Lipscomb AthleticsLipscomb senior Dawson Armstrong watches his shot.

VALDOSTA — No one has higher expectations for Dawson Armstrong than he does.

So his stellar results on the golf course have become less and less surprising to him, considering the work he puts into the sport.

The 22-year-old Valdosta native and senior at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., looks forward to more positive results on a bigger stage. He chose to forgo the remainder of his season and begin his professional career May 6.

“I’d talked to my coach, I’d talked to my parents, I’d talked to my agent and we all came to the same conclusion: If the team doesn’t make it to regionals as a team and I make it as an individual, then I should probably turn professional and seek success on the next level,” Armstrong said during a phone interview with The Valdosta Daily Times on Thursday.

Armstrong, the son of Dale and Vivian Armstrong, attended Georgia Christian School before his family moved to Tennessee when he was 15.

Seven year later, Armstrong has mowed through competition on the collegiate level, setting school records and becoming the most decorated golfer in program history.

His choice to turn pro prevents him from competing in the NCAA Tournament — what would’ve been his fourth straight appearance — after being selected to participate in the Raleigh, North Carolina Regional as an individual.

“We want what’s best for Dawson,” Lipscomb golf coach Will Brewer said in a Lipscomb Athletics article. “So we feel for his career at this time, it’s best for him to go play these opportunities that he has been given. I think he would have been successful at the regional, and without question, I think he could have won the NCAA’s.

“That’s always the upside, but for college golf, that’s the end of that upside. We felt like if he could get this opportunity, and especially being so close to home, it would have been selfish to ask him to play in the NCAA’s rather than turn pro right now. This is what he wants to do for his career, it’s what he’s been building to for so many years now. You can’t pass on these opportunities when it’s given to you on a platter.”

Armstrong became a legend not only at Lipscomb, but in the ASUN conference. He won a second consecutive ASUN championship in April, the first player to win back-to-back individual league titles in 12 years. He earned the conference’s Golfer of the Week 13 times, the most any ASUN athlete had been named to weekly awards. He became the second player in ASUN history to to win three Golfer of the Year awards and four All-ASUN first-team accolades.

He’s at the top of every statistical category at Lipscomb, including career scoring average (71.20).

“When I go week to week, month to month and year to year looking at what my goals are and how to reach them, seeing the accomplishments that come with that really isn’t much of a surprise to me,” the Lipscomb senior said. “It’s more of a steppingstone to where I would consider success.

“But when I do look back at what all has happened, especially knowing where I was going into college, it’s very staggering. It’s very surprising to see how far I’ve come with hard work and my coaches being behind me and having a great family.”

Being a top-20 college player the last two years and being the highest-ranked player from a non-FBS school are among the accomplishments Armstrong said he’s most proud to have achieved.

He called winning the 2015 Western Amateur Championship “the highlight of my amateur career.”

“I came in the top eight of the U.S. Amateur, and I’m very confident the last match I played against my opponent in the quarterfinals, if I wasn’t sick, I would’ve been playing in Augusta this past spring. I was just playing too good of a golf game at the time… and then sickness,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong makes his professional debut next week, playing in the Web.com Tour’s Nashville Golf Open. The event runs Thursday-Sunday and will be played at Lipscomb’s home course, Nashville Golf & Athletic Club.