Through three years with the Washington State Men's golf program, Sam Renner has had top finishes, broken program records and even a postseason win. But after this past fall season, Renner's junior year is on pace to be his best yet. 

Golf has always been a part of Renner's life, growing up in Bend, Ore., he recalls his grandmother putting a club in his hand at just two years old. He also played baseball and basketball throughout his childhood, but when Renner got to high school he had to choose between golf and baseball during the spring. Renner chose golf, and it turned out to be the right choice. 

Throughout his junior golf career, Renner collected six tournament wins during his time with Summit High School. He also participated in the Future Champions Golf Tour, where he posted a top six finish in every tournament he competed in. 

Renner recalls first reaching out to coaches in the summer of 2019, but as the recruiting process developed, and fewer schools were being considered, one school always remained near the top of the list, Washington State. 

The Oregon native took his first visit to Washington State during his junior year and remembers instantly falling in love with Pullman. 

"When you first drive into Pullman you feel the Coug vibe," Renner said. "Once I got on campus and started talking to people, just seeing how it worked around here I fell in love with it." 

Renner committed to WSU in November of 2021 and made his dreams of becoming a collegiate golfer reality.  

When Renner arrived to the Palouse in 2022, for his freshman year, he got to work immediately. 

"I wanted to play division one golf so bad I just told myself, 'I'm all in'," Renner said. "You have to buy in to being a student-athlete, you can't dilly dally your way through it." 

This work paid off early as Renner made it into the Cougs starting lineup for the opening tournament, the Husky Invitational. Through three rounds he shot a 225 and carded back-to-back 73s in the second and third rounds. Renner finished in a tie for 39th place and helped the Cougs to a tournament win. 

"Cracking the lineup for the first tournament my freshman year and winning as a team was pretty special," Renner said. "But it also gave me a sense of comfort, knowing I can play at this level." 

Nearly a month later the Cougs traveled to Renner's home state of Oregon for the Oregon State Invitational. Renner shot a 217, finishing in a tie for 17th and helped Wazzu place second as a team. Despite only being a couple tournaments into his collegiate career, Renner had already found a sense of comfort at this level. 

"I was pretty comfortable by then with college golf, and it's been a smooth ride since." 

It proved to be a smooth ride for Renner the following week when the Cougs traveled to Stockton, Calif. for the Visit Stock Invitational. Renner fired a season-best 206 through 54 holes, finished 8th individually and second place as a team, and secured the second-best 54-hole score by a WSU freshman in program history. 

After an impressive start to his Cougar career, Renner hit another gear in his first Pac-12 tournament. Renner had quite the debut, he finished in a tie for 8th place with a 52-hole score of 276, the highest a Cougar freshman has ever placed in the tournament. 

Going into his sophomore season, Renner looked to build off an impressive freshman year, and in the season-opener, the Golfweek Fall Challenge, he picked up right where he left off. 

Renner finished 6th, firing a 12-under 204 and helped the Cougars to a second-place finish.  Renner didn't slow down and throughout the fall season finished tied for 11th in the Husky Invitational, tied for 17th in the Mark Simpson Colorado Invite, a tie for sixth in the Oregon State Invitational and another tie for sixth in the Visit Stockton Pacific Invite to close the season.  

In a sophomore season in which Renner had three sixth place finishes, the Oregon native saved his best for last. In the postseason, the Cougars traveled to Maricopa, Arizona for the National Golf Invitational and Renner put together one of his best performances to date. 

In the first two rounds, Renner carded a 70 and 68 but he caught fire in the final round, firing a 64 and secured second place overall. This finish was the highest a Coug had ever placed in a postseason tournament and his 14-under over 54 holes ranks second-lowest in program history. His performance also helped Wazzu secure first place in the event, the first postseason win in program history.  

After ending his sophomore year on such a high, Renner has not missed a beat this fall season. 

In the first two tournaments he finished 12th and 27th but he caught fire in the Cougars' next two tournaments. 

Going into the final round of the Badger Invitational, Renner trailed by two strokes but after firing a 71 it gave him a three-shot lead over the remaining players. But the field could not catch up to Renner's nine under, and Renner secured his first collegiate individual win. 

"It didn't hit me at first because we were rushing to make a flight, but at the airport I couldn't stop smiling," Renner recalled. "Getting on the plane with a trophy in my hand was pretty special." 

The following week, the Cougars traveled to Renner's home state for the Oregon State Invitational, an event he has had success in, and this time around served to be his best homecoming yet. 

Through three rounds the Oregon native fired back-to-back 67s and a 69 in the final round, giving him another individual win and making him the only person in program history to win back-to-back individual tournament titles. 

Renner remembers all the times he had played the course, but this was the first time he had won it in a tournament, and the moment did not disappoint. 

"Walking off the green with both of my coaches and seeing my mom and dad, it was pretty special," Renner said. 

As Renner has blossomed into one of the best collegiate golfers in the country, it's a mindset change that unlocked him this junior year. 

"Staying patient, one shot at a time. I've really been focusing on that this year, and it's been working," Renner said. "I've also really been focusing on taking aggressive swings at conservative targets and not putting myself in situations where I make big numbers, or having my bad shots result in pars instead of bogeys." 

Through five tournaments in the fall season, Renner has four top 20 finishes, two individual first place finishes and a per round scoring average of 69.5. Renner has no plans of slowing down ahead of the spring season, and his mindset reflects that. 

"I'm sticking to my routine and getting 1% better every time I touch a club and go into Hawaii in February thinking, 'I can win this golf tournament.'"