COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Gavin Grahek is a finance major, and the traits that drew the Saint John's University sophomore to that particular academic discipline are some of the same ones making him a success on the golf course.
 
"I like working with numbers and I like problem solving," Grahek said. "Parts of that do translate. In golf, there are so many different ways to hit every shot. You have to look at all the factors in play. It's the same thing in finance. There isn't always one right answer. It depends on the situation."
 
Grahek – a Maple Grove High School graduate who competed at the Class 3A state tournament three times during his prep career – has proven a quick study of the college game. He earned a spot on the Johnnies' first team right away as a freshman last fall.
 
But he said there were still ups and downs.
 
"I began the season on the first team, but I got off to a slow start," Grahek said. "I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and I wasn't playing very well. I had to work my way through that, and by the time the conference meet came around, I felt like I was playing pretty well."
 
He proved it by shooting a three-round score of 224 (+8) to finish in ninth place overall, earning All-MIAC honors. Grahek followed that up with another three-round score of 224 at the Golfweek October Classic in Destin, Fla. – tying for second on his team in a competition featuring some of the top players from around the nation at the NCAA Division III level.
 
"That was a big confidence booster for me," he said. "It showed me I belonged here, and that I can be a big part of this team.
 
"One of the things that took the most getting used to about college golf was that team aspect," Grahek continued. "It's weird because golf is so individual, and in high school, there are times you can have a bad round and just laugh it off. It's a little more laid back. At the college level, your team is depending on you, every shot. How you do has a big impact and you don't want to let your teammates down. I actually really like that aspect of it."
 
Grahek has continued to come through for his teammates this fall, especially at Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Frank Wrigglesworth Blugold Invitational held Sept. 14-15 at Eau Claire Golf and Country Club. He closed two-under-par over his final 11 holes to finish with a two-day score of 141 (-1), good enough for first place in the 120-golfer field. 
 
It marked the first time he has earned medalist honors in his collegiate career.
 
"You can already tell he's made a big jump this year," SJU head coach Chris Howe '99 said. "He gained a lot of strength over the summer. He's still not a big guy, but he's gotten stronger and has even more control.
 
"He hits the ball so pure. He drives it well. He's a great irons player, and he has an incredible demeanor. Watching him, it's impossible to tell if he's playing good or bad. That's a quality most of the best players have."
 
Grahek took up golf at an early age. His parents, Brian – a financial advisor in Wayzata – and Rachel, moved the family into a home located near Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove and signed him up for lessons.
 
"It's funny because they don't really play golf," he said of his parents and his younger twin siblings Luke and Jillian. "My dad might play a couple of times a summer. Otherwise, it's just me. But they must have seen something, and it turned out I was pretty good at it.
 
"It was nice because I got to be out on the course a lot, and I had a great instructor in Luke Benoit, who was the golf pro there at the time (and is now the director of instruction at Interlachen Country Club in Edina). 
 
"I learned so much by getting the chance to work with him."
 
And he is continuing to build on those lessons as he gets ready for this season's MIAC Championship, scheduled for Saturday through Monday (Sept. 27-29) at Edinburgh Golf Course in Brooklyn Park.
 
The Johnnies are hoping to earn their first conference title since 2022, which would secure the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national meet, set for May 12-15 at Mission Resort + Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida.
 
"Our goal is to make nationals," Grahek said. "There's still a chance we can earn an at-large bid if we don't win the conference. But winning the conference makes it for sure.
 
"We know we have what it takes to get it done. We're good enough that we don't need other teams to beat themselves. We can go out and take it if we play the way we're capable of."