For golf coach Chris Malloy, the memory remains fresh four years later. Traveling through South Carolina en route to a tournament, his South Florida golf team stopped at a steak and seafood restaurant. Rigel Fernandes, a confident, 16-year-old freshman (first-year college) who was born in Bangalore, was the first to order. When he selected the $50 surf and turf - steak and lobster tails -- his teammates looked at him, wide-eyed.
Malloy asked him why he thought it was appropriate to order the most expensive item on the menu. Without hesitation, Rigel replied, "If you want me to play like a champion, I have to eat like a champion."
That week, South Florida won its first tournament of the year, with Rigel as one of its top performers. Later, Malloy pulled aside the youngest player on the team and told him, "You order surf and turf anytime you want, kid."
It is no coincidence the fortunes of South Florida's golf program have risen like a prodigious tee shot since Rigel, now a senior, committed to the school in 2013. South Florida has won three consecutive conference championships, made two straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament and will play in the NCAA Regionals in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on May 15. If Rigel, one of the best college players in the United States, and his teammates play well, South Florida could participate again in the NCAA Tournament, in late May in Illinois.
Rigel's athletic success isn't a surprise. Golf, after all, has been part of his life since he was 2, and he benefited from learning at a prestigious Florida sports academy starting at age 10. But for this young golfer, the best may be yet to come.
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In 1998, entrepreneur Ivan Fernandes, Rigel's father, moved his family from India to Dubai, where Ivan was employed as an IT professional. As a youngster, Rigel spent many hours learning the game with his father, a recreational golfer, on the course next to their house. Before he turned 10, Rigel won a handful of tournaments in Dubai, including a prestigious under-18 national title when he was 9.
"I liked that you couldn't get perfect in golf," Rigel recollects. "I liked that I could keep working at it and keep getting better."
By winning the Dubai under-18 tournament, he qualified for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in North Carolina, where he competed against players far superior to him. It was a clear indication for Rigel that for him to reach his full potential, he needed to play in the United States, which offered keen competition and some of the best golf instructors in the world. "I knew I couldn't stay in Dubai and be the king of my own jungle when there are kids all over the world who are a lot better," he says.
While he was in the United States, 10-year-old Rigel and his parents visited two sports academies - one in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and another, IMG Academy, in Bradenton, Florida. IMG offered a scholarship to Rigel, one of the youngest to be offered a scholarship by the school. Despite many anxious hours mulling the decision, Renny, his mother and Ivan agreed to put their son 11,000 kilometers away, on a plane from Dubai to Florida.
"Dad, I could go to a college that is in the top 10, but what would I do to make it better? If I can get USF to the top 10, they would always remember me as somebody who came in and did something great for them"
Initially, Rigel struggled at IMG. The bland cafeteria chicken at the academy was no match for his mother's naan and vegetables, and he missed his older brother, Reevan. But Rigel performed well in the classroom and on the golf course from the time he started at IMG. In his five years at the academy, he won a tournament in Louisiana and earned several honors, including junior golf All-American and a top-20 ranking in the United States in his junior year.
"Playing and competing against older kids at such a young age was great for him," IMG head coach Jay Denton says. By his junior season at IMG, Rigel had grown seven inches, a significant spurt and it was a prime reason for his swing movement to be altered. The club didn't rotate around his body the same way, he said, and he struggled to break 75 for 18 holes. It took six months for him to adapt to his new, 6-foot frame, but coaches at major golf programs didn't fret.
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In 2012, Malloy was sitting in his car in the IMG Academy parking lot, facing the front side of the driving range. He was there to watch another player. While he sat talking on his phone, he watched a young golfer take a few elegant swings, a smile on his face throughout. Malloy got off his phone, ran to the counselor, pointed to the golfer and said, "That's who I want."
The player was Rigel, who wasn't supposed to be there. A golf junkie, he had snuck into a practice session between classes.
At the time, the University of South Florida (USF), located in Tampa, didn't have a top-flight golf program. Its home course was not well maintained and the Chowdhari Golf Center - made possible by a $1.4 million gift from doctors with Indian roots - had yet to be built. The school didn't even have a locker room for golfers. Malloy had recruited well, but for his team to be recognized among the better programs, he needed a player such as Rigel.
Malloy, who left South Florida in 2014 to become coach at the University of Mississippi, worried more traditional golf schools might snap up the teenager. But Rigel was hooked onto South Florida from his first conversation with the coach.
"The most important reason I came here was it was a school that reminded me of myself when I came [to the U.S.]," Rigel says. "Nobody knew who I was when I came, nobody knew who USF was."
His coaches at IMG and his parents were surprised by his decision. Top-10 golf programs like Auburn, Stanford, Florida State and Georgia had also shown interest, but Rigel had made up his mind. His father said he never pressured him to pick a school, but his son's decision caught him off guard.
"Rigel said to me, 'Dad, I could go to a college that is in the top 10, but what would I do to make it better? If I can get USF to the top 10, they would always remember me as somebody who came in and did something great for them,'" Ivan Fernandes said.
In his sophomore (second) year, Rigel helped South Florida break into the NCAA Division I top-10 rankings for the first time. In his South Florida career, he finished in the top 10 in tournaments on more than 10 occasions. This year's team is ranked 53rd in the United States and is a long shot to make it to the NCAA Tournament. But the team's less-than-impressive ranking this season hasn't detracted from what Rigel has meant to South Florida's program.
"Rigel is one of those key kids that made South Florida legitimate," said Denton, the IMG coach. Current South Florida coach Steve Bradley says during Rigel's four years at South Florida, he hasn't been a "rah-rah, in-your-face kind of leader," but rather led by example. A communications major by student, he has played in every team match since he was a freshman.
In the process of helping transform South Florida's golf program, Rigel also became the reason other good players committed to the school. Priyanshu Singh, a New Delhi native who helped his Nova Northeastern University win the Division II national championship in 2015, transferred to South Florida for the 2016-17 season. He wanted to play for a good Division I team that included players such as Rigel.
In fact, Priyanshu and Rigel have become good friends, often spending evenings after golf practice playing Call of Duty. Rigel gets really loud while playing video games, throwing things when he loses, Priyanshu says jokingly. "Rigel has been a big brother to me these last few months, and he is the reason I am here," he says.
After he graduates from South Florida, Rigel wants to stay in the United States to train for several months before turning professional. Competing as an amateur, he shot par in the opening round of the Hero Indian Open in March before struggling in the final three rounds. His coaches say the boy has what it takes to make it big. Rigel is confident too.
"The goal is plain and simple: Be one of the best players on the PGA Tour," he says.