And the clearest message he has received so far is so simple: You can’t win them all.
That said, he has already managed to win a big one in his short time at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska.
His team played in the Battle for the Mississippi tournament on the Jack Nicklaus-designed Fyre Lake course at Sherrad in Illinois — a course he described as beautiful but with a lot of water and some seriously challenging rough.
Not only did his school win the tournament, Whyte was the individual winner.
“I had shot one over after the first round, which put me in equal sixth, and then went one better with par in the second round of the 36-hole tournament,” Whyte said.
“After the first round, I was three shots behind the leaders, but it was a good position to be as I was within range — although it wasn’t until the 14th hole of the second round, our coach told me I was in the mix to win the event.
“I had started strong in the first five holes on the second day, where I felt I had hit some really good shots into hard holes.”
But he would save the absolute best for last.
“There’s no doubt my best hole for the tournament was the 18th on that second day,” he said.
“I got off the tee with a well-placed shot on this 400m dog-leg hole, and my pitching wedge left me just a few metres from the pin.
“When I sank the putt for a birdie, it was the shot which won me the tournament.
“I think I had played consistent golf, making pars on all the difficult holes, and then taking my chances on the easier holes to make some birdies.”
Yet, victory was a tense wait.
When Whyte’s putt dropped on the 18th, he was then tied for the lead, with his rival one hole behind him — and when he reached the green on the 18th, he could not match Whyte’s pressure shot and finished with a bogey.
“This was my first individual win since being over here. I had placed sixth and eighth in my two previous tournaments, and at Fyre Lake we were up against 14 division one teams,” he said.
“Funnily, our team also won by one shot, as we had been leading the tournament after day one.
“We did falter a bit in the middle of round two, and fell as far back as six shots, then staged a huge comeback in the final two holes to win, so it was a big day all round.”
Whyte’s next tournament, however, was not such a big day all round.
It was a case of old gold chocolates to boiled lollies in what was the last match for the semester, as his part of the US heads into its subzero winter.
He would eventually finish tied 11th and not on such a high, although his team did end in third.
“Since I have arrived in United States, my game has been up and down, and I am constantly working on improving the weaker aspects of my game,” he said.
“Our college coach is Ty Heimes (not just a four-time letter-winner in his own college golf career, he was also a state medallist, a three-time state medallist in wrestling and a three-time letter-winner in football) and he is responsible for our day-to-day training and what we focus on for each session.
“For me, the hardest thing so far about playing golf in the US has been trying to balance my schoolwork, homework and golf practice.
“So far, all the tournaments we have played have been on Mondays and Tuesdays, which means catching up on schoolwork missed. It is very busy and not much time to relax — or watch much TV.”
And as everyone in his home town of Echuca starts gearing up for the festive season and the Australian summer, Whyte is looking at his first white Christmas.
In Nebraska, Christmas Day is traditionally 0°C and in January temperatures hover anywhere between -5°C and -20°C — plus wind-chill.
But hey, at least you get snow.
19°C