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Parker Govern
Sarah Ritter

Leatherneck Legacy

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Golf and Western Illinois University has continually united the Govern family.

Western Illinois sophomore golfer Parker Govern had other collegiate options to play the game he loved, but one school seemed to stand out to him. 
 
"I thought Western would be my best opportunity to get out of my comfort zone," Parker said. "I kind of knew that Western was where I wanted to go."
 
For the Governs, Western Illinois University was where you went to college. Not only did Parker's father Tom attend WIU, but so did every aunt and uncle on his father's side of the family. Parker's aunt Maureen ('77) was the first of the family to attend WIU for the university's cutting edge computer science program followed by Terry ('79) a couple of years later as he went to play golf for legendary head coach Harry Mussatto. 
 
Another one of Parker's aunts, Margaret ('82) played tennis for a year. Along with Terry, Tom ('84) and Tim ('89) were four-year letter winners for the Leathernecks. Even with this prior knowledge, Parker did not feel forced into a decision.
 
"I never felt like there was any pressure that I had to come to Western because of the family history," Parker said. "I could tell that they would be happy if I went there. They played the same course (only the front nine) and we knew the experience would be good. They were supportive of it. It definitely didn't disappoint them that I went to Western." 
 
There's also extra motivation in following his family's footsteps. 
 
"I want to be better than they were when they were here," Parker said. "I know it was 30-something years ago and it's jumped to Division-I since then. They had their success and that creeps into my mind. I just want to beat them."
 
The sport of golf has always brought the Governs together, dating back to Parker's grandfather, who taught golf in the summer. The game continued to be passed on. 
 
"One of my favorite things to do is to watch Parker play," Tom said. "When he was young, I would promise him that I would stay at least 100 yards away and I pretty much stay to that. Going to watch him play in college tournaments has been absolutely tremendous."
 
Parker and Tom first visited the Western Illinois University campus together while Parker was a sophomore in high school playing in a summer tournament in Macomb. 
 
"I could tell he was excited to show me the campus," Parker said. " He showed me the ropes of the campus and it was sort of a lot to take in at the time. Those trips definitely helped, I knew what I was getting myself into. I wasn't coming to campus clueless as a freshman."
 
"I know he gets tired of me saying 'I lived there, I went to that place, or this used to be called something else'," Tom added. 
 
College golfers prepare for May and conference championship, but all Summit League sports came to a halt in March due to COVID-19. Parker is hoping for the best now and one positive is that he's been able to play more with his dad. 
 
"With the courses only allowing twosomes I get to play with Parker a lot more than I thought," Tom said. "We get to walk, which is nice, but it's also tough because he can't truly practice so much."
 
When Parker and the rest of the Leatherneck golf team can return to campus, the close-knit team plans to pick up where it left off. 
 
"He came home the first weekend that he was down in Macomb," Tom said. "Parker told us the moment he got to the golf course for the first time; he had ten friends automatically."
 
For the Governs, there was never a doubt that Parker would be a good fit at WIU because as Tom put it 'it's kind of our thing.'
 
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