Adam Svensson

If a player is going to leave a college-golf roster to turn professional, it’s usually done during winter break or, more likely, at the end of the season. But after Adam Svensson, a junior at Barry University (which competes at the NCAA Division II level), won the Matlock Collegiate Classic on Feb. 10, he felt the time was right.

“After winning my last two starts, my gut was telling me it was the right time to make the move and turn professional,” said Svensson. “I feel my game is ready to be pushed to the next level and I am excited to challenge and better myself against the best players in professional golf.”

Svensson, who helped lead Barry to consecutive national titles the past two years, had won nine of his last 14 collegiate starts and was the No. 1-ranked player in NCAA Division II golf, according to Golfstat. He was T-4 at the Western Refining All-America Golf Classic, a field filled with mostly Division I players.

Barry is ranked No. 4 Golfstat's Division II rankings.

"We knew it was coming, but did not know it would be in February," Barry head coach Jimmy Stobs said. "We thought he would finish out the year.

"I am 100 percent behind him and am his biggest fan. He came here and helped turn a very good team into a great team. We still have a very good team and I expect to still compete and have a chance to three-peat (at the national championship)."

Svensson, a British Columbia native, was a two-time NCAA first team All-American, the 2014 Jack Nicklaus (Division II) National Player of the Year and was named the 2013 Phil Mickelson Award recipient as most outstanding freshman in Division II golf.

Svensson now will focus his efforts on PGA Tour Canada and Web.com Tour events. Barry, meanwhile, has two regular-season tournaments remaining on its spring schedule, followed by conference play and NCAA postseason.