Ryan Owens pretty much knew what he wanted to do with his life when he was three years old.

“I’m told that I saw my father’s golf clubs and asked him what they were,” said Owens. “My dad took me out to the golf course with him and I’ve been playing ever since.”

Last week, Owens took a giant step in his career by shooting a two-under 70 and a par 72 at Spring Mill Country Club in Ivyland PA to pass the PGA’s playing ability test. He beat the target score of 156 by 14 strokes.

“It was really exciting,” Owens said. “It qualifies me to play for money in some tournaments. I can’t play in amateur events anymore. I hope to compete in a couple tournaments in South Carolina next month. It also allows me to begin studying the PGA bookwork, which usually takes about two years.”

When completed, the bookwork will allow Owens to get involved in the business of golf – running tournaments, scheduling events, etc. “My goal is to eventually play on the PGA Tour,” he said, “but I think this is the best way to do that. I’ll get into the business and keep also playing to develop and improve my game.”

Owens lived the first 14 years of his life in New York, playing football, baseball and basketball in various youth programs. All the while, he continued to visit the golf course regularly. When his family moved to Ocean City just before his freshmen year of high school, he decided to attend St. Augustine Prep. He played on a couple of Cape-Atlantic League champions and one state champion at the Prep and was named first team, all-conference.

“I knew some of the kids at St. Augustine,” Owens said, “and I knew they would have good teams. I improved a lot while I was playing there and I found out about the golf academy while I was there.”

After high school, Owens pursued his goals further by attending the International Junior Golf Academy in South Carolina, under the direction of Hank Haney, a former PGA Teacher of the Year and one of the top 50 golf personalities in the world, selected by Golf Magazine.

“Going there (to the academy) was the best decision I’ve ever made,” Owens said. “My game improved so much in the three years I was there.”

Owens will be leaving for South Carolina on Aug. 6 where he will work at the golf academy for Haney. “I’ll get my bookwork done with his help and teach under his system. That should really get me going in the right direction.”

This summer, Owens has helped re-establish the youth program at Greate Bay Country Club in Somers Point, where he is a member. When he was 10, he won the Greate Bay junior club championship in competition with golfers aged 10-13. But the program had faded since then.

“Kids are starting to get back into the game,” Owens said. “I give clinics on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons and we’re building the youth program back up.”

Ryan’s parents are excited about the developments of the past few weeks, especially his dad, Rich, who first took him to the golf course about 18 years ago. His dad is now a member at Greate Bay, as well.

“Ryan works so hard at the game it should not surprise anyone that he continues to improve,” said Bucky Kennoff, director of golf at Greate Bay. “His game has come a long way since high school. Ryan is an unbelievable worker – he must hit 1000-2000 balls a day.”

What started out as a curious question at age three is now well on the way to becoming a significant position in the world of professional golf for Ryan Owens.