Facing the challenges being an NCAA athlete can be a daunting task. For Cameron and Grant Rappleye, however, it is beneficial to have a brother competing side-by-side.

Such is the case for Cameron and Grant Rappleye.

Cameron and Grant Rappleye are 19-year-old business majors at Sacramento State. They are also Hornet golfers with Professional Golfers’ Association of America aspirations and a lineage through Sac State.

Their father Kevin Rappleye is a Sac State alum and played golf from 1977-80. The Rappleye brothers gave credit to their father for getting them interested in the sport.

Kevin Rappleye played on the National Golf Association for one year and also played with current Hornet golf director, David Sutherland.

“I introduced them to the game, probably when they were 8,” Kevin Rappleye said. “They didn’t really take it seriously until they were 12. I tried to be sure they learned the basics the best they could so they didn’t grow up with bad habits that they’d have to fix later.”

Kevin Rappleye cited an example of playing golf with his boys at a young age.

“When they were 8, I would play from the tips of the tees, I would drop them off at the 100-yard marker and we’d play ? we’d have a little contest,” Kevin Rappleye said. “They didn’t stand a chance because they only weighed 50 or 60 pounds. Those were really just fond memories of them and me and my other kids, too.”

Sutherland said the Rappleye brothers are everything he’s expected of them.

“They’re both really good kids,” he said. “We were very fortunate to get them here. They’re very solid, consistent golfers for us. They certainly give us a real stability to our lineup that we have probably never had here at Sac State.”

Sutherland also said the brothers do well in the classroom.

Cameron and Grant are both business majors; however, they have aspirations of playing alongside Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

“I want to make a living playing golf,” Grant Rappleye said.

Cameron Rappleye has a similar objective.

“There’s a whole bunch of stuff that goes into being where Tiger is,” he said. “But, you know, try little stuff, work your way up and hopefully make a living out of it.”

The brothers recognize the importance of completing their education in case their PGA aspirations do not pan out, as it is extremely hard to make it on the Tour.

“We’re going to have our degrees if it doesn’t work out,” Grant Rappleye said.

Golf and school has helped to keep the Rappleyes close.

“We’ve been playing golf for seven years now, pretty much six days a week,” Cameron Rappleye said. “So there wasn’t a transition from high school to college, which helped.”

Grant Rappleye said playing college golf with his brother is similar to high school golf.

“We’ve never played college golf apart from each other,” Grant Rappleye said. “I think it’s the exact same as high school; just, we’re not the best players like we were in high school.”

The Rappleye brothers grew up playing many sports, such as baseball, soccer, basketball, but they ultimately stuck with golf.

The brothers said while they like playing golf, it isn’t always the most enjoyable experience.

“It’ll piss you off more than you think,” Cameron Rappleye said. “It embarrasses me.”

Grant agreed.

“It really does bug the crap out of both of us,” Grant Rappleye said.

However, the brothers said it is that aspect of golf that helps them get better. It motivates them to work that much harder to get that much better.

The Rappleye brothers are triplets; their third brother Trevor attends CSU Fullerton.

Grant Rappleye said he and Cameron are close with Trevor, but not as close as they are with each other.

“He played sports, but only because we did,” Grant Rappleye said. “He wasn’t really the athletic type; he went to school at Fullerton not to get away from us, but so he could do his own thing. He was always kind of in our shadow.”

The brothers have an obvious sibling rivalry, but on the course, it is all professional.

“When we’re in tournaments, it’s always like, ‘Oh, hey, how ya doing? Hang in there. Get a couple more birdies,'” Grant Rappleye said. “After the round – if he beat me or I beat him – then the jabbing starts.”

The Rappleye brothers said a key factor in choosing Sac State was because they like the city of Sacramento.

“I had a rough freshman year, so I don’t think I could have dealt with it away from mom and dad,” Grant Rappleye said.

The Rappleye brothers graduated from Christian Brothers High School and played golf there.

Grant said Cameron is a reason he is motivated to do well.

“If he wasn’t playing, I don’t know if I would work as hard,” Grant Rappleye said. “I can take getting beat by other people every now and then. I don’t like it. But if he kind of kicked my butt every now and then, I don’t know if I’d work as hard.”

Sutherland praised their work ethic.

“They’re working really hard when we don’t have practice,” Sutherland said. “They’re sort of like ‘endless energy’ types of kids.”

Student-athletes do not often succeed without family support.

Kevin Rappleye said the rest of the family played an instrumental role in allowing Cameron and Grant to play golf at such a high level.

“If my wife couldn’t handle all that stuff, it would have been really difficult for them to get the experience to help them be as good as they are,” Kevin Rappleye said.

The men’s golf team is young and has potential. Sutherland said Grant and Cameron Rappleye have a chance to be a part of something special at Sac State.

“As these guys improve and get better, I think the possibilities for this program are really exciting,” Sutherland said.

Cameron Rappleye said playing with Grant is the best and worst part about playing golf. However, they both know they are better because of it. Cameron referenced a time when Grant beat him in a round.

“It sometimes sucks, but that drives you,” Cameron Rappleye said. “That’s actually the only bad thing about it and I wouldn’t even call it a bad thing. It’s probably positive.”

Dustin Nosler can be reacherd at [email protected]