Paul Twins On A Collison Course For The PGA Tour?

[This is the fifth edition in our bi-monthly series on the Colorado Men's Golf Program. Features will be varied, from alumni interviews to topics of the day, etc.]

               Twins Jeremy and Yannik Paul were born one minute apart in Frankfurt, Germany, on March 5, 1994. They grew up about 40 miles south of Frankfurt in the small town of Viernheim, which has a nice local golf course – in fact, their parents are still members there. Golf was popular in the family, as the grandparents were the first to play, and in turn got their children interested; the twins eventually took up the game by the time they were eight years old.

"Growing up, we kind of alternated weekends playing soccer or golf until we were about 13 years old," Jeremy said. "At that point, we had to pick a sport since they became conflicting over the weekends."

              They obviously made the right choice. The duo would lead their prep school, Albertus-Magnus Schule, to second-place finishes in Germany's National School Team Championships in both 2011 and 2012. College recruiters started to take notice.

From Germany to Boulder

              After graduating, the twins set their sights on playing college golf in the United States – but only as a "package deal." They set out only interested in schools who would take both.

              "The ability to get a great education while also being able to play competitive golf at the same time made us both wanting to go attend a college in the U.S.," Jeremy said. "The system is completely different in Germany, which makes it really difficult to study while and continue to pursue your respective sports career.

              "In Germany you can't really combine the academics with the athletics so from a young age it was always our goal to come to U.S. and join a golf program during college," Yannik added.

              "We definitely always wanted to go to the same school," Jeremy said, "so we really only entertained offers from schools that had enough availability for the both of us." Enter University of Colorado golf coach Roy Edwards, who had a leg up on recruiting the pair.

              "I first saw Jeremy and Yannik play when they were around 16 years old at the British Boys Amateur in 2011," Edwards recalled. "They were in a practice round with members of the German National Junior Team. Their swing coach was Ted Long, who was an American who had lived a long time in Germany. We developed a relationship from there with both them and Ted. I saw them again the next summer at another tournament in Germany. They came on their official visits that September and committed on their way out of town."

              "We did not visit any other school," Jeremy explained. "We did an official visit to CU in September of 2012 and were amazed by the beauty of the school, the campus and everything surrounding it. We were so sure CU was the place for us that we committed to coach Edwards right after the visit when we were still at the airport about to fly home to Germany."

              As 19-year-olds, they enrolled at CU in the fall of 2013.

Rewriting the CU Record Book

              By the time both graduated, Jeremy in 2017 and Yannik in 2018, they set a combined 47 school records, with Yannik erasing a few of his older brothers' because he took a year off from school after his sophomore year. Jeremy finished as the school's all-time stroke average leader at the time (71.72) and Yannik behind him in second (72.11) among the many marks they left in CU's record book.

              Jeremy became only the third player to lead the team in stroke average all four seasons, joining Steve Jones (1978-81) and Knut Ekjord (1995-97, 1999). And only three other players did it three times, Hale Irwin, John Lindberg and Daniel O'Loughlin, so Paul joined some very select company. He recorded a record 21 top 10 efforts and finished in the top 135 players in the nation according to GolfStat all four years, with a highest ranking of No. 53 as a junior.

              Yannik became CU's first first-team All-Pac-12 Conference performer and earned honorable mention All-American honors as senior, when he helped lead the Buffaloes to their best finish to date – second – in the conference meet. He set the single-season scoring average mark that year (70.24) with a 69.64 spring mark – third-best in the nation. His highest GolfStat ranking came his senior year – No. 45 – tied for the sixth-highest by a Buffalo since those rankings were created in the early 1990s.

               Jeremy turned professional late during his senior year, and Yannik followed a year later after CU came up just short of qualifying for the NCAA Championship Finals. They both heavily credited their time in college as major contributors to where they are today.

              "Definitely attending college in the U.S. and competing with other great collegiate players was an important factor," Jeremy said. "Especially coming from overseas, it prepared me for being on my own, far away from family and playing at all different kind of courses and in all sorts of conditions."

              "I think college golf in general really prepared me for the professional level," added Yannik. "I constantly competed against the best amateurs in the world.   I was also fortunate enough to have had a lot of people help me along the way."

Turning professional and current success

               Since then, now a decade removed from arriving in America and less than three months from turning 30, the two have enjoyed increasing success on various pro tours, most recently on the DP World Tour (Yannik) and the Korn Ferry Tour (Jeremy).

              Could they be on a collision course to become just the second set of twins to own full PGA Tour cards since 1981? It was 43 years in-between the last pair. Both are off to their best career starts on their respective tours.

              Yannik has risen to the No. 105 ranking in the world thanks to a great start on the DPWT and credits his approach play as the best part of his game. He has two top eight finishes and has made the cut in four of the five events to date. He opened the year with a tie for eighth in he Dubai Invitational with a 12-under par 272 effort, and two weeks later tied for fourth in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship with an impressive 67-68-68-68—271 (17-under par) scorecard. He has played in 60 events and has cashed in over 2.5 million euros with one win (in the 2022 Mallorca Open) with six top four finishes.

              He is currently sponsored by Titleist, Lacoste and BMW.

              Jeremy claimed his first career win on the Korn Ferry Tour, winning its 2024 opening event, the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic on January 17 with a 17-under par 70-67-67-67—271 scorecard and claimed the $180,000 first prize in the process. Most recently he tied for 35th in the Astara Golf Championship with a 67-65-68-71—271 effort (12-under par). He has played in 67 Korn Ferry events with five top 10 finishes, including a third place in the 2022 The Ascendant presented by Blue at TPC Colorado in Berthoud.

               Since turning pro and almost from the get-go, Titleist and FootJoy have sponsored Jeremy, and he has since picked up two more, Silverleaf Wealth and Core & Main. Ending the 2023 season ranked No. 510 in the world, he has jumped into the No. 292 slot just one month into the new campaign. He secured a permanent spot on the Korn Ferry in 2022, where he says the strongest parts of his game is his iron play followed by his putting.

              "I've definitely been enjoying my time on the Korn Ferry Tour," he said. "The tour is very competitive and prepares you well for the next stage, but certainly hope to make it my last season out there this year and move up to the PGA Tour."

Feelings about CU and keeping track of the Buffaloes

              Both regularly stay in touch with Edwards and read every bit of program news via E-mail from the sports information office.

              "I am always checking the live scoring when CU is playing and I'm still texting and talking with Roy on a regular basis," Yannik said. "CU has a great schedule and really good facilities. You get all the support you need in order to become a better person and a better golfer. Additionally, coach Edwards was a great mentor for us. He helped us tremendously. He has a lot of experience and knows what you need to work on to get to the next level."

              Jeremy chimed in with similar thoughts.

         "CU played a huge role (in his development). We played such a competitive schedule, always playing against top ranked schools, which gives you an idea where your game stands and which areas need improvements. I always keep an eye on how the boys are playing at tournaments and love to see them have success. I also still keep a close relationship with coach Edwards who I consider a great friend and mentor.

Their thoughts on the demise of the Pac-12 Conference

              "I always enjoyed competing with all the other Pac-12 schools, there were so many great teams and we competed against many future pros," Yannik said. He fondly recalls the Buffs battling Southern California on its home turf in the Pac-12 Championship his senior year, when USC edged CU by four strokes after a 72-hole battle when he and Ross Macdonald tied for second individually with four rounds in the 60s.

              "That was exciting to be in contention for the Pac-12 Championship - it was awesome that Ross and I had a great tournament which helped CU to finish in second place. I just remember that we had a great team chemistry and everyone was just rooting for each other. Great times, but I do believe that the Big 12 Conference will also be a great fit for CU."

              "I think for the golf program, it won't have too big of an impact since must tournaments work as independent invitational and teams can invite mostly whoever they would like to," Jeremy said. "So I think it will not really change much for the guys other than the Pac-12 Championship will be replaced by the Big 12 Championship, which will probably the same caliber tournament."

Twins at CU

              The University of Colorado has a long lineage of siblings who have starred for the school, including the Paul brothers. Most notably they include Dick and Bobby Anderson (football); Hale and Phil Irwin (football, though Hale accomplished much more in golf); Pete, Willie and Stan Brock (football); Geoff and Greg Buchheister (skiing); Jon and Sean Embree (football); Pat and Mike Frink (basketball); Fran and Laura Munnelly (soccer); Ed and Tom Reinhardt (football); Cierra, Gabby and Taylor Simpson (volleyball); John and Rick Stearns (football and baseball) and Clayton and Byron White (multiple sports).

              And CU might arguably has the most visible set of twins in college sports history – super fans Peggy Coppom, who turned 99 last November, and her late sister, Betty Hoover, who passed away in 2000. Twin athletes have been rarer – Andrew and Bryant Amador (football and track), Darrin and Ryan Chiaverini (football) and Jamie and Jeffe Morehart (Nordic skiing) come to mind.

Twins on Tour

              The Pauls already have made some "twins" history – in 2016, they became the first pair of twins to play in the same European Tour event at the BMW International Open in their native Germany. Jeremy, just ahead of his senior year at CU, tied for 56th finishing 2-over par but was the top amateur; Yannik missed the cut.

             University of Texas graduates Parker and Pierceson Coody were both on the Korn Ferry Tour with Jeremy Paul last year, but both finished high enough in the point standings to earn their Tour cards for 2024. They both played in the Honda Classic last year. If that last name rings familiar, they are the grandsons of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody. They were the first twins since 1981 to play in a PGA Tour event, when Curtis and Allan Strange played in several tournaments; Allan didn't play in any after that year while Strange went on to have a stellar career.

              And Denmark's Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard 22-year old twins became the first set of twins to play in the British Open, also just last year. They both have been playing on the DP World Tour.

Settling on roots in the United States

              When not playing, the twins have made their homes in Scottsdale (they both have P1 visas). Jeremy was married last October to Morgan, his girlfriend from CU, and Yannik is engaged to be married in the summer of 2025 (Kaela). They live about 10 minutes from each other, see each other a lot – almost every day when they are not competing on their respective tours – and often practice together.

Qualifications to make the PGA Tour

              The top 30 on the season-long points list on the Korn Ferry Tour annually earn their PGA Tour cards (if a player wins three events in one season, he automatically earns his card). As for DPWT, the top 10 players, who were not already exempt, in the DP World Tour's final "Race to Dubai Standings" earn PGA Tour cards for next season.

               While the twins have started enjoying success in their current endeavors, the goal of both playing one day as regulars on the PGA Tour still lies ahead.

              "That has definitely been a dream of ours ever since growing up," Jeremy said. "And with the partnership between the PGA Tour and the DP World tour there is a great path for both of us to make this dream a reality very soon.

              "That is my end goal -- to play on the PGA Tour alongside Jeremy," Yannik expressed. "I think we will always go play several events in Europe since we grew up over there, but we would love to mainly play on the PGA Tour and compete against the best players in the world."

              As far as the LIV Tour is concerned, it currently is not on their radar.

              "Ever since growing up and watching all the big PGA Tour events on TV, it has been a dream of ours to play on it together at some point in our career," Jeremy said. "That is what we are thriving for. Thus, playing on LIV tour is not something that's on our mind at the moment."

              If they continue at their current trajectory, their futures are bright and one or both could join the likes of Irwin, Jones, Dale Douglass and Jonathan Kaye, Colorado's best four in its history on the PGA circuit.

              "Both Jeremy and Yannik have always been highly-competitive, extremely talented and very confident in themselves," Edwards said. "They work incredibly hard and both are on track, maybe even ahead of schedule, to having tremendous professional golf careers. They are proud representatives of CU and it is fun to continue to watch them grow and develop as players and people over the years. We are excited to continue to see what is ahead for them."

Up Next

               Jeremy is scheduled to play in the next Korn Ferry stop, the Visa Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, Feb. 29-March 3, while Yannik is skipping the next three events and will return to action in the Porsche Singapore Classic, March 21-24.

              As for the current Buffalo team, CU returns to action this Monday in the Wyoming Match Play Championship in Palm Desert, Calif.  The Buffaloes finished second last year in one of the few match play events on the college circuit. The six Buffaloes competing will be juniors Justin Biwer, Tucker Clark, Freddy Eisenbeis and Dylan McDermott, sophomore Hunter Swanson and freshman Brandon Knight. First round pairings: CU vs. Utah State, Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Santa Barbara, Pacific vs. Sacramento State and Wyoming vs. UC Irvine.

Players Mentioned

Justin Biwer

Tucker Clark

Freddy Eisenbeis

Brandon Knight

Dylan McDermott

Hunter Swanson

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