During his sophomore year at Brandeis, Jason Sobel '97 applied for a 50-hour-per-week job at the Metro section of the Boston Globe. The job was intended for students at Northeastern University, which helps place its undergraduates in full-time internships for a semester in its cooperative education program rather than taking classes, but the Globe still told Sobel to come for an interview.Sobel wanted the job, even if it meant managing his classes and commuting into Boston during the week. As Sobel talked about his experiences at Brandeis and why he wanted the position, the interviewer sensed that Sobel wanted to write for the sports section rather than for news. He introduced Sobel to Don Skwar, the sports editor for the Globe, who gave Sobel a job on the spot that allowed him to work two to three nights per week.

Sobel's start at the Globe, as well as his work for the Justice and the Middlesex News, launched him into the world of sports journalism, the field he has worked in since graduating from Brandeis as an American Studies major. After beginning as a production assistant at ESPN, where he helped produce highlights for shows such as SportsCenter, Sobel is now the leading golf writer and blogger for ESPN.com. He has conducted 21 consecutive live blogs during the four major championships that are played each year on the PGA tour.

"In my estimation, [golf is] by far the best beat to cover of any sport," Sobel said. "You're going to Pebble Beach [Calif.] or Augusta National [in Ga.] to watch the greatest guys in the world play golf, and your job is to be as close to them as possible."

Sobel's interest in golf began when he started playing at the Robert Moses State Park Golf Course in Babylon, N.Y. during the summer before his junior year at Brandeis. When he returned to campus that fall, Sobel asked Bob Brannum, the Brandeis golf coach at the time and a former Boston Celtics forward, if he could join the team. Brannum watched Sobel hit 10 balls into a net and told Sobel that he was not particularly talented. However, Sobel had something else to offer the team: a car. After telling Brannum that he would be willing to drive the team to practices, Sobel was given a spot on the team.

While on the golf team, Sobel did little beyond driving his teammates to and from practice each day. During his junior year, Sobel played in his only collegiate tournament at the New Seabury Country Club on Cape Cod after multiple Brandeis golfers fell ill or were unable to compete because of midterms. He finished in last place.

Despite his lack of success in playing, Sobel's knowledge and passion for golf, as well as his writing background, helped him become the golf editor for ESPN.com in 2004 when the website began covering golf online. While editing articles, he also wrote many of his own.

"At the time, we didn't have any staff writers for our golf coverage," Sobel said. "There was no content coming in because nobody was regularly writing for us. . I went to my boss and asked him if I could write something. I wrote a feature, and they liked it. Two days later, I asked if I could write something else. Literally for 4 years, it turned into two jobs. I was the editor of the section and also a full-time writer."

Sobel typically spends 16 to 18 weeks every year traveling the country and other parts of the world covering golf tournaments. He typically arrives at the golf course at 6 a.m. and does not leave until 10 or 11 p.m. He used to follow the players around and watch the action live on the course, but now he often spends his time in the media room conducting his own live blog. He updates the blog every few minutes for people who are unable to watch the tournament or want to hear his own opinions on the day's events.

Over the course of his career, Sobel has interviewed many of the world's top players, including Tiger Woods. In 2008, Sobel spent the day with Woods while he promoted his video game, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08. Despite talking with a celebrity as famous as the former No. 1 golfer in the world, Sobel found him to be a fairly average individual.

"[Woods] is remarkably unremarkable," Sobel said. "We sat next to each other on a bus in New York City and talked about the weather and the Yankee game the night before. We talked about going to the gym in the morning. He's a normal guy. He's a guy that likes sports and likes going out to games having a regular conversation with people."

While Sobel's successes at ESPN are evident, he believes that his experience as a writer for the Justice helped him understand how to develop his own tone and style for his stories. Sobel originally wrote for the News section and covered Student Union meetings but then decided to join the Sports section, which he thought he would enjoy more. Sobel wrote features and covered the men's basketball team, giving players report cards on how well they played.

"I wanted to give people a taste of what I saw and what I really thought about it," Sobel said. "I incorporate what I did back then covering the basketball team with what I do now covering golf. I learned a lot about what I liked and how to develop my voice in writing those pieces for the Justice back then." From interviewing for a news position at the Globe, Sobel is now living his dream as a sportswriter. You never know where opportunities may lie, Sobel said in conclusion. "Leave no stone unturned. Try everything. You never know. ... It might turn into something else.