Editor's Note—William Mouw is kicking off his 2026 PGA Tour season this week at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The 25-year-old became a first-time tour winner last July with his victory at the ISCO Championship, where he closed with a final-round 61 to claim the title. Last fall, he talked to Golf Digest about growing up on a farm and how it shaped his eventual career in golf.
● ● ●
As a little kid, I saw my dad wake up before sunrise every day to tend to the chickens on our farm. The only time I didn’t see him working was when he was playing golf. He’d competed in college and gave mini-tours a try before starting Billy’s Egg Farm, then continued playing in amateur tournaments around Southern California.
● ● ●
Our farm is compact, about five acres. There’s a small field where we would hit old golf balls over the barns. The longest shot you can hit is 160 yards. I took my first swings there as a toddler.
● ● ●
We now have 30,000 chickens who wander freely within open-air buildings and lay about 20,000 eggs daily. Growing up, my three siblings and I would gather eggs and load them onto a conveyor belt into what’s basically an egg car wash. We’d shovel chicken poop and bag it for customers to use as fertilizer for their gardens, mow the grass and tend our drive-through window where about 300 cars come through daily to buy eggs.
● ● ●
After years of helping fix water, tractor and heat issues, I basically became a handyman. If a pipe breaks, you can’t just sit there watching water pour out. You’re always asking, “What can I do to make the most of this situation and move forward?” That attitude has helped me immensely as a golfer because on the golf course, pipes break all the time.
● ● ●
My siblings and I are all athletic. Tennis, soccer, basketball, football— I loved any opportunity to be competitive and try to win. With golf, I liked that no matter how good or bad I was playing, I had to figure out a way to put up a score. There’s always a way to get better, and that kept me motivated to be out in the field at our farm for hours, hitting balls. My little brother, Trey, often hit with me. We were always making up competitions, trying to hit different shots. Loser had to do the worst farm chores.
● ● ●
We were never members of a club. We played at the local public courses, El Prado and Los Serranos, and saved balls we found for our range at home. My dad showed us the fundamentals, and I owned my swing from there. Whenever something feels off with my move that I can’t figure out, I still go to my dad.
Mouw celebrates with his caddie after finishing off a final-round 61 at the ISCO Championship in July that secured his first PGA Tour title. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Andy Lyons
I played local and then national junior tournaments. At every level, I found myself competing with the best players. When I was 14, I qualified for IMG Junior Worlds and won it. That same year, I committed to Pepperdine. A strong golf program close to home that values faith and family—it was exactly what I wanted.
● ● ●
Being at Pepperdine was like being at a tournament every day. We all got better individually just by being around each other. We won NCAAs my sophomore year [2021], and I made the Walker Cup team that year, too. By the time I graduated in 2023, I’d earned enough PGA Tour U points to have Korn Ferry status.
● ● ●
I married my high school sweetheart, Hannah, in May and played my first Korn Ferry event in June. Hannah stayed home working as a nurse, and I traveled on my own. Being away from each other was hard, but we did long distance throughout our college years, too.
● ● ●
My second tournament on the PGA Tour was a veritable home game. The American Express at La Quinta is just an hour and a half from our farm. I lived out a golf nightmare on the 16th hole at Pete Dye’s Stadium Course when my ball found the massive, 18-foot deep bunker left of the green. When you’re in it, it’s like looking at a wall. I blasted over the green long. My next shot went back into the bunker. Back and forth, I couldn’t get the ball to stop on the green. When I made the putt for 13, all I could do was smile. It was brutal, unexpected and unfair. Golf is like that sometimes, but I survived. It didn’t ruin me. Something like that might happen again, but I’ll be ready.
● ● ●
If that was the on-course low of my rookie year, the ISCO Championship in Louisville was the high. I was seven shots back entering the final round. I’d been playing well and knew that with a little luck, I could go really low on that course. I shot 61 and won my first PGA Tour tournament by one stroke. Going that low on Sunday, feeling that self-affirmation that I did it when I needed to, is so motivating. It tells me that I have the potential to compete with the best talent on the tour.
● ● ●
My biggest accomplishment, though, is our baby girl, Adalyn, who was born two months after that win. She’ll be out at some events next season, which I’m excited about. Becoming a dad changes a few things. For sure, it makes it easier to hit extra balls on the range. I’m not working hard for me now. I’m working hard for her. —With Keely Levins
