No matter what happens down the road, Lee McCoy will have one particularly happy memory seared into his mind from his time at the University of Georgia.

With the wind gusting around him on the 18th green of his final Southeastern Conference Championship round, the Bulldogs senior knocked down a tricky 25-foot putt to secure both an individual and team title at St. Simons Island.

As soon as his ball made its break from right to left, McCoy pumped his fist in the direction of his jubilant teammates. The reaction of his friends and team was the icing on the cake.

“They were jumping all over each other, whooping and hollering,” he said. “I just happened to have some of my best stuff that week. It worked out better than I could have possibly imagined.”

McCoy, a Habersham Central High graduate, will make his debut as a professional golfer next week when he plays in the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind on June 9-12 in Memphis, Tenn.

The tournament will be televised on the Golf channel and CBS throughout the weekend.

It’s the first step of McCoy’s journey to earn a PGA Tour card and compete week in, week out with the world’s top golfers.

Should he perform well and accrue enough money at events which allow him to play as a sponsor exemption, he can earn spots on the Web.com Tour or even the PGA Tour.

The 2016 SEC Player of the Year leaves Athens as one of the most decorated men’s golfers in recent memory. McCoy recently finished in sixth place individually at the NCAA championships last week in Eugene, Ore.

As one of the school’s few two-time First-Team All-Americans in men’s golf, McCoy joins just two other Bulldogs with that honor, including professional talents Chip Beck (1977, 1978) and Chris Kirk (2006, 2007).

Georgia coach Chris Haack believes his former student-athlete has the potential to thrive at the professional level.

“He’ll fare very, very well,” said Haack. “He’s one of the best in college golf. To have a chance to play in a PGA Tour event and play with (Masters champion) Jordan Spieth, it motivated him to work harder on aspects of his game. It gave him the confidence to play at the next level. … We don’t have many players like him.”

McCoy beat then top-ranked Spieth when the two were paired together in the final round of the Valspar Championship in March. Had he been a professional at the time, he would have gotten to cash a paycheck totaling nearly $300,000.

Still, the former Habersham Central graduate has put himself in a strong position coming out of college. He finished his career with seven tournament wins (one shy of school record eight).

McCoy has also been invited to the John Deere Classic in August, following his performance at the St. Jude Classic. The Georgia graduate earned 25 top-10 finishes with the Bulldogs, good for second place in the UGA record books, just two behind Beck’s 27.

McCoy said he isn’t ready to determine where he stands in Georgia lore.

“That remains to be seen,” he said. “After I finished (at the NCAA championships), coach Haack gave me a hug, told me it was great to work together for four years. I really think he set me up as good as he could for success at the next level. I’m grateful for what he’s done for me.”

McCoy is in the process of moving to West Palm Beach, Florida, where he hopes to spend more time with local golfers in a year-round warm climate.

The former Bulldog said he isn’t too concerned about making the leap to the pro ranks. He still takes heart from his experience at the Valspar Championship, and says he’ll be looking forward to a very busy summer.

“I don’t really think of it that much differently,” said McCoy. “I’ve been playing tournaments for 16 years of my life. I just get a check at the end of it now. I still play the same game now that I did a few days ago, just trying to put the ball in the hole as fast as possible.”