Ryan Fish ’27 Golfs on the World Stage
Newark Academy seventh grader Ryan Fish ’27 has had quite the year on the links. Among several golf tournaments this past year, Ryan found himself at the 2021 U.S. Kid World Golf Championship in Pinehurst, North Carolina in July — one of just two boys representing New Jersey at the event. Ryan went up against 155 competitors from over 15 countries and finished in the top 100.
“It’s been a pretty big deal for me to go out and play,” Ryan says. “It’s more than just a tournament; there were a lot of kids from all around the world.” It’s meant a lot to him, he says, “to not only represent your country, but your state and where you come from.”
In October 2021, Ryan was a key leader on Team Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club, a team of eight kids, ages 9–13, representing New Jersey for the first time in the PGA Jr. League United States National Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona. In order to earn an invitation to this event, Ryan and his team won both the PGA Jr. League New Jersey state title and the Regional PGA Jr. League Championship in New York. Ryan was one of just 96 kids in the nation to compete in the three-day tournament, which was televised on ESPN+. Ryan’s team topped the 11 opposing squads in the skills competition, and they placed eighth overall on the course.
In preparation for these national tournaments, Ryan spent three weeks in the summer training at golf camps in North Carolina with Wake Forest University head coach and former PGA Tour player Jerry Haas. While there, Ryan not only improved his golf IQ but also gained valuable life skills in how to treat and interact with others, according to his mother, Kimberly Gallo. Ryan says he also became resilient and mentally tough while carrying his golf bag in the North Carolina summer heat for four hours each morning.
Ryan, who has been golfing since the age of three, loves the technical aspect of the game. “I like how you have to have a certain mentality for it,” he says. “You can’t just pick up a club and whack balls down the range and expect to be good. You have to be thinking about how you’re going to approach the hole, how you’re going to hit the ball, how certain ways you hit the ball affect the outcome of it.”
While Ryan has made strides on the links this past year, earning spots at the New York, Florida, Williamsburg Classic and Hawaii State Championships, his proudest recognition came from the White House. In the spirit of giving back to the sport, Ryan earned the prestigious President’s Volunteer Service Award for performing over 100 hours of service in 2021.
With one more year in the NA Middle School, Ryan is looking forward to competing on the Minutemen golf team in the Upper School. “I’m really going to work hard and do my best to represent Newark Academy as a really good golfer,” he says. “I hope to show people what I’m capable of.”
