Schools
Senior Standouts: David Silver
Medical school and smooth jazz sold the four-year golfer on Tulane
Golf can be cruel, but it’s one of the reasons perfect shots resonate more than in other sports. For David Silver, it’s draining those 20-plus-foot putts for par.
“There is nothing like hitting an extremely long putt,” Silver said. “You just want to get it close, and you hit it and there is nothing like leaning back and seeing if it drops. Hitting those kind of shots makes all the terrible ones disappear.”
Silver began golfing around age 10 mainly because both of his parents played and he started having fun with the sport. He competed on a variety of summer junior tours for experience, most notably the North Coast Junior Tour, and for the Bison throughout his four years.
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Regardless of how he scores, Silver just enjoys playing the game. It’s the main reason Bubba Watson is his favorite player.
“A lot of these guys play with straight faces the entire round,” Silver said. “[Watson] always has fun on the course. That’s really what playing the sport is about.”
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Silver’s biggest shot, however, isn’t on the golf course. He founded the pre-med club his sophomore year and together they collected about 250 stuffed animals and donated them to the Hillcrest pediatric ER last holiday season. He also volunteers at Hillcrest Hospital’s surgery center and emergency department assisting patients.
“I had a shadowing experience with a surgeon in eighth grade,” Silver said. “I got to see a full knee replacement. From that point on I was hooked.”
Medicine is one of the reasons he is attending Tulane University. Silver was accepted into the Creative Premedical Scholars Program. If he completes all of his pre-med course requirements by the end of his sophomore year and maintains a 3.6 GPA, he will gain automatic acceptance to their medical school without having to take the MCAT.
Being a jazz enthusiast, the streets of blues clubs and delicious New Orleans food also played a big part in his decision.
“The city is awesome,” Silver said. “The [jazz] clubs have no cover. I can just walk in and out all night.”
While he won’t be playing golf for Tulane, there is a course right across from the Ue university he’ll be visiting frequently.