The events of Sept. 11, 2001, no longer form any part of the lived experience of most college students. The date remains part of the history young people learn. But for those born in the intervening years, the memories and emotions stemming from that day’s terrorist attacks won’t be their history.
For Vanderbilt golfers, however, Davis Grier “Deeg” Sezna Jr., BA’01, is part of their history—and always will be.
Those who knew Sezna best are committed to making sure that never changes. Twenty-two years after he was among the nearly 3,000 people killed in New York, Washington, D.C., and at a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Sezna is still part of Vanderbilt golf’s present and future.
Deeg, as he was known by family and friends, didn’t play golf at Vanderbilt. But growing up in a family with deep roots in the sport, he was never more at home than walking a course, a bag of clubs slung over his shoulder. After his death at the World Trade Center’s South Tower, his parents, Davis and Gail Sezna, established a scholarship in his honor that became part of the fabric of one of the nation’s best college men’s golf programs. It has helped All-Americans and future professional golfers like Matthias Schwab and Will Gordon grow, on and off the course. For the past four years, it has helped All-American William Moll contribute to some of the program’s greatest successes, from back-to-back SEC championships to a Final Four appearance.
Now, after a gift from an anonymous alumnus of the Class of 2002 to Vanderbilt’s historic Dare to Grow campaign and dedicated to the children of Willy Sezna, Deeg’s surviving brother, those who knew him best hope to inspire others to complete the effort to fully endow what would be Vanderbilt’s first fully endowed golf scholarship.
A Vanderbilt Experience
With a father who was the 1973 Delaware Open champion and worked in and around the sport for decades, Deeg grew up immersed in golf. Course locations and tee times shaped family vacations. They traveled to Scotland and played St. Andrews, where Davis Sr. is a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. When Deeg was 12, he tagged along one day for a round with his father, not expecting to play. When a member of the foursome had to drop out, one of the other players asked Deeg if he would fill in. The player? Longtime PGA professional Joe Inman. The course? New Jersey’s Pine Valley, often ranked as the best course in the world.
Growing up,…
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