always been in the plans for us, but it happened a lot quicker than I thought it would over the last month and a half. All of a sudden we had two job offers. Our heads are still spinning a little bit. It hasn’t really set in that I’m leaving the (CGA).”
The CGA has been Wilkinson’s career home since he earned a USGA P.J. Boatwright Internship with the association in 2008. In January of 2009, he became a full-time staffer as manager of member services, and he worked closely with Gerry Brown, the CGA’s director of handicapping and course rating. Wilkinson provided handicap support, worked on course ratings and helped grow membership.
In the latter part of 2011, when then-director of youth programs Dustin Jensen moved back to North Dakota, Wilkinson took on his current role as director of junior competitions. There, he’s made an impact through ongoing interaction with many CJGA players over the last three-plus years.
“I’ll really miss working with juniors and their families,” Wilkinson said. “You develop so many relationships in junior golf. Outside of leaving the staff, it’ll be the hardest leaving those relationships.
“A lot of the memories I have are from the tournament season. Every day, you’re outside and working with staff, volunteers, junior players and parents. And every day is an exciting new adventure on the golf course. It’s been great.”
Like Jensen before him, Wilkinson made an impression with the junior players and was very well liked.
“Eric has been a great team member,” Mate said. “He’s really added a lot to the junior golf program, he’s learned a lot, and he’s going to be missed. But I’m thrilled for him. I’m glad he’s staying in golf. He’s a great golf administrator.”
Over the past three years, Wilkinson has captained the Colorado boys Junior America’s Cup teams. He’s also been the CGA’s point man in conducting the Used Club Sale at the annual Denver Golf Expo — a role he’s playing again this weekend at the Denver Mart. Over the last two years combined, the Used Club Sale has netted more than $32,000 for junior golf development programs. And he’s added value to the CJGA membership through, by example, entering into a partnership with the Colorado Rockies which can pay dividends for CJGA members.
Mate said that, given the timing of the departure, the CGA won’t hire a new director of junior competitions until after the tournament season concludes. In the meantime, Jensen, who recently rejoined the CGA staff as managing director of operations, will help handle the responsibilities, along with other staffers and interns, including new CJGA summer intern Ashley Barnhart. As director of operations, Jensen already has been overseeing the CGA/CJGA junior competitions, along with rules and competitions, and course rating and handicapping.
Before his recent 3 1/2 years at the University of Jamestown, where his multi-faceted job included coaching the men’s and women’s golf teams, Jensen spent seven years as a popular director of youth programs for the CGA.
