Alex Wunderlich competed for the Emory golf program from 2012 through 2105. During his career, he landed First Team All-UAA honors twice and second-team acclaim once. A Third Team All-American during the 2012-13 campaign, he ranked first on the squad in scoring average that year and finished as the Eagles' top performer in four tournaments. As a senior, he once again set the pace in scoring average (76.1 spg) and led the Emory contingent in three events. Alex logged a total of 85 rounds during his collegiate run and finished seventh on Emory's all-time scoring average list (76.1 apg).
Q: Occupation and where do you reside?
AW: I live in Seattle, WA working as the Director of Product and Growth at Clockwork.ai - a software startup with a tool that automates financial projections for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Q: Can you provide an update on some of your experiences (post-Emory to where you are now?
AW: After graduation I was working as an ultra-high net worth Investment Analyst at a family office in Atlanta. Then I moved to Seattle to work at a hedge fund, investing in technology companies. I developed a passion for tech and moved over to a financial reporting software startup, where I did business development, strategy, and product management for a few years, before going off on my own to help build Clockwork. Through work I’ve been able to travel to Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and all over North America - and I’ve been travelling a lot on personal time for ski trips, rock climbing, and golf trips with old teammates.
A few years ago I also joined the National Guard as a Combat Engineer to serve my country and local community on the side, which has been a blast. This year it’s been very busy trying to juggle my National Guard duties along with a startup, between the COVID-19 missions (contact tracing and food bank support) and wildfires out here, but it’s been great to help out and make an impact outside of my “day job.”
Q: Can you reflect on your time at Emory, both as a golfer and as a student?
AW: I loved every minute of it.
Q: Who were some of the people who played an influential role while you were at Emory?
AW: Coach Sjoberg was a great mentor, along with older teammates, to help me balance athletics and academics. My most influential professors were definitely Allison Burdette (Business Law) and Klaas Baks (various Finance classes) - their teaching styles and passion for the subjects made my time in Business School really enjoyable, and I’m still applying things I learned from them in my career to this day.
Q: What are some highlights (team, individual, a particular trip, or other) that you remember while playing golf at Emory?
AW: The 2013 season was a major highlight, with the team’s 4th place team finish at NCAAs and my 7th place individual finish. It was really special to take home a trophy and leave a mark on the program in that way. The team also went to Scotland in the fall of 2013 to play some legendary courses, like Carnoustie and Royal Dornoch, which is a trip I’ll never forget.
Q: Where did your love of golf develop? When did you start playing?
AW: I started playing golf as soon as I was old enough to swing a club. My dad is really into golf, and I would always go to the course with him to learn and practice, but I also played a lot of other sports, so it was more of a way to kill time when I didn’t have other sports going on during the summer months. When I was about 12 I started to get good enough to compete in junior tournaments, and a few early wins really got me hooked. From there, I started practicing more seriously and travelling around more to play in bigger events, and golf became my main sport.
Q: What courses did you particularly enjoy playing while you were at Emory?
AW: East Lake CC, Seminole, Royal Dornoch, Carnoustie...probably too many to list. While I was on the team at Emory, I played so many courses that I would’ve never been able to play otherwise. The Emory alumni network and Coach Sjoberg’s connections took us to some really cool places.
Q: You closed out your career 7th all-time at Emory in scoring average, earned All-America and All-Region honors, and were a 3x All-UAA performer. Is there a particular accomplishment that you are extremely proud of or that stands out?
AW: NCAA championship 4th place (team) and 7th place (individual) - which landed me on the All-America list that year - was for sure the highlight of my career at Emory.
Q: The 2013 team tied for 4th place at the NCAA Championships (Raven Course in Sandestin), which still stands as the best finish by an Emory team. You finished seventh overall in the field while Jonathan Chen placed third. What can you remember from that tournament?
AW: I remember every single shot from that week. Jonathan and I both had a rough start on the first day (I think we were both about 5 over par through the first 5 holes), but we battled back and kept ourselves in the tournament, which was huge for our confidence going into day 2, where we played solid golf and moved up the leaderboard.
Going into the last day there was a lot of pressure, but we knew we had a chance to make a run at the top of the leaderboard. Coach Sjoberg did a great job of keeping us level-headed, pushing us to be aggressive when we needed to be, and playing it safe at all the right moments, and we had a great final round. With a few holes left, I didn’t know where Jonathan or I stood individually, but we knew the team was in contention to make our best finish in the program’s history, and that really fired us up. I’ll never forget coming up the 18th hole with our teammates, families, and all the other spectators standing around the green watching. The energy was incredible - I’ve never felt anything like that in all other tournaments I’ve played in my life. The individual trophies Jonathan and I got for a top-10 finish were really cool, but getting that team trophy, and knowing it was going to sit in the WoodPEC as a mark of pride for the team for years to come, was really special.
Q: How much golf are you able to play nowadays?
AW: Not as much as I’d like! But I still get out to practice and play whenever I can. I actually just got back from Park City, UT for a golf trip with a few old teammates last week, and even though we’re not playing as much competitive golf these days, we still get pretty fired up to beat each other whenever we get together.
Q: How you are surviving the pandemic and how has it affected you?
AW: Getting outside as much as possible to reset and relax. Sometimes that means a round of golf, but mostly I’ve been climbing and backpacking a lot more to get out of the apartment. This year has been the craziest of my life by far, between working at a startup during a pandemic/recession, and being super busy in the National Guard. But I’ve also gained a lot of perspective and appreciation for all the things I was able to do before the pandemic, and I think being stuck inside has given me more time to re-connect more with old classmates and teammates, and focus on what matters.
Q: Any interests/hobbies or things you do to relax when away from work?
AW: Ski, rock climb, backpack, run/workout, and of course play golf.
Q: Any former teammates that you are in contact with?
AW: Oh yeah, we still have a group chat that goes off all day long, and we’ve been getting together on Zoom every other week to catch up and have a virtual happy hour. We’re still a tight bunch, and try to link up for golf trips whenever we can.
Q: Are you able to keep up with Emory golf?
AW: YES - they’re killing it! Makes me really proud to see how the team has been doing the last few years. Coach Sjoberg has done a great job of developing the program, and I’m getting a little bit worried that some of our records won’t stand for much longer.
Q: Is there anything that you take from being a student-athlete into your profession?
AW: Definitely. Time management is a big one, since balancing school and golf was a big adjustment to make. I also learned the value of putting my head down and working hard every day for longer-term goals, and not worrying so much about day-to-day results - i.e. just focus on putting in the work and getting 1% better every day, and when you look back a few years from now, you’ll be amazed at how much progress you’ve made.
Q: Any advice you would give Emory students/future grads?
AW: Enjoy every moment while you’re there. 4 years seems like an eternity when you’re 18 years old, but when you pack up after your last tournament or exam, you’ll wonder how it all went by so quickly. Work as hard as you can, make as many friends as you can, learn as much as you can from the people around you, and soak up as many new experiences as you can. Don’t go on auto-pilot or take anything for granted. Make sure you leave with no regrets.
Alex Wunderlich, seen skateboarding on a golf course (where else?), lives in Seattle.